Moscow: Futuristic Concepts from 1900 (!)
|
|
"QUANTUM SHOT" #136If not for the Russian October Revolution... This is a rare glimpse of how Moscow might have evolved, if communists had not come to power in 1917 (and the laws of physics had been more forgiving)... These amazing visions appeared in Russia at the turn of the century, in 1900 - probably one of the very first truly "Futuristic / Urban" series of images ever published (issued by the Joint Stock Publishing Company "Einem") Source: Museum of Modern History, Russia ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Source: Museum of Modern History, Russia (public exhibits) Permanent Link... ![]() Category: Architecture,Vintage |
READ RECENT POSTS:
|
The Cutest Animals: Awww Update In our tough world we need a shot of cuteness... |
|
Biscotti Bits Mixed Links & Images Incl. "Hypnotic: Mechanical Principles" |
|
Glory of Early Aviation (1930s-1960s) Vintage Air Travel Posters and Airline Nostalgia |
|
"Dark Roasted Blend" - All Kinds of Weird and Wonderful Things, Discovered Daily!" DRB is a top-ranked and respected source for the best in art, travel and fascinating technology, with a highly visual presentation. Our in-depth articles in many categories make DRB a highly visual online magazine, bringing you quality entertainment every time you open your "feed" reader or visit our site. Connect with us and become part of DRB on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus; make sure to subscribe to our updates. Our mobile site: http://mobile.darkroastedblend.com. You can also read us on iPad, as part of Flipboard popular free app, under "Cool Curators" category - see here. |
COMMENTS::
|
|
SF ART & BOOK REVIEWS: Don't miss: The Ultimate Guide to NEW SF&F Writers! Fiction Reviews: Classic Cyberpunk: Extreme Fiction Short Fiction Reviews: Lovecraft's "At the Mountains of Madness" (with pics) New Fiction Reviews: The Surreal Office |
READ MORE RECENT POSTS:
|
Sleek Vintage Salon Hair Dryers Chrome Coolness, Gentle Breeze and Space Age Fashion |
|
Awesome Armoured Trains and Rail Cruisers Great symbols of power and "stable stagnation" |
|
Strange Deep-Sea Diving Suits Under Pressure... and Enjoying It |
|
The Golden Age of Cigar Box Art Elaborate Old Cigar Boxes: Visual & Historical Treat |
|
Thrill Ride: Bumper Cars Wonderful vintage & adapted bumper cars |
|
Futuristic Aircraft Update Inspiring, radical designs... |
|
Strange Eye Exam Charts Offbeat Optometry: Testing, Testing... |
|
Drinking of Absinthe: Dancing with the Green Fairy The Bohemian Realm of Absinthiana |
|
The Last Victorian Leviathan Steam Ship The "Great Eastern", one of the most spectacular ships ever built! |
|
World's Strangest Vehicles, Part 1 The Very Opposite of "Soccer-Mom Minivans" |
|
Some of the Biggest Spills & Accidents "Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." |
|
Fictional Currency & Imaginary Money Money that’s literally out of this world |
|
The Ghosts of Antarctica: Abandoned Stations & Huts Entering "The Thing" and "The Mountains of Madness" territory... |
CATEGORIES:
airplanes | animals | architecture | art | auto | boats | books | cool ads | funny pics | famous | futurism | food
gadgets | health | history | humour | japan | internet | link latte | military | music | nature | photo | russia | steampunk
sci-fi & fantasy | signs | space | sports | technology | trains | travel | vintage | weird









































































8 Comments:
Great post, but I don't think that Leninism is the reason that Moscow never got jet-powered ice-sleds.
BTW, how about tagging the Flickr set as Public Domain or CC instead of "All Rights Reserved"? These images are in the public domain, after all.
Cory
YeaH Duuudz,
Like don't diss Marxism Leninism! Soviet Union, China, Cuba, North Korea, Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao, Chauchesku... That was just a fluke. Just because Marxism has turned every country it touches into a poverty stricken facist hell-hole, doesn't mean there is anything wrong with Marxism or Leninism! Marxism failed because the people in those countries where inherently inferior and evil - Why if good white upper middle class bay-area hipsters like Cory Doctorow were leading the revolution, it would be nothing but kittens and cupcakes for everyone! After all, Cory is so much cooler than a bunch of dirty and ignorant cossacks.
Insightful and profoundly witty though Anonymous' critique may be, it misses doctorow's point. There may well be very good reasons for criticizing communism, but jet-powered ice-sleds isn't one of them.
These are great pictures, and thanks for posting them. But I've got to agree with doctorow, the commmunism crack is silly, particularly since it was only thanks to the revolution that backward, monarchist, agricultural Russia left the dark ages and actually became industrialized.
This is what they were planning instead...I particularly like the deranged "palace of soviets" designs.
Anyway, they did get jet powered ice sleds. Or close enough.
Unrealized Moscow & sleds: Awesome links! Thank you
I'm with the first anonymous poster- clearly Lenin was responsible for the failure to realize futurist visions not only in Russia, but in every other country in the world. I think he must have used commie magic, or something.
Seriously though, obviously this vision of the future never came to pass because it's _completely absurd_. Those sleds are hard to make out, but aren't those propellers in front? They appear to float in mid-air, unconnected to the vehicle. It'd be great to have the streets filled with those- one could imagine the carnage if they crashed into anything.
If you take into account Cory's aberrant post about Allende's "internet", you'll realize that even tho he hates "Big Brother", he thinks that it would be really cool if a communist had succeeded to create the tools used to supervise the unwashed masses. As a Chilean I feel insulted.
And tho obviously this vision of the future never came to pass because it's completely absurd, the reason they never got to try and attempt to develop that technology (and learn from those mistakes), has a lot to do with their social collapse.
Felipe, as a Chilean you're saying you're insulted Allende attempted an early version of the internet? Yeah, damn those elected representatives of the working class for bringing technology to the people. Pinochet's supervision was far better. Oh wait... he used to push people out of helicopters, right?
Anon, Leninism and Stalinism are not the same thing. Read some history before you make ignorant comments. And even Stalinism achieved universal literacy, employment, national unity and health care, something capitalism has failed to do. Wars, famine, fascism - that's what your precious system has to justify.
As for who had the best utopian ideas... hello, the Russian Futurists? The Constructivists? Suprematists? Communism had way more imagination.
Post a Comment
<< Home