Before and after colorization: the Revived Faces of Russian History

Olga Shirnina is a self-taught and colorist artist. In the network, her nickname is Klimbim. She is known for her incredible talent and painstaking work, which turn distant figures in historical black-and-white photographs into animated people. Olga often chooses photos that bring the history of Russia to life: from portraits of the last imperial family to brave Soviet female snipers on The Second World War.

An artist can spend hours deciding which color to choose for a particular photo. "When I paint a military uniform, I always look for information or ask specialists. I'm not free to choose colors at all. When I'm working on a dress from the 1890s, I look at what colors were fashionable at that time. If I have no restrictions, I play with the color, looking for the best combination."

"I am interested in the history of Russia, full of dramatic and catastrophic events that have affected the history of both the country and the whole world. Sometimes one photo can tell more than a thousand words. I will be very glad if people learn something new about Russia thanks to colorization."

Countess Elizabeth Alexandrovna Sheremeteva at a costume ball in 1903.

Soviet composer Sergei Prokofiev.

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin, 1908.

Grand Duchess Olga, the firstborn of Nicholas II.

Vladimir Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya with Lenin's nephew Viktor and the worker's daughter Vera, Gorki, 1922.

Alexey Nikolaevich Romanov - Heir Tsarevich and Grand Duke, the fifth child and only son of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna.

Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin's second wife.

Vladimir and Elena Nabokov are the parents of the writer Vladimir Nabokov.

Alexander Fedorovich Kerensky, statesman and politician.

Khrushchev in Kazakhstan, 1964.

Composer Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka, 1856.

Ballerina Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya.

Leo Tolstoy.

One of the greatest ballerinas of the XX century Anna Pavlova, 1905-1910.