Alexei Abrikosov (1875-1955) is known today as a Russian physician and the man, who mummified Vladimir Lenin, founder of the USSR, still preserved for the public to see in Moscow's Red Square.
These photographs, however, have little to do with the life of Dr. Abrikosov in the Communist Russia. They belong to his life before the Revolution, a life, which for a long time had to be concealed.
Alexei Abrikosov comes from the Abrikosovs' confectionery empire, the largest in the 19th century Russia. His brother Dmitry was a diplomat stationed in London in 1905-1908. From there, the brothers made trips to Paris and Budapest, where Alexei took beautiful photos of popular tourist sites and street scenes.
Dmitry Abrikosov is the author of Revelations of a Russian Diplomat, U. of Washington, Seattle, 1964.
Alexei Abrikosov is the father of Alexei A. Abrikosov, a condensed matter physicist and winner of the Noble Prize in physics.
From the archives of N.Yu. Abrikosova
Attribution of Budapest photos: Anna Chaykovskaya,