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“The Motives of Russian Architecture” was a magazine published in St. Petersburg from 1873 to 1880. It published projects of residential buildings, public buildings, furniture and decor created by followers of the Russian style. The goal of this movement was to revive the techniques and motifs of old Russian architecture.

After a series of European revolutions in 1848-1849, known as the Spring of Nations, the middle class was quickly becoming rich. They strived to have luxurious and rich interiors. Workshops and factories producing furniture and interior items tried to please wealthy customers. This is how a very magnificent movement in art and architecture arose, reviving the traditions and features of earlier eras of Russian style. Source: humus.

The motives of Russian architecture in 1873-1880, picture 1

real Russian fairy tale

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Sep/23

24

Color photos of Suzdal in 1912

Suzdal is a small town-reserve with a population of about 9,300 people located in the northern part of Vladimir Oblast in the center of the European Russia. It is one of the oldest towns in the country, first mentioned in written sources about 1,000 years ago.

Let’s see what Suzdal looked like in the relatively recent past, in the last years of the Russian Empire. In 1912, it was visited by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky, a Russian chemist and photographer known for his pioneering work in color photography. At that time, the population of Suzdal was about 7,700 people. Photos by: Open research project “The Legacy of S.M. Prokudin-Gorsky”.

General view of Suzdal.

Suzdal, Russia in color in 1912, photo 1

back to the past

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Aug/23

25

St. Petersburg in the 1850s

Joseph Daziaro (1806-1865) came to the Russian Empire from Italy in the early 1820s. He opened a publishing business and specialized in the sale of lithograph prints. His firm can be called the first private publishing house of printed artistic graphics in Russia.

By the beginning of the 1830s, he had 2 shops in Moscow. In 1849, he became the owner of a shop in St. Petersburg. Let’s look at his lithographs united under the title “Memories of St. Petersburg” (“Souvenir de St. Petersbourge”). They were mostly made from drawings by the Charlemagne brothers: Josif Charlemagne (1824-1870) and Adolf Charlemagne (1826-1901). Source: aldusku.

Dvortsovy (Palace) Bridge.

St. Petersburg in the 1850s in Daziaro lithographs, Russia, picture 1

back to the past

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The period from 1853 to 1917 was the most interesting period in the development of the Russian Navy. After the Crimean War of 1853-1855, steam Navy began to develop rapidly. By the end of the 1850s, the Russian fleet started to operate in the oceans.

During the second half of the 19th century, the Russian Empire created a modern for that time armored fleet. In the early 20th century, the country had the third largest fleet in the world. On these photos made in this period you can see the battleships of this once mighty fleet.

The Russian Imperial Fleet battleship photo 1

historical photos of the Russian Imperial Fleet

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Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky (1839-1915) was one of the most popular and influential Russian artists at the end of the 19th century. A lot of his paintings show an idealized view of life in Russia in the past centuries.

The portrait genre occupied a special place in the artist’s work. Largely thanks to it, he achieved success. His paintings are known for beautifully painted furniture, clothes, expensive fabrics and furs. The artist tried to show the person being portrayed in the most favorable light, while maintaining an exact likeness.

Russian beauty, Konstantin Makovsky painting 1

beautiful portraits

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The Circum-Baikal Railway is the name used during the construction (1899-1905) and in the first years of operation of the 260 km section of the Trans-Baikal Railway. Today, this is a dead end section of Slyudyanka IIBaikal, 89 kilometers long. It is located about 70 km south of Irkutsk and runs along the shore of Lake Baikal.

This railroad has no equal in Russia by the number of engineering structures. Its tunnels and stone galleries are unique. Built according to non-standard projects, they were not rebuilt in subsequent years, retaining the original plan of architects and engineers of the early 20th century. Photos by: Mikhail Tilpunov.

Steam Locomotive of the Circum-Baikal Railway, Russia, photo 1

amazing train ride

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The anthropological album “Russians” by Anatoly Petrovich Bogdanov and Matthias Zikov was published in 15 copies in Moscow in 1867. Source

Abram Gavrilov, Svishchevo village, Uglich district, Yaroslavl Governorate (37 years old).

Anthropological album "Russians" published in 1867, photo 1

Russians in 1867

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Vasilyevsky Castle (also known as Shcherbatovsky Castle) is located in the village of the sanatorium named after Alexander Herzen in Moscow Oblast, about 65 west of the center of Moscow.

It was built by the architect Peter Boitsov by order of Prince Alexander Shcherbatov in the right-bank part of his estate in 1881. Vasilyevsky (Shcherbatovsky) Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

Vasilyevsky (Shcherbatovsky) Castle in Moscow Oblast, Russia, photo 1

beautiful brick castle-estate

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Volodarsk is a small town with a population of about 10 thousand people located in Nizhegorodskaya Oblast, about 60 km west of Nizhny Novgorod. In most cases, the main tourist attraction of small Russian towns is the local museum of local lore and Volodarsk is no exception.

However, the museum in Volodarsk occupies a unique wooden building known as “Nikolai Bugrov’s Summer Dacha” – one of the few surviving houses of similar architecture in the European part of Russia. Photos by: Anna Sukhareva and Yaroslav Gunin.

Nikolai Bugrov Summer Dacha in Volodarsk, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, photo 1

amazing wooden house

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The Brianchaninovs’ Estate is a noble estate of the early 19th century located in the village of Pokrovskoye in Vologda Oblast, about 25 km south of Vologda. Built in the style of early classicism, it is a historical and cultural monument of federal significance and a monument of landscape gardening art of regional significance.

The estate includes the main house with wings and galleries (1809-1810), the Church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (1811), the Brianchaninovs’ necropolis (the 19th century), a park with a pond (the early 19th century), a stable (the second half of the 19th century), and a cellar (the second half of the 19th century). The Brianchaninovs’ Estate on Google Maps. Photos by: Alexandr Lipilin.

The Brianchaninovs Estate, Vologda Oblast, Russia, photo 1

beautiful preserved noble estate

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