Leo Tolstoy 1908
Just two years before the Russian author passed away, this photo of Leo Tolstoy shows him towards the end of his life. He was 82 when he died of pneumonia, and thousands of people showed up for his funeral procession.
Tsar Nicholas II 1916
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia is shown here at the location of 1st Army General Alexander Ivanovich Litvinov in the Dvisnk district in January 1916. This was shortly before his family’s forced abdication. His absence due to WWI caused political unrest as he relied on the mad monk Rasputin, who had a negative influence and was eventually assassinated. A year after Nicholas abdicated, he and his family were executed.