Нефтепромыслы Биби-Эйбата. Фото К.Буллы 1905г.

Industrial Revolution, in modern history, the process of change from an agrarian and handicraft economy to one dominated by industry and machine manufacturing. These technological changes introduced novel ways of working and living and fundamentally transformed society. This process began in Britain in the 18th century and from there spread to other parts of the world. Although used earlier by French writers, the term Industrial Revolution was first popularized by the English economic historian Arnold Toynbee (1852–83) to describe Britain’s economic development from 1760 to 1840. Since Toynbee’s time the term has been more broadly applied as a process of economic transformation than as a period of time in a particular setting. This explains why some areas, such as China and India, did not begin their first industrial revolutions until the 20th century, while others, such as the United States and western Europe, began undergoing “second” industrial revolutions by the late 19th century.

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.