Road and Deep Excavation. Kiat. Golodnaia Steppe

1905
In the late 19th century Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich (1850–1918), grandson of Tsar Nicholas I, initiated a development project in Russian Turkestan to create an area for raising cotton, wheat, and livestock in the Golodnaia Steppe (“Hungry Steppe”) by diverting water from the Syr Darya River. This view of an excavated portion of the mainline canal near the Kiat settlement reveals the massive earthworks involved in creating the canal, constructed in 1907–13. The high banks show the enormous depth of the soil layer. Although some machinery was used in the excavation, most labor was done by hand. Shallow water at the bottom of the still-empty canal has produced a dense growth of weeds. 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. In 1911 his travels took him to Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), where he photographed traditional culture as well as the development brought about by Russian settlement and investment.

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Filename: 5837.jpg
Copyright: acku Afghanistan
Image Size: 1800x1663 / 541.7KB; 1905 Kazakhstan Qaraghandy Oblast Betpak-Dala Roads Excavation Grasses Photo WDL 010495
Contained in galleries: KAZAKHSTAN

1905<br />
In the late 19th century Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich (1850–1918), grandson of Tsar Nicholas I, initiated a development project in Russian Turkestan to create an area for raising cotton, wheat, and livestock in the Golodnaia Steppe (“Hungry Steppe”) by diverting water from the Syr Darya River. This view of an excavated portion of the mainline canal near the Kiat settlement reveals the massive earthworks involved in creating the canal, constructed in 1907–13. The high banks show the enormous depth of the soil layer. Although some machinery was used in the excavation, most labor was done by hand. Shallow water at the bottom of the still-empty canal has produced a dense growth of weeds. 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. In 1911 his travels took him to Turkestan (present-day Uzbekistan and neighboring states), where he photographed traditional culture as well as the development brought about by Russian settlement and investment.