ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli looks on after landing back on Earth from their Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft on May 24, 2011 in Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. The mission of the Soyuz TMA-20 was launched last December to the International Space Station with the flight engineers Catherine Coleman from the United States, Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli. The next expedition is expected to launch this June. (Photo by Stephane Corvaja/ESA via Getty Images)

Womentake a selfie in front Russian military vehicles during a rehearsal for the WWII Victory Parade in Moscow on June 17, 2020. Russia's President Putin on June 24 will preside over a massive military parade to mark Soviet victory in World War II, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP Photo)

Russian servicewomen march during the Victory Day Parade in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, June 24, 2020. The military parade, marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, was scheduled for May 9 but postponed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). (Photo by Sergey Pyatakov/Host Photo Agency/AFP Photo)

Russian honor guard soldiers warm up prior a rehearsal for the Victory Day military parade in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. The parade will take place at Dvortsovaya (Palace) Square on May 9, to celebrate 72 years after the victory in WWII. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)

“Sergey Mikhaylovich Prokudin-Gorsky (August 30 1863 Russian Empire – September 27, 1944 Paris, France) was a Russian chemist and photographer. He is best known for his pioneering work in color photography of early 20th-century Russia”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Dinner during haying. Russian Empire, Novgorod province, county Cherepovets, 1909. (Photos by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky via US Library of Congress and Prokudin-Gorsky.org)

P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution. To see Hi-Res images – just TWICE click on any picture. In other words, click small picture – opens the BIG picture. Click BIG picture – opens VERY BIG picture (if available; this principle works anywhere on the site AvaxNews). Enjoy.

A Russian Soyuz 2.1a rocket carrying Lomonosov, Aist-2D and SamSat-218 satellites lifts off from the launch pad at the new Vostochny Cosmodrome outside the city of Uglegorsk, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region Thursday, April 28, 2016. The launch of the first rocket from Russia's new space facility has been delayed after a last-minute problem. (Photo by Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool Photo via AP Photo)

Two brides kiss during their wedding ceremony to each other at the wedding registry office in St. Petersburg November 7, 2014. The two St. Petersburg women married in the official city ceremony last week, seemingly circumventing Russia's ban on same-s*x marriages. One of the brides was born a man but is undergoing hormone therapy and considers herself a woman. Though her male passport identity ensured the marriage was legal by Russian law, a St. Petersburg lawmaker has vowed to nullify their wedding. (Photo by Reuters/Stringer)

Military planes fly above a statue of Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin during a Naval parade rehearsal in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, July 25, 2019. The celebration of Navy Day in Russia is traditionally marked on the last Sunday of July and will be celebrated on July 28 this year. (Photo by Dmitri Lovetsky/AP Photo)