Future Almost Here? Visualisation of 23rd Century Moscow in Series of Russian Empire-Era Postcards

Airplanes, zeppelins, busy traffic and crowds of people on the background of historic Moscow buildings - this is how an artist from 1914 saw the Moscow of faraway year 2259.

While we are not quite there yet, some of the aspects of the artist's imagined future are here already, as the traffic in the Russian capital is indeed busy and the population has increased dramatically over the past century.

To travel to the future, while immersing yourself in the past, check out the postcards presented in Sputnik's photogallery.

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A busy terminal for surface and air transport in the snowy winter as imagined by an early 20th century artist.

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Moskvoretsky Bridge with the White Kremlin in the background. The artist depicted myriads of cars and other means of transportion passing across the bridge while a plane is readying for a takeoff nearby. Another notable feature is an airtracks for trams just above the bridge.

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An airsleigh fitted with a propeller on Petersburgskoye (now Leningradskoye) highway.

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People enjoying strolls through Petrovsky park with the Petrovsky palace seen in the background.

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The Moskva river, an international trade port of the 23rd century.

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An evening at Lubyanskaya Ploschad. Interestingly, the postcard features a concept barely discussed in the 1910s - a metro station which would only open several decades after the postcard was made.

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A fire at Teatralnaya Square that is soon to be put out be a firefighting crew - both from the ground and from the air.

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Ground and aerial traffic at Moscow's most recognisable landmark - Red Square.