Chess championship 1914, Russian Empire

Karl Bulla (1855-1929) was a Russian photographer considered one of the pioneers of photojournalism. Born in St Petersburg, he began his career as a photographer in the 1870s, working for various publications and documenting daily life in Russia. Bulla's work was renowned for its realism and attention to detail, and he became particularly famous for his photographs of the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896. He also documented the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and the Russian Revolution of 1917. In addition to his photojournalistic work, Bulla was also a successful portrait photographer, and his studio in St Petersburg was frequented by members of the Russian aristocracy and cultural elite. Bulla's work was exhibited widely, including at the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He is regarded as one of the most important photographers in Russian history.