67 Old Colorized Photos Reveal The Life Of Russian People Between 1900-1965
We at Bored Panda love to see history come alive, which is why we think you'll also like this series of colorized photos by Russian Flickr user klimbims. Historical life in Russia reads like a novel--which may be why it has been the subject of so many novels--and these vintage photos bring that forgotten way of life into the modern age.
If you like these interesting photos, be sure to also check out Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky's Russian color channel photography for another old-school way for photo restoration. But first, don't forget to vote on your favorite old photos below!
More info: flickr (h/t: designyoutrust)
This post may include affiliate links.
Family Nicholas Ii Of Russia, 1914
Russian czar's family. Very sad story. They were all brutally murdered in their basement shortly after the revolution in 1917.
Superbly done! The women especially. Difficult to believe this is colorized.
Load More Replies...The majority of the comments show no deep knowledge of Nicholas and his family. Educate yourselves, why don't you? Nick was a weak ruler with no real knowledge of politics thanks to his father's miscalculation. But his wife and daughters did great work to help the poor. They did their best and didn't deserve to be slaughtered the way they were.
People who are commenting negative and brutal s**t on the Czar family are a bunch of Rusophobic brats who couldn't be bothered to read some Russian history before righting their embarrassing comments! Russian rulers were always known to be the most educated rulers in Europe and never did anything worse than other monarchs. Go read your own history before disrespecting dead people who were true royals and whose ancestors have rules and built a great Empire! But I bet you'd rather watch Fox News channels and Keeping Up with Kardashians! #disgusted
Yup. She's sitting just to the right of her father.
Load More Replies...A beautiful family destroyed for nothing, look at that country now and what is in charge of it, I wonder if he has had his morning dose of white powder up his nose yet.
A Super hot family starts out with a Super Hot emperor Nickolas li his Royal Highness and his beautiful empress could only produce A hot Prince future hot Emperor & gorges Princesses Their end horrible !!! meaning no disgrace to This hot Royal CZAR Nickolas I wish I were his Queen always ready & willing to be used sexually by this CZAR, not one leader today is as hot as Nickolas li
Anyone notice the hand on "Sid's" shoulder?? Everyone else has their hands in their laps!
Grand Duchess Maria Of Russia, 1906
Extraordinary Art. Yes, indeed, I you are the greatest of today's artist.
Lovely child. She looks like a beautiful model in the simple terms in this country.
Russian Sniper Roza Shanina
One just has to wonder what happened to this woman after the murders.
28 января 1945 года Роза Шанина скончалась от ран, полученных накануне во время прикрытия 28 января 1945 года Роза Шанина скончалась от ран, полученных накануне во время прикрытия тяжелораненого командира артиллерийского подразделения.
Load More Replies...Lyudmila Pavlichenko. Soviet Sniper During World War II. Credited With 309 Kills, She Is Regarded As The Most Successful Female Sniper In History, 1940
Bonny looking lassy, would not like to pick an argument with her while she is holding that snipers rifle.
1940, before Operation Barbarossa and the Nazi invasion. I wonder if she had any idea what was coming.
I wonder what she thought later in life about three hundred dead at her hands, even though it was war.
Yuri Gagarin With His Matra Bonnet Djet Vs Coupe, 1965
It was the only car like that in the entire country. You had to be super famous to own something like this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_the_Conquerors_of_Space
Load More Replies...A very brave lad, not only for going into space but for driving one of those cars.
The First Passengers Of The Moscow Metro, 1935
Yes but look at the state of it now, These are the first Russians I have ever seen smiling.
Well, the Western Media always shows Russians as mafia, killers, prostitutes or some other angry people. Nothing better to be expected. USSR was a happy place. Every family has photos with smiling people, not sad or oppressed.
Load More Replies...Leonardo DiCaprio's partly Russian. He's got a maternal Russian grandma and its shows! The revenant
Load More Replies...Gymnasium Girls, Imperial Russia, 1900-1917
They are so pretty. The girl on the left is hiding a smile, but you can see it slightly.
Little do they know that their privilege will be gone in four years and they could be working in factories or sent to do farmwork by the Reds. Their parents could be killed because of their class level or sent to Siberia. Their property would be taken and community living will begin!
Their faces look like the flawless make-up ads of today...but not really real.
Russian girl initially most beautiful. Their ancestors are not burned at the stake in the Middle Ages because they are beautiful.
Load More Replies...The Four Romanov Daughters With Their Mother Tsarina Alexandra, 1913
Is it just me, but the second girl from the left looks like Sid from Ice Age :D
Who's hand is on "Sid's" shoulder?? Everyone else have their hands in their laps!
