Project RuSu 365
Henri Cartier-Bresson said, "Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.", so bear with us...
For those of you who may not be up your Russian history, in December 1825 members of the Tsarist military & nobility staged a revolt in an easily thwarted attempt to bring about a constitutional monarchy. Most of the participants were stripped of their noble titles & sentenced to lives of penal servitude in Siberia, others were hanged. The Decembrist Revolt is one of the most romantic & romanticized events in Russian history as most of their wives followed them into exile, sacrificing their privileged lives in St. Petersburg society.
The woman pictured on the left is Pauline Gueble, a French woman unable to even speak Russian, who had fallen in love with an aristocrat, Ivan Annenkov. Despite not being married to Annenkov, she traveled 6000 kilometers to Chita to follow her love where they eventually gained permission to marry. The man on the right is Dmitry Zavalishin who had participated in an around-the-world naval expedition in the 1820s and was also exiled to Chita. Their heart-wrenching & inspiring stories make for great reading if you ever have the inclination.
Educated & cultured, the Decembrists contributed significantly to the development of Siberia. This photo was taken at the church where the Annenkovs were married in Chita. (4.12.2011)
decembrist museumchitachita siberiarussiaPauline GuebleIvan AnnenkovDmitry Zavalishindecembrist exilesrusurusu photography
Hershy
on April 26, 2011Interesting piece of history - thanks for sharing!
God's Child
on April 13, 2011I didn't get to view or comment yesterday. Nice piece of history!!!
John Roberts
on April 13, 2011The seeds of War and Peace. Maybe Tolstoy visited here. Great photo.
Ωi
on April 13, 2011Super shot & very informative commentary, thanks
fotoeffects
on April 13, 2011Interesting!
Happy Tree
on April 13, 2011Wonderful story, always nice to hear about love that survived extraordinary circumstances! Lovely shot of the book!
Lgood
on April 13, 2011Wonderful image and fantastic history - thank you so much for sharing this. Love it!
Tom Reichert
on April 13, 2011SUCH A GREAT IMAGE
whitetree
on April 13, 2011I really intresting Russian history.very intresting shot and word.
photofreak
on April 12, 2011What an interesting and romantic story. I love all of your photographs with the history to go with them, it's really fascinating and I always look forward to seeing your daily posts, whether they are historic or not. This is a wonderful photograph to go with the story, so personal and perfect. Again thanks for sharing, it's very much appreciated.