Archival footage of Dagestan by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky

Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky (1863-1944) was a Russian chemist and photographer. He is best known for his pioneering work in color photography and dedicated his life to the advancement of photography in general. / Village of Nizhnii Gunib in Dagestan

He travelled around Russia by train with a railroad car darkroom provided by Czar Nicholas II and two permits that granted him access to restricted areas. / In the mountains of Dagestan

In the period between 1905 and 1915, Prokudin-Gorsky lived and worked in Dagestan where he photographed mountain landscapes, small villages, and local residents. / Dagestani types

In 1890, Prokudin-Gorsky joined Russia's oldest photographic society, the photography section of the Imperial Russian Technical Society. / Dagestan. Shamil's village

The photographic work, publications and slide shows Prokudin-Gorsky sent to other scientists and photographers in Russia, Germany and France over the years earned him praise. / Dagestan. Village of Nizhnii Gunib

Prokudin-Gorsky considered the project his life's work and continued his photographic journeys through Russia until the October Revolution in 1917. / In the mountains of Dagestan

Photographs of Prokudin-Gorsky offer a vivid portrait of a lost world—the Russian Empire on the eve of World War I and the coming Revolution. / Shamil's bridge near Nizhnii Gunib

Translated from Turkic, 'Dagestan' means 'the land of mountains'. / In the mountains of Dagestan

Dagestan is now an autonomous republic inside the Russian Federation. Before the revolution, this territory was part of the Russian Empire, joining it in 1860. / Village of Nizhnii Gunib in Dagestan

Starting in 1860, it was governed both by the local people and the police of the state. After the revolution of 1917, Dagestan became part of the USSR in 1921 as an Autonomous Socialist Republic./ Dagestan. Village of Verkhnii Gunib

Prokudin-Gorsky called his photographic portraits of people in national dress "Types of Dagestan".

A man and woman pose in traditional clothing for a portrait in the mountain district of Gunib on the northern slope of the Caucasus Mountains. Gunib is now a part of the Republic of Dagestan.

Different peoples live in Dagestan, including the Avars, Lesgins, Nogais, Kumyks, and Tabasarans. A Sunni Muslim of unknown ethnicity is shown here in traditional clothing and head ware with a dagger in its sheath.

The Place of Shamil's Imprisonment. Shamil was the leader of the Caucasian mountain people and is primarily known for uniting the mountain people of Western Dagestan and Chechnya, and later Cherkassia, in the mid-19th century.

Hospitality is a sacred tradition in the Caucasus; the lavish meals and warm people make it an extraordinary place to be a guest. / Village of Nizhnii Gunib in Dagestan