Figure 1.--This portrait is an unidentified Russian boy. We do know when it was was taken, 1914-16. This of course places it in during World War I, at which time conditions in Russia were beginning to deteriorate. The boy is wearing a uniform. He is very young, about 12-13 years we would guess. We at first thought he might be in the Army, but as there are no insignia, he seems to be wearing his everydau clothes, probably with his school cap.

We have found a portrait of an unidentified boy, probably a Russian boy. We do not know where in the Russian Empire the portrait was taken. The lettering is in Russian (Cyrilic) and German. The photographer was German which might suggest the Baltics. We do know when it was was taken, although the lettering is difficult to read. We thought bit said 1914, but a reader tells us it was 1916. This of course places it in during World War I, at which time conditions in Russia were beginning to deteriorate. The boy is wearing a uniform. He is very young, about 12-13 years we would guess. Russian secondary students wore military-style uniforms, so he could be a student. The boots, however, have a defenite milirary look. We don't think thast they would have been worn by a middle-class bioy in Moscow or St. Petersburg, biut perhaps in a smaller city or town. A Russian reader twlls us, "It seems to me that the date in the lower right corner can be read as 'June, 1916', although it is faint really. Evidently it is not a uniform. In Tsarist Russia any uniform (military, school, etc) had its own marks, usually with letters or with the Emperor's monogram. There's no insigina on the belt, on the cap or on shoulders. This I think he is a student. The belt looks really strange to me. Except for the belt and this is a typical casual clothes for a boy from a rather wealthy, but not noble family, perhaps a small-shop owner in a small city or town. That's what I think, but I am not at all sure. On the back there're no information about where the portrait was taken." This seem to make sence. The cap is probably his school cap.

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Created: 5:24 AM 6/1/2011
Last updated: 5:24 AM 6/1/2011