Anna Pavlova in 'The Pharaoh's Daughter' ballet
Public domain, color by Klimbim
Archive black and white photos taken even before the 1917 Revolution are now experiencing a rebirth after an artist painted them in colors.
Artist Olga Shirnina nicknamed ‘Klimbim’ on the Russian Internet adds color all kinds of different archive photos: Romanov family members portraits, tsar’s last ball, black&white portraits of great Russian writers, early Soviet photos and portraits of World War II heroes. In her works, these people seem to revive, become incredibly alive - and sometimes look directly into a viewer’s eyes.
Here are a few select portraits of the most beautiful women of the Russian Empire.
1. Ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya

Public domain, color by Klimbim
2. Matilda Kshesinskaya

Public domain, color by Klimbim
3. Ballerina Anna Pavlova and her pets

Public domain, color by Klimbim
4. Anna Pavlova in the costume of Swan Lake ballet

Public domain, color by Klimbim
5. Revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai

Public domain, color by Klimbim
6. Singer Anastasia Vyaltseva

Public domain, color by Klimbim
7. Ballerina Agrippina Vaganova

Public domain, color by Klimbim
8. Countess Sofya Vyazemskaya

Public domain, color by Klimbim
9. Writer and translator Elizaveta Kologrivova

Public domain, color by Klimbim
10. Ballerina Tamara Karsavina

Public domain, color by Klimbim
11. Actress Vera Komissarzhevskaya

Sputnik; Public domain, color by Klimbim
12. Revolutionary, journalist and poet Larissa Reissner

Public domain, color by Klimbim
13. Silent movie star Vera Kholodnaya

Public domain, color by Klimbim
14. A fashionable lady from Tver Region, 1900s

Public domain, color by Klimbim
15. A student of the Institute of Noble Maidens in St. Petersburg

Public domain, color by Klimbim
If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material.