100-Year-Old Color Photos of Pre-Revolution Russia

Have you ever wondered what Russia looked like shortly before the revolution, but aren't satisfied with black and white photos? Well then, you owe Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii a debt of thanks.

While color film was still years away from development, the chemist-turned-photojournalist developed his own solution to capture the vivid colors of his native home. Using color-filtered glass plates, he photographed a scene in red, then blue, then green and then put the images together to reveal a colorized portrait.

His amazing photographs, taken from 1909 to 1912 show what Russian life was like for everyone from peasants to noblemen before the country turned to communism.

Don't miss the rest of the great images seen over at Flavorwire.