"Russia in Color" from the Globe's Big Picture

It's hard to believe these photos were taken about a hundred years ago! Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii created them during a photographic survey of Russia, supported by Tsar Nicholas II, from 1909 to 1912.

He had a special camera that rapidly took three black and white images using red, green, and blue filters (one filter per photograph). The images were later combined into one, and projected with a filtered lantern to create near true-to-life color photos. Pretty amazing for that era, don't you think? The original glass plates are now owned by the Library of Congress.

See more of these stunning photographs here.

Whimsical Antique Maps

Old maps always fascinate me. They're snapshots of past eras, and a key to how people saw the world and what they thought of foreign lands. These whimsical maps from Dark Roasted Blend show how countries were personified in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

I think my favorite depiction is that of Russia. I'd heard of the "Russian Bear" before, but never the "Russian Octopus"! It makes sense, though, when you think of how Russia expanded into Eastern Europe and the Baltic in later years.

See more maps from Dark Roasted here!

Russian Street Scenes

I love vintage photographs (especially black and white ones), so I was immediately charmed by these images of vendors in old Moscow.

See more at English Russia!

Lake Baikal

Crossing frozen Lake Baikal, by Matthieu Paley. I love the veins in the ice - looks like something from another planet!