With Lenin and Nicholas II Photo

Photographer’s Note

Nearby State Historical museum from the side of the monument to famous Marshall Zhukov (huge monument with the military man on a horse) or nearby the gates into Alexander Garden (not so far) you can meet several people look-alike Nicholas II, Lenin, Stalin or even Putin. For a hundred of rubles (about $4) you can take a picture with one of them, but as I remember Putin's double take to much (about 500 rubles) - maybe because of the popularity of our president? :-) As about Stalin - I think that those man not looks so close to the famous leader of USSR as like these two interesting men who are doubles of two enemies at the beginning of 20th century - Nicholas II (from the right) and Lenin (from the left). "Lenin" holds the first Bolshevik's newspaper "Iskra" (Spark), has the famous cap and the red ribbon, his pose and the gesture is very recognizable too. Nicholas II is dressed in the old Russian military uniform and has a lot of medals, he looks imposing and kind.

I don't know should I say here this information, but truth is very sad and not so funny - by degree of Lenin our last tsar from Romanov Dynasty and whole his family was murdered by squad of Bolshevik secret police in mid of July 1918 in the city of Ekaterinburg. A little bit later I will try to add some more interesting historical details about Lenin and Nicholas II and hope that now it will be interesting for you to learn more background about these famous people. :-)

With BEST Regards,
Arthur Lookyanov
Moscow Fun - Pictures from Russia

maximage, noborders has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

danyy (68778) 2007-12-22 15:16

Bonjour Arthur,
une vue cocasse et bien dans l'esprit TE.
Il doit faire drôlement plus froid à cet endroit maintenant.
Une scène très naturelle., Originale.

Best regards.
Daniel.

batalay (20940) 2007-12-22 15:26

Hello Arthur,

This is a very compelling photograph, and a highly engaging and enjoyable note. You've composed it very well. In reality, the young lady is very famous, and the other two would like to have their picture taken with her. That is clear from their expressions.

Warm regards and Best wishes for the Holiday Season,

Bulent

macondo (13111) 2007-12-22 16:07

A wonderful 'people' shot, Arthur, even is two are not still living among us.
The exposure is great, and I love the way the red in their clothes reinforce the red in the museum behind. I like your close cropping too, and the low point of view. It's a great humour shot, and of very good quality.
Regards, and Christmas greetings to you.
Andrew

zhelach (3590) 2007-12-22 23:01

Hello Arthur!
Beautiful photo!
Lenin and Nicholas II? Bravo!
Nice composition, colors and details!
Pozdravlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva i s Novim Godom!
Best regards, Zorica

maximage (13392) 2007-12-23 2:39

Bonjour Arthur,
Félicitations pour cette image humoristique, insolite et originale! J'adore!
Amitiés et bonnes fêtes.
max

noborders (14199) 2007-12-23 11:32

Hi Arthur,
I find your photos interesting and funny ! Great idea, amusing to watch... The association of Lenin and Nicholas II on the same shot is a bit wierd but why not ? The presence of this young lady explains it all...
Compliments, best regards,
Enjoy Christmas,
Cath.

Wandering_Dan (3225) 2008-01-01 13:09

At first I didn't notice the pigeon on Lenin's shoulder. Was it making some kind of political statement there? And it is a nice juxtaposition of mortal enemies who never met in real life, with the United States caught, as happens too often, in the middle.

The history of that period is fascinating, somewhat in the same way a train wreck happening in slow motion is fascinating. I sometimes wonder if Lenin would have been able to succeed if Alexander II had not been shot, or if Kerensky had been willing to withdraw from the war.

Regards,
Dan