From the beginning of March and International Women's Day, take a moment to soak up some of the most important and striking visuals captured by photographers around the world.
© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev / Go to the mediabankAlina Zagitova during her performance at the ice skating show "Olympic Athletes Festival. Champions in Moscow"

Alina Zagitova during her performance at the ice skating show "Olympic Athletes Festival. Champions in Moscow"
© AFP 2023 / Safin HamedFemale Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters and journalists watch on as they release a bear into the wild in the Gara Mountains near the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on March 4, 2018, after Iraqi Kurdish Animal rights activists from a local NGO rescued it from a private home.

Female Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters and journalists watch on as they release a bear into the wild in the Gara Mountains near the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on March 4, 2018, after Iraqi Kurdish Animal rights activists from a local NGO rescued it from a private home.
© AFP 2023 / Jack Guez People wearing costumes and face paint pose as they take part in a "Zombie walk" in Tel Aviv as part of the Jewish holiday of Purim on March 3, 2018.
The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as described in the Book of Esther.
The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as described in the Book of Esther.

People wearing costumes and face paint pose as they take part in a "Zombie walk" in Tel Aviv as part of the Jewish holiday of Purim on March 3, 2018.
The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as described in the Book of Esther.
The carnival-like Purim holiday is celebrated with parades and costume parties to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from a plot to exterminate them in the ancient Persian empire 2,500 years ago, as described in the Book of Esther.
© AP Photo / Rahmat GulAn Afghan boy jumps off the turret of a Soviet tank on a hilltop on the the outskirts of Kabul, Sunday, March 4, 2018.

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© AP Photo / Rahmat Gul
An Afghan boy jumps off the turret of a Soviet tank on a hilltop on the the outskirts of Kabul, Sunday, March 4, 2018.
© REUTERS / Francis MascarenhasA woman smeared with coloured powder shakes her head to remove it during Holi celebrations in Mumbai, India.

A woman smeared with coloured powder shakes her head to remove it during Holi celebrations in Mumbai, India.
© Sputnik / Grigoriy Sisoev / Go to the mediabankСandidate for the presidency in Russia, Vladimir Putin at a rally/concert "For a Strong Russia" in the Luzhniki Stadium.

Сandidate for the presidency in Russia, Vladimir Putin at a rally/concert "For a Strong Russia" in the Luzhniki Stadium.
© Sputnik / Stringer / Go to the mediabankIskander mobile short-range ballistic missile system launching from the Kapustin Yar training area in the Astrakhan region.

Iskander mobile short-range ballistic missile system launching from the Kapustin Yar training area in the Astrakhan region.
© AFP 2023 / Adrian DennisRunners wait at the change-over during the women's 4x400m relay final at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships at the Arena in Birmingham on March 4, 2018.

Runners wait at the change-over during the women's 4x400m relay final at the 2018 IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships at the Arena in Birmingham on March 4, 2018.
© Sputnik / Ilya Timin / Go to the mediabankWinter wooden church of John the Baptist of the St. Elijah Vodlozersky poustinia orthodox friary is located in Vodlozersky National Park, Republic of Karelia.

Winter wooden church of John the Baptist of the St. Elijah Vodlozersky poustinia orthodox friary is located in Vodlozersky National Park, Republic of Karelia.
© AFP 2023 / Angela WeissUS actress Blanca Blanco arrives for the 90th Annual Academy Awards on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, California.

US actress Blanca Blanco arrives for the 90th Annual Academy Awards on March 4, 2018, in Hollywood, California.
© Sputnik / Stringer / Go to the mediabankMembers of nationalist parties participate in a torchlight procession arranged to coincide with the anniversary of Ukrainian Insurgent Army General Roman-Taras Yosypovych Shukhevych's death on March 5, 1950

Members of nationalist parties participate in a torchlight procession arranged to coincide with the anniversary of Ukrainian Insurgent Army General Roman-Taras Yosypovych Shukhevych's death on March 5, 1950
© AP Photo / Mark SchiefelbeinHospitality staff members react after posing for a selfie during the opening session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 5, 2018. China's government pledged Monday to deliver robust growth, pursue advanced technology and boost military spending while urging the public to embrace President Xi Jinping's rule as its ceremonial legislature prepared for changes to allow him to stay in power indefinitely.

