Figure 1.--This Prokudin-Gorskii image was identified as a settler's farm. We are not entirely sure what that meant. Agriculture in Tsarist Russia was dominated by huge estates with agricultural laborors descended from the serfs who were emancipated (1861). Settler here might mean a former serf who moved east and set up a small farm. The photograph would have been taken around 1910. Click on the image for more information.

Tsarist photographer Prokudin-Gorskii in the early 20th century produced beautiful color images. His color phothographs provide vibrant images of the last years of the Tsaeist Empire. Thankfully for modern historians, his choice of subjects was ecletic. We see a mixture of old Russia as well as images of an emerging industrial power. We see medieval churches and monasteries as well as the railroads and new factories of an emerging industrial state. Most engagingly are the images of the people of the Tsarist Russia. And Prokudin-Gorskii did not just photograph Russians, but the many ethnicities of the emense Tsarist Empire. And most surprisingly--all in brilliant color images. Prokudin-Gorskii came up with a project to compile a photogeaphic inventory of the Tsar's Empire and diverse subjects. And thankfully, Tsar Nicholas II approved and funded the project. Thus Prokudin-Gorskii took a huge number of images (1909-1912 and 1915). He worked in eleven regions. Financed by the Tsar, he traveled in a well equipped railroad car provided by the Ministry of Transportation. Given the complexity of his color process, he needed the railroad car. After the Revolution, given his connections with the Tsar, Prokudin-Gorskii was forced to leave Russia (1918). He managed to reach Norway and England and finally settling in France. The Tsar was executed (1918) and the Blosheviks rapidly moving to destroy the Tsaeist world that he recorded on glass plates. Eventually the United States Library of Congress purchased his photographic collection (1948). One example is Jewish boys in Samarkand taken in 1911. While the results were stunning, the process was still too complicated for a viable commercial purposes. The sad thing is that the color photographs viewed in the early-20h century were not seen as good as we see them today. The principal draw back was the cuumbersome printing process. Each plate took 7 hours to process.

Color Process

Tsarist photographer Prokudin-Gorskii in the early 20th century produced beautiful color images. While the results were stunning, the process was still too complicated for a viable commercial purposes. The sad thing is that the color photographs viewed in the early-20h century were not seen as good as we see them today. The principal draw back was the cuumbersome printing process. Each plate took 7 hours to process.

Biography

After the Revolution, given his connections with the Tsar, Prokudin-Gorskii was forced to leave Russia (1918). He managed to reach Norway and England and finally settling in France. The Tsae was executed (1918) and the Blosheviks rapidly moving to destroy the Tsaeist world that he recorded on glass plates. Eventually the United States Library of Congress purchased his photographic collection (1948).

Tsarist Photographic Project

His color phothographs provide vibrant images of the last years of the Tsaeist Empire. Prokudin-Gorskii came up with a project to compile a photogeaphic inventory of the Tsar's Empire and diverse subjects. And thankfully, Tsar Nicholas II approved and funded the project. Thus Prokudin-Gorskii took a huge number of images (1909-1912 and 1915). He worked in eleven regions. Financed by the Tsae, he traveled in a well equipped railroad car provided by the Ministry of Transportation. Given the complexity of his color process, he needed the railroad car. Thankfully for modern historians, his choice of subjects was ecletic. We see a mixture of old Russia as well as images of an emerging industrial power. We see medieval churches and monasteries as well as the railroads and new factories of an emerging industrial state. Most engagingly are the images of the people of the Tsaeist Russia. And Prokudin-Gorskii did not just photograph Russians, but the many ethnicities of the emense Tsarist Empire. And most surprisingly--all in brilliant color images.

Jewish boys in Samarkand

One example is Jewish boys in Samarkand, modern Uzbeckistan. The photograph was taken in 1911. - The famed Czarist Prokudin-Gorskii in 1911 captured a remarable image of a group of Jewish boys, in traditional dress, studying with their teacher in Samarkand.

Russian fire fighters

Here we see volunteer fire fighters in an unidentified Russian town. Note the karge wooden buildings. The fire fifgters look to be adult men, but one boy was involved. He is wearing a black unifirm. Put your cursor on the image to see the entire group. This is an impage taken by Prokudin-Gorskii. about 1910

Mineral spring resort in Georgia

This is a mineral water spring in Borzhomi which was located in Georgia. There were hotels located in Borzhomi for those desiring to enjoy the springs. Borzhomi mineral water is marketed in modern Russia. Notice the boy in the military cap and belted white tunic. This was presumably a school uniform. Another boy to the left also wears a belted tunic. The photograph was taken by Prokudin-Gorskii about 1910.

Kurdish family

This Prokudin-Gorskii photograph shows a Kurdish family about 1910. The Kurds at the time ingabited an area encompassing modern Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Azerbaijan. Azernaigan was at the time part of the Tsarust Empire. We are not sure precisely whre this photograph was taken. Thecfamily looks to be a nomadic hearding family.

Russian settler family

This Prokudin-Gorskii image was identified as a settler's farm (figure 1). We are not entirely sure what that meant. Agriculture in Tsarist Russia was dominated by huge estates with agricultural laborors descended from the serfs who were emancipated (1861). Settler here might mean a former serf who moved east and set up a small farm. The photograph would have been taken around 1910.

Uzbeck family in Hungrstan

The many central Asiatic peoples (Kirghiz, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, and others) had a nomadic life style on the on the great steppe. They migrated seasonally seeking the best opportunities for food, water, and shelter. Often this mean the best grazing conditions for their livestock. Prokudin-Gorskii describes a region called Hungrstan or the Hungry Steppe. It is also called the Golodnaya Steppe and today Mirzachül Steppe. This is a vast semi-arid greassland located im what is now Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Since the Prokudin-Gorskii images were taken, the area has experienced severe desertification, in large measure due to Soviet agricultural and environmental policies aimed at increasing agricultural production by cultivating marginal land. The Hungary/Golodnaya Steppe is a huge valley sloping from the foothills of the Turkestan Range north to Syrdarya River. Until the 20th century, isolated wells provided the only source of water. This severely limited agricultural and the primary economic use was low-intensity nomadic hearding. Some limited irrigation was inroduced in the late-Tsarist era. Prokudin-Gorskii took photographs of the nomadic hearding people. Here we see the traditional dress, jewelry, and hairstyle of an Uzbek family group sitting on a beautiful woven carpet in front of their yurt, a kind of portable tent. The basic yurt design was commonly used by the nomadic peoples of Central Asia. The Tsarist Government conquered Turkestan and other areas of central Asia in the mid-19th century. This brought them in contact with the British in India ahnd was the beginning of the Great Game as the British called it. The Tsarist Government pressed the nomadic people of thesteppe to change their lifestyle and to settle in villages, towns, and cities so they could be more controlled.

Created: 7:09 PM 4/14/2009
Last updated: 1:02 AM 7/6/2019