KZBlog

The Library of Congress has put up four albums of photographs of Turkestan commissioned by the first Russian governor of Turkestan, Konstantin Petrovich Von Kaufman, which were taken from 1850 to 1860. The Archeological Album focuses on Islamic architecture, mainly in Samarqand. The Ethnographic part includes individual portraits of different ethnic groups (c.f. the Kara-Kazakh girl pictured on the left) and notable people, including the Khan of Kokand and his sons. The Trade Album shows occupations and the Historical Part depicts Russian soldiers and battle maps.

It is fascinating for the casual observer and no doubt an incredible resource for the scholar. All descriptions of photos are presented in the original Russian and translated into English.