Nuclear-powered supersonic planes, cities built atop straits, flying weather control stations — these are just a few of the inventions envisioned by the Soviets decades ago as they tried to imagine what the future would look like.
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High school students of the future use a device called "time magnifying glass" to see how their country was built. A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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Futuristic machinery is being used to construct bridges spanning "bottomless mountain gorges". A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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A high school student is being woken up by a clock "designed as a joke by his father, an employee of the Central Weather Control Institute". A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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Automated cooking machine in action; instructions are being fed into the device via a handwritten note slipped into a slot. A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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Mother talks with her son via a "televideophone" from aboard a kindergarten cruise ship. A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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People board an escalator leading to an underground city. A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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People tour the streets of Uglegrad, an underground city where citizens "sunbathe on a beach under a quartz sun" while a vicious snowstorm rages on the surface. A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip: An underground resort.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip: Tornadoes on the Black Sea coast.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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A scene from the "In Year 2017" filmstrip: A flying weather control station soars above Moscow.
© Photo : Diafilm 1960, Moscow
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The project of a gigantic "dam city" that would span the Bering Strait in year 2000. Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1974.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi, 1974
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A nuclear-powered supersonic aircraft which would be capable of staying in the air for months. Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1955.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi, 1955
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The project of an underground city. Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1937.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi, 1937
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"Underwater War of the Future". Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1940.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi (1940)
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The drawing of an improved spiral turbine steam engine, along with a train, a car and a ship powered by it. Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1939.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi (1939)
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Unseen magnetic field which disables battle tanks and vehicles. Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1939.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi (1939)
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Multi-level car park. Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1975.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi (1975)
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Flying car of the future. Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1938.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi (1938)
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A drawing of the so called "bathistat" - a huge elevator that moves people and cargo to from surface to the ocean floor. Soviet popular science magazine Tekhnika Molodezhi (Technology for the Youth), 1938.
© Photo : Tekhnika Molodezhi (1938)