31 Imperial Russia Photos That Reveal History In Stunning Color

Published December 9, 2014
Updated December 22, 2021

These haunting color images of Imperial Russia show a world on the verge of revolution and about to change forever.

Imperial Russia In Color
Leo Tolstoy
Imperial Russia In Color Girls
Photos Of Imperial Russia
31 Imperial Russia Photos That Reveal History In Stunning Color
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Imperial Russia, one of the largest empires that the world has ever seen, thrived from 1720 all the way until 1917. It stretched across three continents, encompassed diverse lands and people, and crushed Napoleon when he was reckless enough to attempt to conquer it.

But, ultimately, the Russian Revolution of 1917 would put an end to Imperial Russia, bringing a long era of history to a close. During the imperial period, Russia had waged wars, conquered surrounding lands, and produced some of the most well-known, and highly feared, monarchs in modern history.

Leaders like Catherine the Great and Tsar Alexander II brought Imperial Russia to the forefront of global power and helped shape history in ways that can still be felt today. However, at the same time, these monarchs presided over a system that kept many in poverty, put upon by a system that propped up a fortunate few.

Finally, in 1917, two revolutions dismantled the monarchy, swept the communist Bolsheviks into power, and closed the book on the Russian Empire. Soon, much of what existed before the revolution would be no more.

But not long before everything changed, two photographers, Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky and Piotr Vedenisov, managed to capture life as it was lived by the people of Russia before the revolution — and they did it in full color.

These photos show farmers, families, houses, places of worship, and altogether reveal a Russian way of life that would soon be lost to history. See some of the most stunning and eye-opening color photos that Produkin-Gorsky and Vedenisov ever took in the gallery above.


For more of Russia in color, check out this video montage that features Gorsky and Vedenisov's handiwork:


After this look at Imperial Russia, see more stunning photos of the Russian Empire as well as some powerful pictures of the Russian Revolution.

author
Susan Sims
author
When she's not fighting crime or cleaning the garbage disposal, you can find Susan writing about travel, science and things that go bump in the night.
editor
Leah Silverman
editor
A former associate editor for All That's Interesting, Leah Silverman holds a Master's in Fine Arts from Columbia University's Creative Writing Program and her work has appeared in Catapult, Town & Country, Women's Health, and Publishers Weekly.