Supporters of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) - a bloc of government opposition parties - gathered in Yerevan's Liberty Square to celebrate the release of newspaper editor Nikol Pashinian and former parliament member Sasun Mikaelian. The two were serving prison sentences following the March 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan. During the rally, Pashinian called for snap parliamentary and presidential elections in the Caucasus country.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
Heydar Aliyev, the former president of Azerbaijan, would have turned 88 years old on May 10. So naturally, the government pulled out all the stops. Like last year, thousands of flowers from 50 countries literally covered the park between the Heydar Aliyev Palace and the statue of Heydar Aliyev as two hot air balloons were inflated in front of the giant flower mosaic of Heydar Aliyev (pictured here), ensuring that his unmistakable Kremlin-Mona-Lisa smile would soar above the city already covered by his portraits.
Vladic Ravich is a freelance photojournalist based in Turkey.
Almaty, the cultural and business center of Kazakhstan, celebrated the spring festival Navruz throughout the city, including a series of concerts attracting thousands of residents and tourists to Astana Square in front of the old parliament building. With balloons for sale by the hundreds, village elders dressed in traditional Kazakh costumes and games of tug-a-war in the crowd, groups of musicians and dancers representing various ethnic and national groups, including Chechen, Cossack, Azeri and Russian, performed throughout the day.
Others gathered in front of the old Academy of Sciences building for camel rides and traditional food including plov (rice pilaf), baursaki (fried dough), shashlik (skewers of grilled mutton) and nauriz köje (yogurt soup made with seven ingredients).
At Republic Square, families strolled with children, admiring the statues dedicated to famous Kazakhs or placing their hands into a bronze book containing the palm print of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and the phrase "Choose and Be Happy." On the top of Kok-Tobe, reached by a cable car from the city, couples embraced on terraces with views across the hazy city as the sun set for the day.
Inside a container truck a butcher slices and chops cuts of pork to be sold at an outdoor stall at a market in front of the old Kazakh parliament building in Almaty on March 19.
Members of Armenia's ruling Prosperous Armenia Party hand out roses to women on the streets of the capital Yerevan in recognition of International Women's Day.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
Armenians celebrate St. Sargis' day on Feb. 19 in Yerevan's St. Sargis church and in the city's Lover's Park. St. Sargis Day is celebrated on a Saturday sometime around 63 days before Easter and marks the feast day of St. Sargis, the patron saint of young love. Unmarried Armenian women eat a piece of salty bread, ideally after fasting all day, in the hope of dreaming about their future husband. Tradition says the man who brings them water in the dream will be the man they marry.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
Armenians in the city of Echmiadzin celebrate Trndez, an orthodox ceremony of purification in the Armenian Catholic Church and the Apostolic Church. The celebration, dating from pre-Christian times, involves people jumping over fires and coals and usually begins the evening of Feb. 13.
Anahit Hayrapetyan is a freelance photojournalist based in Yerevan.