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© AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein
Hospitality staff members react after posing for a selfie during the opening session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Monday, March 5, 2018. China's government pledged Monday to deliver robust growth, pursue advanced technology and boost military spending while urging the public to embrace President Xi Jinping's rule as its ceremonial legislature prepared for changes to allow him to stay in power indefinitely.
© Sputnik / Vitaliy Belousov / Go to the mediabankAn air balloon shaped as a bunch of tulips drifts over Vasilyevsky Spusk Square, Moscow

An air balloon shaped as a bunch of tulips drifts over Vasilyevsky Spusk Square, Moscow
© AFP 2023A woman dives into a partly frozen lake in Shenyang in China's northeastern Liaoning province.

A woman dives into a partly frozen lake in Shenyang in China's northeastern Liaoning province.
© REUTERS / Charles Platiau43rd Cesar Awards ceremony - Photocall - Paris, France. French actress Marion Cotillard is assisted as she arrives during the Cesar ceremony.

43rd Cesar Awards ceremony - Photocall - Paris, France. French actress Marion Cotillard is assisted as she arrives during the Cesar ceremony.

A fish counter in a fish market in Seoul.
© AP Photo / Sakchai LalitElephants are fed fruit before an elephant polo match in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, March 8, 2018. The annual King's Cup Elephant Polo tournament raises funds for projects that improve the lives of Thailand's wild and domesticated elephant population.

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© AP Photo / Sakchai Lalit
Elephants are fed fruit before an elephant polo match in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, March 8, 2018. The annual King's Cup Elephant Polo tournament raises funds for projects that improve the lives of Thailand's wild and domesticated elephant population.
© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev / Go to the mediabankAnchoress from an Old Believer's family Agafia Lykova goes with a cord of wood to her hunter's cabin. She has been living in the Sayan taiga for 30 years. Geologists found the family in 1978.

Anchoress from an Old Believer's family Agafia Lykova goes with a cord of wood to her hunter's cabin. She has been living in the Sayan taiga for 30 years. Geologists found the family in 1978.
© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev / Go to the mediabankA girl taking a photo by a car that is part of the special exhibition,
100th anniversary of the USSR fire protection service at the 27th exhibition of antique cars "Oldtimer-Gallery" in Moscow's Sokolniki Culture and Exhibition Center.
100th anniversary of the USSR fire protection service at the 27th exhibition of antique cars "Oldtimer-Gallery" in Moscow's Sokolniki Culture and Exhibition Center.

A girl taking a photo by a car that is part of the special exhibition,
100th anniversary of the USSR fire protection service at the 27th exhibition of antique cars "Oldtimer-Gallery" in Moscow's Sokolniki Culture and Exhibition Center.
100th anniversary of the USSR fire protection service at the 27th exhibition of antique cars "Oldtimer-Gallery" in Moscow's Sokolniki Culture and Exhibition Center.
© Sputnik / Vitaliy Timkiv / Go to the mediabankFemale cadets during training sessions in the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School of pilots named after Hero of the Soviet Union A.K. Serov.

Female cadets during training sessions in the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School of pilots named after Hero of the Soviet Union A.K. Serov.
© Sputnik / Sergey Pyatakov / Go to the mediabankPatriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria, Metropolitan of Sophia during a divine liturgy in the Cathedral of Prince Alexander Nevsky in Sofia.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria, Metropolitan of Sophia during a divine liturgy in the Cathedral of Prince Alexander Nevsky in Sofia.
© AFP 2023 / Olivier MorinA woman sits on a pier on March 3, 2018 to watch northern lights (Aurora borealis), on the Lofoten Islands in Bostad, inside the arctic circle in northern Norway.