Sid's left hand is in her sister's lap, whose right hand is on Sid's shoulder. Buy yourself a new eyes!!!!
Load More Replies...Pic #4 and # 7 must have been taken on the same day... but captions give us 365 days difference... all in all beautiful pics.
isnt that TsariTSa Aleksandra? Tsaritsa should stand for "queen" in Russian.
That would be in Russian. In English its "Tsarina".
Load More Replies...Amazing work of art, my absolutely respect to the artist and the love of her roots, she brings the Russian History to life. Amazing.
That second girl from the left also has a hand on her shoulder that obviously is not hers. Khe khe )))
Worker And Supervisor, Car Factory, Moscow, 1954
"I'm sorry but you're too slow and you are sentenced to five years in Siberia".
The bright red is fun but in real world it would have been something more grey demure or dark blue. The whole spirit would have been lost, as it was in bleak Soviet reality.
Nope, guy looks like every healthy man should, no office, no gym, only hard work.
Load More Replies...Russian Family, Ekaterinburg Region, Siberia In The Late 19th Century
Looks like they were trying for a daughter... Reminds me of my grandparents' pictures
I think the daughter is on the right side. The mother is behind the father.
Load More Replies...Нису учили географију, западни идиоти. Поздрав брату из Бањалуке, из Републике Српске!
Load More Replies...If this patriarch was anything like Tolstoy he probably had a lot more children, even those he didn't know about. I wonder if the mother deliberately hid herself from the photographer. Could be!
I wonder how many of the sons survived revolution, world wars and party communism
Must have been a very difficult life for them. You did a fantastic job on the woman's blouse!!
actually they were probably catholic and didn't believe in any kind of birth control. Back then, a son would have been considered more important than a daughter. Wonderful job on the color!
There are no Catholics in Russia! It is Orthodox Church. And like everywhere else in the world, in the harder regions families were always big, and lots of sons just meant more help at the family farm/ship yard/etc.
Load More Replies...Yekaterina Ryabova, Russian Military Pilot, Heroine Of The Soviet Army, 1945
Most of their female pilots are better than their male counterparts even now.
Jose Raul Capablanca Vs Alexander Alekhine, 1913
Possibly one of the aristocrats with his Germanic features. Not a true Slav.
slavs have a vairty of looks they can even look german or central/east asian.. you have a vary narrow idea of "slav looks"
Load More Replies...Guy on the far left is intriguing... The fellow on the far left is intriguing...
Soldier Waves A Soviet Flag, Berlin, 1945
A good lesson to anyone who plans to f**k with and invade Russia! We will be putting our flags in their capitals!
Who comes to us with a sword - the sword shall perish )) Ага
Load More Replies...Historically there were 2 people on this photo, soviets removed the second one for some reason
In May 1945, 30 soldiers were presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for raising the Victory Banner over the Reichstag, including reconnaissance soldiers: Lieutenant Semyon Sorokin, which included Sergeant VN Provorotov (party organizer platoon), Sergeant I. Lysenko, ordinary GP Bulatov, SG nuts, P. D . Bryukhovetsky, MA Pachkovsky, MS Gabidullin, Sankin N. and P. Long.
Load More Replies...Lydia Litvyak During The World War I, 1941
Lydia Vladimirovna Litvyak (Лидия Владимировна Литвяк, (August 18, 1921 in Moscow – August 1, 1943 in Krasnyi Luch[1]), also known as Lydia Litviak or Lilya Litviak, was a fighter pilot in the Soviet Air Force during World War II. With twelve solo victories[2][3] and four[4] shared kills over a total of 66 combat missions,[5] over about two years of missions, she was the first female fighter pilot to shoot down an enemy plane, the first of two female fighter pilots who have earned the title of fighter ace, and the holder of the record for the greatest number of kills by a female fighter pilot. She was shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk as she attacked a formation of German planes.
EDITOR MUST BE FIRED, Soviet Pilot during World War I ... Such mistake is inacceptable.
102nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, 1943
Handsome boys! So sad that so many of them wouldnt come back from the war! :'(
Soviet Athletes In Moscow, 1937
Hitler got a lot of his ideas from Russia. A National Socialist idea of fitness
A Man With A Group Of Russian Children, 1940
Most likely he is... Most likely those are "happy children" whose parents were repressed.
I think those are children of ex communist or other that lost their lives in Stalin purges...
I can't even fathom how many children were left orphaned after 5 long years of Purging. It's just hard to imagine
Load More Replies...The orphan Annies of ussr sing "it's a hard luck life" to Russian prison music
They must have been from an orphanage since they are dressed alike and seem very poor.
