This week in 1698, Russia’s Peter the Great, determined to force Western culture upon his country, imposed a tax on men with beards and decreed that officials must wear Western

clothes. Presenting bearded men around the world

HAVANA—Fidel Castro with a group of young sympathizers, 1959

FRANCE—A photographer and his motorcycle driver during the Tour de France, 1935

CAPE COD, Mass.—Independence Day, 1946

UNITED STATES—Members of a biker gang, 1971

INDIA—A Kuchi shepherd in Kashmir, 1995

FRANCE—Preschool children disguised as rabbis, 1981

JERUSALEM—The opening of the Western Wall to the Jewish population, 1967

NEGEV DESERT, Israel—Bedouin men receive medical injections, 1967

NEW ORLEANS—Mardi Gras, 1974.

NEW YORK—Demonstrators during the Republican National Convention, 2004

NEW YORK—Fifth Avenue, 1976

RENO, Nev.—1946.

OVIEDO, Spain—A Communist Party meeting, 1977

MADRAS, India—1989.

SPAIN—1933

MUNICH, Germany—1997

VENICE, Calif.—1976All Photos © Magnum Photos