A woman sits on a pier on March 3, 2018 to watch northern lights (Aurora borealis), on the Lofoten Islands in Bostad, inside the arctic circle in northern Norway.
© Sputnik / Alexander Galperin / Go to the mediabankParticipants during the winter swimming competition "The Great Neva Cup 2018" on the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.

Participants during the winter swimming competition "The Great Neva Cup 2018" on the beach of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.
© Sputnik / Nikolay Hiznyak / Go to the mediabankParticipants of the fifth annual competition "Beauty in shoulder boards" before the start of the competitive program.

Participants of the fifth annual competition "Beauty in shoulder boards" before the start of the competitive program.
© REUTERS / Khalil AshawiA Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter fires from a tank in Rajo, Syria March 3, 2018.

A Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter fires from a tank in Rajo, Syria March 3, 2018.
© AFP 2023 / Johannes EiseleThis picture taken on March 5, 2018 shows a marching band taking a break during a procession next to a shipwreck on the beach of the village Fuye on Nanri island in China's Fujian province.
"Possessed" by local gods, elaborately dressed villagers in a fishing community in eastern China are carried into the surf to ensure an abundant catch, a centuries-old rite needed now more than ever as fish stocks decline. Staged in the village of Fuye on Nanri island, "The Dash of the Ocean Gods" festival is one of many visually striking traditional rituals held in Fujian province in the weeks following the Lunar New Year, which this year fell on February 16, 2018.
"Possessed" by local gods, elaborately dressed villagers in a fishing community in eastern China are carried into the surf to ensure an abundant catch, a centuries-old rite needed now more than ever as fish stocks decline. Staged in the village of Fuye on Nanri island, "The Dash of the Ocean Gods" festival is one of many visually striking traditional rituals held in Fujian province in the weeks following the Lunar New Year, which this year fell on February 16, 2018.

This picture taken on March 5, 2018 shows a marching band taking a break during a procession next to a shipwreck on the beach of the village Fuye on Nanri island in China's Fujian province.
"Possessed" by local gods, elaborately dressed villagers in a fishing community in eastern China are carried into the surf to ensure an abundant catch, a centuries-old rite needed now more than ever as fish stocks decline. Staged in the village of Fuye on Nanri island, "The Dash of the Ocean Gods" festival is one of many visually striking traditional rituals held in Fujian province in the weeks following the Lunar New Year, which this year fell on February 16, 2018.
"Possessed" by local gods, elaborately dressed villagers in a fishing community in eastern China are carried into the surf to ensure an abundant catch, a centuries-old rite needed now more than ever as fish stocks decline. Staged in the village of Fuye on Nanri island, "The Dash of the Ocean Gods" festival is one of many visually striking traditional rituals held in Fujian province in the weeks following the Lunar New Year, which this year fell on February 16, 2018.
© Sputnik / Iliya PitalevAlexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin during a performance at the ice skating show "Olympic athletes Festival. Champions in Moscow"

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© Sputnik / Iliya Pitalev
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin during a performance at the ice skating show "Olympic athletes Festival. Champions in Moscow"
© AFP 2023 / Ronaldo SchemidtPeople shelter from fireworks before the traditional "torito" (little bull) made of paper, wood and fireworks during celebrations of San Juan de Dios in Tultepec on the outskirts of Mexico City, March 8, 2018.

People shelter from fireworks before the traditional "torito" (little bull) made of paper, wood and fireworks during celebrations of San Juan de Dios in Tultepec on the outskirts of Mexico City, March 8, 2018.
© REUTERS / Gleb GaranichRiot police detain anti-government protesters, as service members of the National Guard remove a protest tent camp, near the parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine March 3, 2018.

Riot police detain anti-government protesters, as service members of the National Guard remove a protest tent camp, near the parliament building in Kiev, Ukraine March 3, 2018.
© AFP 2023 / Anwar AmroModels present creations during a lingerie fashion show, which is part of the Ski and Fashion festival 2018, in the Lebanese ski resort of Faraya, north of Beirut, on March 4, 2018.

Models present creations during a lingerie fashion show, which is part of the Ski and Fashion festival 2018, in the Lebanese ski resort of Faraya, north of Beirut, on March 4, 2018.