Image: Selected Historical Figures of Czarist Russia and Communist USSR

Historical Figures of Russia

Czarist Russia, a Time of Extravagance and Lavish Brutality in Russian History

Beginning with Ivan IV the Terrible in the 1500s, Russian history has seen a cultural struggle between the influences of Asia and Europe. Peter the Great and succeeding Romanov rulers devoted themselves to Europeanizing Russia.  Russian music and literature rank among the greatest in the world. The same cannot be said about human rights under the Romanov dynasty or their Communist Party successors.

Even the Communist revolutionaries under Lenin and Stalin escalated industrial revolution in Russia. Their efforts were only partially successful. The Russian Figures are currently in the collections of the Museum of Ventura County, Naples Museum of Art and the artist. The digital photography of the Russian Figures was underwritten by a generous grant from the Smith-Hobson Foundation.