National Geographic's Best of 2016

National Geographic Magazine just published a gallery of their 52 best photographs of 2016. The images were selected from 107 stories by 91 photographers and out of over two million photographs. Gerd Ludwig’s opening image of his recent story, The Putin Generation, published in the December issue of the National Geographic Magazine leads the selection.

It shows Kirill as he perches on a cornice in Moscow while his friend Dima gets the shot. The 24-year-olds are prominent members of the city's death-defying "roofer" community, also called skywalkers. They scale Russia’s highest buildings, without safety gear, often entering illegally, bypassing security and using whatever tools necessary to reach their destinations.

You can see the full gallery here.

To see more images from the Putin Generation click here.