Photos of the Week, Jan. 16-20

The joy of wintertime play takes a distressing turn for a child frolicking near Krasnopresnenskaya Naberezhnaya on Tuesday as an unflappable flock of hardy pigeons and sparrows sweeps in and steals all the fun.

Gorky Park is attracting thousands this winter with an ice rink years ahead of the rough and ready one of old.

Servicemen searching for unexploded shells from war games at a Russian military base near Dushanbe this week.

The U.S. Coast Guard breaker Healy guiding the tanker Renda closer to a Nome fuel transfer mooring point Saturday.

Meeting a Wednesday deadline to submit 2 million signatures in support of his presidential candidacy, billionaire businessman Mikhail Prokhorov delivers boxes of signatures to the Central Elections Commission's headquarters in Moscow.

About 600 people, some with photos of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasia Baburova, rallying late Thursday, the third anniversary of their killing by an ultranationalist.

After capturing a picture of himself next to an artificial Altai panorama, this Moscow Zoo visitor pretends he is venturing through the luscious countryside, while the city's wintry weather snaps him back to the 3D reality.

A two-woman team saving time on Tverskaya Ulitsa, one using a shovel to clear snow while the other sweeps.

Orthodox Christians gathering holy water to drink Wednesday before Epiphany. On Thursday, outdoor baptisms took place in ice-cold ponds.