Two Prisoners in Shackles

1907
Two shackled prisoners stand in an adobe courtyard showing traces of snow. On the left are two clay water jugs, a flintlock rifle, and a kerosene lantern. The prisoners are dressed in faded quilted robes, with slippers on their feet. Party visible behind the prisoners is a guard in Russian winter uniform The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including a trip in January 1907 that focused on the ancient cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. After the Russian conquest of Samarkand (1868), the Emirate of Bukhara remained nominally independent but in fact became a Russian protectorate linked to settlements along the Trans-Caspian Railway. In contrast to Western influences in Samarkand, Bukhara’s traditional culture and appearance remained relatively intact.

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Filename: 6426.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1676 / 631.2KB; 1907 Uzbekistan Prisoners Shackles Men Courtyards Photo WDL 010544
Contained in galleries: UZBEKISTAN

1907<br />
Two shackled prisoners stand in an adobe courtyard showing traces of snow. On the left are two clay water jugs, a flintlock rifle, and a kerosene lantern. The prisoners are dressed in faded quilted robes, with slippers on their feet. Party visible behind the prisoners is a guard in Russian winter uniform The image is by Russian photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863–1944), who used a special color photography process to create a visual record of the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. Some of Prokudin-Gorskii’s photographs date from about 1905, but the bulk of his work is from between 1909 and 1915, when, with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation, he undertook extended trips through many different parts of the empire. Prokudin-Gorskii was particularly interested in recently acquired territories of the Russian Empire such as Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), which he visited on a number of occasions, including a trip in January 1907 that focused on the ancient cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. After the Russian conquest of Samarkand (1868), the Emirate of Bukhara remained nominally independent but in fact became a Russian protectorate linked to settlements along the Trans-Caspian Railway. In contrast to Western influences in Samarkand, Bukhara’s traditional culture and appearance remained relatively intact.