Nicholas II Of Russia In The Uniform Of The Life-guards 4th The Imperial Family’s Rifle Regiment, 1912
не платок, а горлышко от обычной русской рубахи :)
Load More Replies...Russian Wrestler Karl Pospischil, 1912
That is why is great to live in Europe in the 1912 and 2017! Not that much criticism!
Mikhail Bulgakov, 1928
Russian Soldiers In Berlin 1945
Must have been a victorious feeling! There's even a woman in the combat squad. So ahead of the Yanks
it must be "soviet soldiers". there were of all nationalities and republics of ex-ussr in that dreadful war.
If you replaced their guns with phones they would all be taking selfies... If you replaced their guns with phones they would all be taking selfies...
One you are beautiful and right left. Do not judge and you will untried
Load More Replies...No, not "most of them was georgian". Most of 'em were Russian. Even Georgians were Russian soldiers, like it or not. И если ты забыл своих предков и их подвиг- молчал бы лучше, не позорил фамилию. Солдаты СССР, блять. В основном грузины... #ДБ
Load More Replies...Anti Tank Artilery, 1940s
Romanov Sisters And Their Mother Tsarina Alexandra Working In A Military Hospital During Worl War I
Сестры милосердия. Императрица Александра Федоровна (в центре), великие княжны Ольга и Татьяна Сестры милосердия. Императрица Александра Федоровна (в центре), великие княжны Ольга и Татьяна Николаевны и А.А. Вырубова (крайняя слева).
Never heard of a worl war either... you stupid fucktard.....
Load More Replies...Good job on color. WWI went from 1914 to 1918, and the Romanovs were killed in 1918. Wonder if this was for publicity or if they really worked...and if they did work, why were they so out of touch with their people.
The Romanov women really did do hospital work. This was not a publicity shot.
Load More Replies...Soviet Sniper Semyon Nomokonov With His Famous Smoking Pipe, 1942
many russians are asiatic in appearance, what in gods name are you talking about.. you are so ignorant.. russia from its start was already made up of partially north asian finno-ugric people.. the slavs were mixed with scythians who had asiatic ancestry.. your ignorance is embarrassing. also he is RUSSIAN not tajik or uzbek, he is from siberia.. but even in western russia there are many asiatic looking people and full asiatic looking ethnic groups... also racial feelings? you think "slavs" have any racial feelings for germans no matter what they look like?
Load More Replies...Saint John Of Kronstadt
Nope, St. Petersbug - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronstadt
Load More Replies...You guys should google and visit Kronshtadt! Beautiful place with an amazing Cathedral!
He was able to regrow his foreskin after multiple bris.
Load More Replies...Maria Dolina, Hero Pilot Of The Soviet Union, 1945
Tank Driver Mikhail Smirnov, 1944
Reaper, 1914
isn't it amazing how they used to wear so many warm clothes in the middle of summer?
It's rather protection from the sun. Sunscreen lotions weren't available back then and working all day in the fields you would burn without protection.
Load More Replies...I think the peasants dressed this way all the time. Just more layers in winter.
Group Of The Sisters Of Charity In The Dining Room During Lunch, Rhe Herbovets Community, 1900s
Old cameras took way better pictures than modern digital ones. This picture almost looks 3 dimensional.
It is the effect of large format. Modern very expensive medium format cameras have about half of the size and all the consumer stuff has very small sensors.
Load More Replies...Berlin, 1945
Wonderful. Your city taken over by gangsters and rapists almost always drinking. But a sweet girl directs traffic! Are there any cars or only soviets trucks?
Tashkent, 1930
It's a pioneer camp! No it's cultural imperialism! The Russian imperialists imposed ballet lessons and tutus on traditional Tashkent children. Wipe out their modesty and their own dances.
yeah ballet was not russian either.. and it wiped out russian modesty too, but that's because soviets were anti-feudal.. you know that communism comes from all people in the ussr right.. so uzbek communists wanted that... fool
Load More Replies...Grigori Rasputin, 1904
^^That's 'cuz he kind of looks like the lead singer from Nickelback.
Load More Replies...Wow! Is that what he really loved like?? You've anyways seen monotone pictures this is so amazing and so powerful
Olga And Tatiana Romanov, 1900s
Russian Ballet Dancer Galina Ulanova In Swan Lake, Ca, 1930
A Russian Man Stand By A Ford-a Made In The Ussr, 1930
Air Squadron Commander Of The 124th Fighter Regiment Alexander Pronin, 1942
Arseny Tarkovsky, 1907
Arseny Alexandrovich Tarkovsky (25.06.1907 – 27.05.1989), russian poet This photo was taken by Gueorgui Pinkhassov in 1979
That's why it looked a lot more modern than the rest
Load More Replies...A Young Russian Bride, 1903
Coming soon...very soon...a babushka wrapped in a similar fashion cleaning the streets with a straw broom.
