Everyday life before the Bolsheviks:

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[h=1]Everyday life before the Bolsheviks: Fascinating images show the Kremlin, St Petersburg and Kiev in the final years of Tsarist Russia[/h]

• Colour pictures were taken in the years between 1890 and 1900 at sites across Russia, including modern-day Ukraine
• The decade was a tumultous one, with the country's last Tsar, Nicholas II, ascending to the throne
• The Kremlin, the Alexandrinsky Theatre and sweeping views across Moscow, St Petersburg and Kiev are among the now-colourised sights on view

A series of pictures taken in Russia in the final years of the 19th century give a fascinating glimpse into the country's history, two decades before the Bolshevik Revolution.
The scenes from Tsarist Russia show the nation's largest cities and landmarks in what is the present-day Ukraine, as they would have been for those alive in the tumultuous era.
In November 1894, Nicholas II became the country's last Tsar. He would be executed in July 1918 following his overthrow from power.
The Kremlin, the Alexandrinsky Theatre and sweeping views across Moscow, St Petersburg and Kiev are among the now-colourised sights on view.

 

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A group of colourfully-dressed women are pictured in the mountainous Caucasus region, on the border between Europe and Asia, in the revealing set of pictures showing what life was like in Tsarist Russia. The elaborate loose-fitting dresses are generally made from materials such as satin, silk, or brocade. Similar outfits are still worn at festivals in the current day, as the diverse nationalities and cultures celebrate their traditions

 

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A small group travelling by reindeer in the remote Archangel in northern Russia, which became a major centre for the export of timber at the end of the 19th century. Reindeer herding in the mountainous regions is believed to date back to the first millennium AD

 

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This image shows the a monument to Russian ruler Nicholas I in St Isaac's Square in St Petersburg, and was taken between in the decade between 1890 and 1900. During this eventful period in Russian history, Nicholas' grandson, Alexander III, died in 1894 and was succeeded by Nicholas II, who became Russia's last Tsar

 

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The world-famous Alexandrinsky Theatre in St Petersburg is shown as it would have been seen by passers-by in Tsarist times. The huge building was opened in 1832 and is currently part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg and named after Empress consort Alexandra Feodorovna

 

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The Kremlin, in Moscow, pictured during the era when it served as the Tsar's palace. The Kremlin is a fortified complex in the heart of the Russian capital which includes five palaces, four cathedrals, all within the Kremlin Wall. The walls of the complext date back to the late 1400s, but the site was was abandoned and neglected until 1773, when Catherine The Great ordered that her new residence was built there

 

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A snapshot from history: The view of Moscow from the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. The church was destroyed on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph in 1931, with the intention of using the site for a new Palace of the Soviets, which would house the country's government. However the invasion of the Soviet Union during the Second World War saw plans shelved. A church at the same location in modern-day Moscow was constructed between 1995 and 2000

 

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The photo series includes images of important landmarks, including the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, which is a modern-day UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also referred to as the Kiev Monastery of the Caves, the building is a former Orthodox Christian monastery

 

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Landmark buildings in St Petersburg are shown in full colour as they would have appeared during in the 1890s. This photograph shows a chapel named after Alexander II, who reigned between 1855 and his assassination in 1881. His grandson, who became the country's last Tsar, Nicholas II, took the throne in 1894

 

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A scene taken in the Rue Richelieu in Odessa, in the Ukraine, before the Russian Revolution. The vintage colour pictures show Tsarist Russia as it would have appeared at the time

 

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The rooftops of Moscow are shown in the spectacular series of images, which give an insight into life in Russia before the Bolshevik revolution

 

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An intriguing image taken in the 1890s shows a hunter attempting to trap a lynx in the snow. The picture is one of a series of colourised pictures which give insight into a tumultuous decade in the country's history, during which time the country's last Tsar took to the throne

 

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The elaborate fountains at Peterhof, looking towards the sea in St Petersburg are shown in the intriguing set of images, which give an insight into life in Russia before the 1917 revolution

 

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The city of Pyatigorsk, in the east of Russia, is pictured from a high vantage spot, showing the eclectic range of buildings during the Tsarist era in the late 19th century

 

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The empty steps in Richelieu, Odessa, in the modern day Ukraine is shown with just a small number of people walking up and down in the fascinating series of images from the 1890s

 

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A commercial club in Kiev, now the capital of Ukraine, in the 1890s, in the years before the Russian Revolution, which saw an end to the monarchy and the rise of Communism

 

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The Rumyantsev Museum in Russia was the country's first public museum. It was opened in 1831, and is perched on a hill opposite the Kremlin. In 1924, the Soviets ruled it should be shut down, a move which prompted widespread protest

 

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A scene from the Tverskoi district in Moscow, which is home to the Duma and key national authorities, during the Tsarist era in the final years of the 19th century

 

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An aerial view of Askold's Grave in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, believed to be the place where Prince Askold of Kiev was buried in the 9th century. The site is a historical park on the bank of the Dnieper River

 

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A picture of the historic library in Odessa, in the modern-day Ukraine, shows one of the city's most recognisable buildings during the Tsarist era