In the early 1900s Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii constructed an ambitious plan for a photographic survey of the Tsarist Russian Empire that won the support of Tsar Nicholas II. Between 1907-1915 he completed surveys of eleven regions, traveling in a specially equipped railroad car provided by the Ministry of Transportation. His early color photography offers a vivid portrait of a lost world--the Russian Empire on the eve of World War I and the coming revolution. His subjects ranged from the medieval churches and monasteries of old Russia, to the railroads and factories of an emerging industrial power, to the daily life and work of Russia's diverse population. In this screensaver 52 color photogaphs by Prokudin-Gorskii are presented.

See also the companion screensaver: People of Tsarist Russia