Russian Actor Nikolai Rybnikov In “Spring On Zarechnaya Street”, 1956
Anti Tank Artillery Soldiers, 1943
Soviet Air Force Officers Rufina Gasheva And Nataly Meklin, World War II
Those Polikarpovs Po-2s had a top speed just shy of 100 mph. They harrassed the German front lines in the night. They were known as the "Night Witches."
Po-2 Biplane bomber. The famous Night Witches hated so much by the germans. They fought on night flying low and attacking behind enemy lines in those obsolete planes under high danger because of the german fighters they werent able to defend from. Still they created a huge psicological impact on germans.
Load More Replies...Nurse, 1914-1916
Traffic Controllers, Wolchow Front, 1943
La Comtesse Elisabeth Moussine-Pouchkine, 1903
Say Mousinne three times into a mirror and she will appear, and your nuts will disappear
Are you mad? Your comments are so bizarre, are you doing alright, maybe you should go see your DR.
Load More Replies...Red Cross Personnel Attending To Wounded Soldiers On A Russian Battlefield, WWI
Easter At The Front, The Letter Symbolize The Fraze "Christ Is Risen", 1916
Grand Duchesses Olga And Tatiana Romanov In Livadia, Crimea, 1914
Friends, 1934
A Tashkent Patty Hearst. Probably a party offivial's daughter paid to pose.
Impossible. The lettering on t-shirts would have been in Cyrillic. Also, Uzbek girls were not baring their arms, it's "too indecent".
The written language war Arabic till 1920, then Latin until 1940. Uzbekistan switched to Cyrillic in the beginning of the 40s. The movement against veils and hijab was started in the 1920s, so baring their arms and legs was normal when this photo was taken. You're right about painted on unibrows, they're missing!
Load More Replies...Russian Soldiers Pose Before The Attack, 1916
Why is the guy in the middle aiming his assault weapon at all those friendlies?
It looks so much like photos of the partisan groups except that their clothes match.
Soviet Sailors Raise The Ussr’s Naval Ensign Over Port-Artur, 1945
Captain Alexander G. Pronin And Major Sergei Stepanovich Bukhteyev Aboard A Plane, 1943
Soviet Car In The May Day Parade In Tel Aviv, 1947
It was kind of a Lend Lease program by Stalin. That guy on the truck was called "The Red Terror". Fortunately for the Arabs all these vehicles broke down and there were no spare parts.
Post the Great War the Stalin pemited emigration, unofficial, of Jews to Palestine. Let the Lord be praised it what Arabs proved need as many of those emigres were former RED ARMY soldiers! The whooping they provided was unforgetable !
Nikolay Felixovich Yusupov, Prince Nicholas, Eldest Son Of Princess Zenaida And Prince Feli
Oh, he is just gorgeous! He looks like a prince, jumped out a wonderfull fairytale <3javascript:void(0);
Klimbim, you are an amazing artist, so perfectly done, Bless Your Hands, Your Vision!
Berlin, 1945
Yes, that's the Victory Column (Siegessäule) in West Berlin. The flag is there due to the occupation
Load More Replies...Soviet Sniper Lyubov Makarova (left), Hero Of The Soviet Union Dmitry Nazarenko (right)
Lenin, 1900
I have two feelings for this man- hatred because of all the blood that was spilt during the Revolution and the murder of the last Czar family. Respect- because he has built a great nation of USSR, and set a great economic development into motion. Factories, bridges , houses, roads which still stand and are used today were all built during or after his time. Very confusing character for me.
yeah Lenin was good in some parts, but Stalin was horrible. also, for anyone who didn't know, they rebelled against the rich, because the poor people were treated pretty horribly.
Load More Replies...Anti Tank Artilery Man, 1940s (left), Russian Sniper Nadiezhda Kolesnikova, 1943 (right)
The photo is not taken in 1940. The man's medals are for winning The Great Patriotic War (World War II in the USSR); in 1940 the war hadn't had started yet.
Natalia Meklin (kravtsova), Sofia Burzaeva, Polina Gelman, 1943
Soviet Soldiers Are Monitoring The Movement Of German Troops Near Sevastopol, Crimea, 1941
This looks like a scene from a movie... Don't remember which one though
They hold a Shpagin (PPSh-41) sub-machine guns which were not available to the Soviet army until early 1942. So at least the year is wrong. Otherwise, this could easily be a propaganda photo, hence the photographer's position in front of the "stealthily' observing soldiers :)
German Embassy In St. Petersburg, 1913
Actually, this is NOT the embassy. This is the building architect Rudolf Bernhard (center) with some Russian workers and the statue which was later put on the roof of the embassy after it was upgraded with some more floors and columns. Check the Wikipedia article for the building.
