The photos were taken in Moscow in the beginning of the 20th century before the Revolution.
Coronation, organizing of feast for people.
Savior of the Apple Feast Day.
Procession of the Cross.
Market.
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
A big Sunday market.
Fur trade, clothes for men, women and children.
The market of vegetables.
The Rumyantsev Museum.
The Archangel’s Cathedral.
The Moscow river and Kremlin in winter.
The warehouse of count Garrakh crystal factory.
Location: Moscow
via humus
Before the Revolution: 17th Century. After the Revolution: 20th Century.
Indeed. The 20th century, with all its brutal mayhem and technologically-assisted horror and repression. The age of concrete walls lined with machine guns and the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. The days of psychiatric hospitals designed and ready for those who saw anything wrong with Communism.
I’ll take the days in these pictures over those any time. It was a beautiful and elegant age, that didn’t deserve to die the way it did.
Question for Radio Yerevan: Shall we have enough bread and butter after Communism wins?
Answer: Yes, everything will be as good as it was during the Czar´s rule.
That (communist) horizon just won’t stand still, eh?
So this way looked Moscow, when Russia was healthy, happy and powerful.
Unfortunately, Russia was never really healthy or particularly happy after Ivan the Terrible. His Oprichnina created a wound in Russia that festers until the present day and as a tyrant he set an example a lot of czars and chairmans would follow. If you’re interested in the exact historical process, I recommend reading The Origins of Autocracy by Alexander Yanov. It is here for free: http://books.google.fi/books?id=HA423-LLsv4C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
These pictures, while presenting a reality much better than the one that followed after the revolution, do not depict a population as happy as one might suspect. The Russian peasants and workers were the poorest in Europe and the worst treated, which led to the revolution. If you’re interested, I recommend reading A People’s Tragedy by Orlando Figes: http://www.amazon.com/Peoples-Tragedy-Russian-Revolution-1891-1924/dp/014024364X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1331452484&sr=8-1
Nobody is perfect, an everybody have to deal with his own black dogs.
And the russian peasants maybe were the poorest but they lived better than western farmers. Almost all testimonies from the XIX century says that.
And you know better than me that revolution started because of the occult circles and was financed with banksters gold.
with a cost of many lives in the decades afterwards.
Better to live in 17th century than being dead in the 20th
Well, if you lived in the 17th century, you would be dead in the 20th.
The important thing is critical judgment. This is the 21st century. You look at pics of the 18th & 19th and IMAGINE what life was like. The reality would surprise you. People were happy in their own little world, worrying about their own problems. Larger geo-political movements and interests were beyond the regular person. Even into the late ’40s, political niceties weren’t understood by the average citizen. The post-WW2 anti-Soviet rhetoric put many people in shock. In the matter of a few months, the Soviets went from being our ally against Hitler to being our cold-war enemy. We look at the past, already knowing what will happen. Then we criticize those who lived through those events because we know what happens next. Instead, we should use critical judgment to recreate the time in question. Forget what we know WILL happen & look at what the residents think MIGHT happen. How would a person at that time and place judge current events.
In short, it’s easier to judge the past than the future.
I do not understand the picture with people having a picnic right on the grave – 5th from the bottom. Maybe some Orthodox tradition?
It must be Easter. Such a tradition. To bring easter cakes,sweets to someone whos not with us.
It’s old tradition “Saturday of Souls”. Older persons can spend all the day in cemetery. You can learn more here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_of_Souls
http://www.wineterroirs.com/2009/10/cemetery_booze.html
http://theeasternbell.blogspot.com/2008/05/spring-cleaning.html
Communism destroyed the entire Russia people and country.
Just cause you say so, doesn’t necessarily mean it becomes true, Mercal.
Take my advice and go see a shrink.
Your advice is a nice illustration of how communism works: if you don’t agree with me, you surely must be insane and must be treated as such.
Just take a good look at all of Mercals previous comments, and you might notice just a little bit of what most people call, Russophobia.
But wait, you didn’t agree with me, so OBVIOULSY you are a hater, you are insane, and you must die for that. Happy??!
your comment is also a nice illustration of a retort commonly used by russia-haters; blame communism for everything.
If communism is not applicable, then blame Putin. If that doesn’t work, claim it to be typical Russian mentality or thinking or whatever.
Mercal people like you are a horrible and destructive part of the human race.
Are you really stupid enough to believe your continual negative criticism will do the world any good.