June 03, 2020

Worth A Thousand Words


Worth A Thousand Words
These aren't reenactors; this is one of Shirnina's projects. Olga Shirnina, Color by Klimbim

Olga Shirina, working under the online alias "Klimbim," is regarded as one of the best Photoshop colorizers of historical images. Her work is incredible, bringing vibrancy to what could be dull and lifeless images. But that hasn't stopped social media companies from clamping down and preventing the publication of her images.

History, of course, can be a touchy subject. Last month, Shirina's Facebook account was suspended for the publication of images from the 1940s featuring Nazi leaders and soldiers. This came after repeated temporary suspensions of her accounts on that website and Instagram.

"I work with real historical photos and they can't be corrected!" she is reported saying. According to her, her work has no political agenda, besides sharing her hobby.

Surprisingly, images of Soviet leaders, under whose rule millions perished, have not been flagged or triggered suspension.

Shirina, whose colorized images have appeared in Russian Life, can be seen here.

 

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Some of Our Books

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
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Murder at the Dacha

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Dostoyevsky Bilingual

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Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
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The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

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