How about 

Là sotto giorni nubilosi e brevi
Nasce una gente a cui l’morir none dole.

There, where days are cloudy and brief,
Are born a people to whom death brings no pain.

Там, где дни коротки и пасмурны,
Живет племя, которому умирать не жалко.

And the illustrations can come from the 1887 book by The Boy Travellers to the Russian Empire by Thomas William Knox:

More about The Boy Travellers >>