This stylised poster-like image of Che Guevara is a powerful portrait of one of the world’s most famous Freedom Fighters who soared to fame during the Cuban Revolution, and whose Marxist ideas often seemed less potent than his iconic face, which has come to symbolise rebellion and the counter-cultural fervour of youth the world over.

Che Guevara

Many more pictures of revolution can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This superb example of photorealism is a very powerful image of Red Army soldiers moving through the ruins of Berlin; they are wary of snipers as they press on to their ultimate goal, Hitler’s underground bunker.

Through the ruins of Berlin the Russian troops pressed on towards Hitler's bunker

Many more pictures of the Second World War can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

This is a chilling picture of Lee Harvey Oswald, John F Kennedy’s assassin, lying in wait on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository for the Presidential motorcade. The notorious sniper is nursing a Carcano rifle, and it is the unavoidable prominence of the murder weapon which gives this image such power.

Lee Harvey Oswald waiting for his victim to come within his sights

Many more pictures of murderers can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of great Soviet composers show three giants of twentieth-century Russian music during the Soviet era.
The first picture is of Dmitri Shostakovich, whose Seventh Symphony, the “Leningrad”, was composed during the Siege of Leningrad.

Portrait of Dmitri Shostakovich, Russian composer and pianist

The second picture is a photograph of Nikolai Myaskovsky, the ‘father of the Russian symphony’, who composed twenty-seven symphonies.

Nikolai Myaskovsky

The third picture is of Sergei Prokofiev, the finest ballet composer since Tchaikovsky and one of the greatest of twentieth-century symphonists.

Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer, pianist and conductor

Many more pictures of composers can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of this terrible siege show scenes from what remains one of the greatest war crimes against a civilian population during wartime. The Siege of Leningrad lasted from September 1941 to January 1944 and claimed well over two million lives.
The first picture shows the German army fighting the Soviet army in Leningrad.

The German army fighting the Soviet army in the Peterhof Gardens in Leningrad, October 1941 by Achille Beltrame

The second picture shows a train bringing relief to the besieged city of Leningrad.

A Russian train brings supplies to Leningrad after two years of siege in World War II

The third picture shows German prisoners taken by the Red Army.

The frostbitten survivors amongst the German troops who laid siege to Leningrad eventually surrendered to the Russians

Many more pictures of the Second World War can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of the Battle of Stalingrad show various scenes from this titanic struggle between the Red Army and the German invaders in 1942.
The first picture shows German tanks entering Stalingrad.

"It seemed like the end when the German tanks entered Stalingrad. But it was only the beginning.".

The second picture shows the intense hand-to-hand fighting in the bombed-out buildings and streets of Stalingrad which lasted for three months.

Savage and bitter hand-to-hand fighting during the defence of Stalingrad by Dan Escott

The third picture shows the defeated German army in retreat after the Battle of Stalingrad.

German soldiers after the battle of Stalingrad by Severino Baraldi

Many more pictures of the Second World War can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Stalin show the self-possession of this small-town provincial Georgian who became a ruthless dictator and mass-murderer.
The first picture shows a young Joseph Stalin.

Joseph Stalin (1878-1953), Soviet Bolshevik leader

The second picture shows Stalin during the Second World War discussing strategy with Zhukov, the General who never lost a battle.

General Georgi Zhukov arguing with Stalin about military tactics by Severino Baraldi

The third picture is a portrait of Stalin.

Marshal Stalin by Dan Escott

Many more pictures of Communists and Communism can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Red Square show spectacular images of Moscow’s most famous public space.
The first picture is a bird’s-eye view of Red Square.

Red Square, Moscow

The second picture shows the Communist Party’s traditional May Day parade in Red Square.

May Day in Red Square, Moscow. Missiles are on display while Soviet gymnasts form letters to create the word LENIN

The third picture shows Russian State Cossack Dancers in Red Square.

Russian State Cossack Dancers in Red Square

Many more pictures of Moscow can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Trotsky show the revolutionary, his unsuspecting welcome to the murderer and his assassination.
The first picture shows Trotsky in the 1905 Revolution.

Trotsky was a prominent figure in the "first Russian Revolution" of 1905

The second picture shows Trotsky greeting his assassin, Ramon Mercader.

Trotsky was feeding his pet rabbits when Ramon Mercader, the man he thought was his friend and supporter, came to kill him

The third picture shows the assassination of Trotsky in Mexico.

The End of an Exile. (Top) Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky and Ramon Mercader; (main pic) As Trotsky sat reading, Mercader took an ice pick and raised it murderously above his head

Many more pictures of political assassinations can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.

The best pictures of Lenin show Soviet propaganda as well as the Russian revolutionary communist planning the Revolution.
The first picture shows Lenin and his supporters at a secret meeting.

Lenin takes control of the Russian Revolution by John Keay

The second picture shows a powerful Soviet propaganda portrait of Lenin.

Lenin (1870-1924), Russian Bolshevik revolutionary

The third picture shows a disguised Lenin being challenged by a Provisional Government soldier in Petrograd.

Lenin disguised himself with a brown wig and wrapped a bandage around his face to escape arrest in Petrograd during August 1917

Many more pictures of the Russian Revolution can be found at the Look and Learn picture library.