TASS sums up 2020’s most significant moments in pictures

Russian Emergency Situations Ministry employees carrying out disinfection of Kiyevsky Railway Station amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in Moscow, May 18

An aerial view of believers observing social distancing in front of the Assumption Cathedral during a religious service in Kolomna, June 7

Employees in protective suits are seen during the funeral of a deceased COVID-19 patient at the Novoye Kolpinskoye cemetery in St Petersburg, May 6

A medical worker is sprayed with disinfectant at an entrance to the Clean Zone of a temporary hospital for COVID-19 patients at the Crocus Expo Exhibition Center, Moscow, May 25

A medical worker in an intensive care unit at a temporary medical facility established for COVID-19 patients at Moscow City Clinical Hospital No 15 (Filatov Hospital), June 1

US astronaut Christina Koch is seen after the landing of the space capsule of the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft carrying the ISS Expedition 61 crew members in a steppe, Kazakhstan, February 6

An industrial climber clearing ice from suspension cables on Zolotoy Bridge across the Golden Horn Bay to Russky Island, Vladivostok, December 6

Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft is seen from the International Space Station, October 14

A polar bear is seen at Leningrad Zoo, St Petersburg, February 27

The burning of a large dead wood bridge made by performance artist Oleg Zhukovsky and his theatre La Pushkin, as part of the Maslenitsa celebrations at the Nikola-Lenivets Art Park, Kaluga region, February 29

A man and a child dip in waters of the Neva River during Epiphany celebrations, St Petersburg, January 19

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev are seen ahead of a meeting with Russian government members, their collective resignation announced, Moscow, January 15

Examining board member Taras Belousov is pictured behind a screen during entrance auditions for the Acting Department of the Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS), Moscow, July 1

Pianist Denis Matsuev performing during a live broadcast from the empty Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Moscow, March 20

A man in protective gear disinfecting a train car at the Yerevan Metro, Yerevan, March 14

Road traffic on Trinity Bridge over the Neva River, St Petersburg, February 5

A patient at an intensive care unit of the COVID-19 treatment facility at Vinogradov City Clinical Hospital No 64, Moscow, April 28

A worker cutting a tree, against the background of the Worker and Kolkhoz Woman monument, Moscow, April 9

Boys watching Msta-S self-propelled howitzers passing by during a rehearsal of a military parade marking the 75th anniversary of the victory in World War II, April 14

Women selling Orthodox icons amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Moscow, March 22

An Orthodox believer is seen at the entrance to the Transfiguration Church in Bolvanovka on the eve of Easter, Moscow, April 18

WWII veteran Grigory Bashkatov, 92, dancing during a celebration on Victory Day marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Stavropol, May 9

Mi-8 helicopters flying over central Moscow during the dress rehearsal of the Victory Day air show marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Moscow, June 20

Stand up paddle boarders taking part in the 2020 Fontanka-SUP surfing festival on the Fontanka River, St Petersburg, August 8

An army conscript has his eyes checked while undergoing a medical examination at a regional recruiting office ahead of his departure to Ivanovo Severny air base for service in the Russian Aerospace Forces, Ivanovo, May 20

Sukhoi fighter jets of Lipetsk Aviation Centre flying in formation over Moscow's Bolshaya Dmitrovskaya Street during a Victory Day air show marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, May 9

An honour guard is seen at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Moscow Kremlin, May 5

Patients are seen at a temporary medical facility set up at the Krylatskoye Ice Palace to treat COVID-19, Moscow, November 23

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia with a miracle-working icon of the Mother of God circles Moscow in a car for the deliverance from the COVID-19 pandemic, April 3

Russia's President Vladimir Putin visiting a polling station at the Russian Academy of Sciences to vote in the 2020 Russian constitutional referendum, a national vote on proposed amendments to the Russian constitution, Moscow, July 1

A manul cat with a two-month-old kitten at Novosibirsk Zoo, July 27

A bus with Zenit St Petersburg's players moving along Nevsky Avenue after their 2019/2020 Russian Premier League Round 27 football match against FC Sochi, St Petersburg, July 8. FC Zenit St Petersburg won FC Krasnodar 4-2, claiming the title of the Russian football champion four rounds before the actual final

The towers of Russky Bridge are seen over the fog covered Vladivostok, May 26

Participants in the Fun night race (20km) as part of the L'Etape Moscow by Tour de France in central Moscow, September 5

A live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual address to Russian Federal Assembly, seen on the screen of Leader Tower, St Petersburg, January 15

A young girl drinking from a large snifter during a graduation ceremony at the Margelov Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne Command School, Ryazan, May 9

An aerial view of Norilsk, June 6

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko planting young trees in Pripyatsky National Park in southern Belarus, April 25

A lion cub seen in an enclosure at a safari zoo in Nadezhdinsky District, Primorye territory, May 14

Law enforcement officers detaining a participant in the Bright March for Women’s Solidarity opposition event, Minsk, September 19

Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko making the V-signs during a rally of his supporters in Independence Square, Minsk, August 16

Demonstrators protesting against the end of war in Nagorno Karabakh break into the building housing the residence of the Armenian prime minister and government offices in Yerevan, November 10

Paralympic athlete Alexei Talai is pictured during a swimming pool training session, Minsk, July 27

Northern Lights, or Aurora borealis, is seen in the sky over Mount Lisya, Murmansk region, February 19

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is seen during his visit to the Center of Martial Arts sports school in Cherepovets, February 4

A 2020 Rugby Europe Championship match between the men’s teams of Russia and Spain at Fish Stadium, Sochi, February 1

Rescuers working at the site of an explosion in the city port of Beirut, August 6

A missile fragment of a BM-30 Smerch rocket by the Mingachevir Hydro Power Station, Azerbaijan, October 5

People attending a ceremony to open an exhibition titled "Salvador Dali. The Magic Art" at the Moscow Manege Central Exhibition Hall, January 27

Fireworks marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Moscow, May 9