Russian Pilot During The World War I, 1918
Pilots And Air-gunners Of The 566th Assault Aviation Regiment, 1944
Anti Tank Artilery, 1940s
Captain Ivan Musienko During The World War I
Ivan Musienko (23.09.1915 — 22.08.1989), Hero of the Soviet Union. This photo was probably taken during the WWII.
This can't be WWI, I see a soviet star with relevant symbolic all over him. This photo could be taken anytime during soviet regime but I believe after 30s and before the 50s of 20th century.
‘Red Corner’ At A Recruiting Station, Galich, Kostroma Region, 1931
The Last Projectile, 1914
Alexander Kerensky, 1917
This is awesome! I've been to Russia a couple of weeks ago! Such a beautiful country. ( post on boredpanda will come) It's great to see how these people lived! The colors make these pictures come to life!
Please visit again pal. We like when foreigners visit Russia
Load More Replies...at #13 1941 is world war II, not world war I. Great pictures by though.
The minute I saw this post I knew that there will be a bunch of ignorant brainwashed-by-Western-Media people commenting s**t on Russian history and people! What I learned from this world is that one can't change or open the minds of everyone. So best of luck living in your ignorance and jealousy. Stock up some Antidepressants, cz Russia aint going no where! Happy to see all the great readers commenting nice things here!
Yeah I know what "occupied" meant. That included my family's farms getting stripped and half of my relatives sent to Siberia. And the school down the road getting set on fire with kids inside. Shut your mouth, idiot, before you embarrass yourself any more.
Load More Replies...Original black-and-white, uncolorized pictures of that era (first half of the 20th century) made everyone look ugly, even hideous. The colorization has brought these people to life as they really were; many of them quite beautiful and handsome.
That was quite a gorgeous collection there. I remember seeing the movie Nicolas and Alexandra when I was a kid so seeing the family portrait at the top there, WOW.... what a gorgeous and regal family they were. I'm impressed that so many images were of female soldiers with impressive medals and mission stats mentioned. I'm not a war person but that impresses me that Women were celebrated as well as the Men. Looking at #7 and then at #22, I can't quite figure out which one was Alexandra. The material on Saint John's robe is beyond gorgeous!
Strikingly beautiful people...- I dont think I saw an unattractive person in all the photos ??
Wonderful photographs. People are people the world over if there were no by-lines introducing them as Russians, who would know? Surprised at women snipers though.
Very nice gallery. Would love to see more lists like this from all over the world featuring countries' histories.
This is awesome! I've been to Russia a couple of weeks ago! Such a beautiful country. ( post on boredpanda will come) It's great to see how these people lived! The colors make these pictures come to life!
Please visit again pal. We like when foreigners visit Russia
Load More Replies...at #13 1941 is world war II, not world war I. Great pictures by though.
The minute I saw this post I knew that there will be a bunch of ignorant brainwashed-by-Western-Media people commenting s**t on Russian history and people! What I learned from this world is that one can't change or open the minds of everyone. So best of luck living in your ignorance and jealousy. Stock up some Antidepressants, cz Russia aint going no where! Happy to see all the great readers commenting nice things here!
Yeah I know what "occupied" meant. That included my family's farms getting stripped and half of my relatives sent to Siberia. And the school down the road getting set on fire with kids inside. Shut your mouth, idiot, before you embarrass yourself any more.
Load More Replies...Original black-and-white, uncolorized pictures of that era (first half of the 20th century) made everyone look ugly, even hideous. The colorization has brought these people to life as they really were; many of them quite beautiful and handsome.
That was quite a gorgeous collection there. I remember seeing the movie Nicolas and Alexandra when I was a kid so seeing the family portrait at the top there, WOW.... what a gorgeous and regal family they were. I'm impressed that so many images were of female soldiers with impressive medals and mission stats mentioned. I'm not a war person but that impresses me that Women were celebrated as well as the Men. Looking at #7 and then at #22, I can't quite figure out which one was Alexandra. The material on Saint John's robe is beyond gorgeous!
Strikingly beautiful people...- I dont think I saw an unattractive person in all the photos ??
Wonderful photographs. People are people the world over if there were no by-lines introducing them as Russians, who would know? Surprised at women snipers though.
Very nice gallery. Would love to see more lists like this from all over the world featuring countries' histories.
