Back To The Soviet Future
- By Amos Chapple
A popular engineering magazine in the U.S.S.R. imagined a future of flying cars, underwater trucks, and (apparently) Apple watches. Here are 18 of Technika Molodezhi’s wildest covers.
![A towering hydrofoil cutting across the high seas. The text reads, “On wings through the ocean.” ](https://gdb.rferl.org/3983d938-9d97-4611-8139-4f93e91e6daa_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
1
A towering hydrofoil cutting across the high seas. The text reads, “On wings through the ocean.”
![A vertical-takeoff and -landing aircraft, sketched 17 years before the similar Bell Boeing Osprey took flight in the United States.](https://gdb.rferl.org/aa0291d4-af7f-433c-b17f-c030cf9f8b89_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
2
A vertical-takeoff and -landing aircraft, sketched 17 years before the similar Bell Boeing Osprey took flight in the United States.
![Moscow as sketched by a Soviet soothsayer in 1952. Construction of the building on right began in the 1930s after an iconic church was blasted into rubble to make way. But the planned 415-meter “Palace of the Soviets” was scrapped when World War II broke out. The church has since been rebuilt on the site.](https://gdb.rferl.org/597a9e65-d438-4546-8f7d-5a0315f5b12a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
3
Moscow as sketched by a Soviet soothsayer in 1952. Construction of the building on right began in the 1930s after an iconic church was blasted into rubble to make way. But the planned 415-meter “Palace of the Soviets” was scrapped when World War II broke out. The church has since been rebuilt on the site.
![A jet-powered grappling hook for next-level alpinists. Technika Molodezhi (Youth Technics) magazine first appeared in 1933 and is still published today.](https://gdb.rferl.org/b0593161-7e81-4f91-9697-7bd5a5563368_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
4
A jet-powered grappling hook for next-level alpinists. Technika Molodezhi (Youth Technics) magazine first appeared in 1933 and is still published today.
![A spidery mountain buggy alongside text that reads, "Walking on walls." The magazine's stated purpose is to introduce youngsters to the "world of scientific and technical creativity, innovative thinking, and daring."](https://gdb.rferl.org/1fc151d3-2aa7-47b8-b7d9-ea74b1b803cd_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
5
A spidery mountain buggy alongside text that reads, "Walking on walls." The magazine's stated purpose is to introduce youngsters to the "world of scientific and technical creativity, innovative thinking, and daring."
![A star sailor adjusting his sails. During the magazine's Soviet heyday, however, not all daring was celebrated. In 1984, Technika Molodezhi's longtime editor was fired after a story by British author Arthur C. Clarke was published in the magazine. The story featured characters named after Soviet dissidents.](https://gdb.rferl.org/c37e23b8-09a4-4573-90ad-04933c328e1b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
6
A star sailor adjusting his sails. During the magazine's Soviet heyday, however, not all daring was celebrated. In 1984, Technika Molodezhi's longtime editor was fired after a story by British author Arthur C. Clarke was published in the magazine. The story featured characters named after Soviet dissidents.
![An amphibious ship grinding through the Arctic on caterpillar tracks. A similar design would eventually become reality in 2017, though the Soviet flag might look a touch out of place on the sleek French design.](https://gdb.rferl.org/ea1707fd-3e84-47c2-bfd0-862e2369e2c5_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
7
An amphibious ship grinding through the Arctic on caterpillar tracks. A similar design would eventually become reality in 2017, though the Soviet flag might look a touch out of place on the sleek French design.
![Slurping up sealife in the heady days before depleted fish stocks became a concern.](https://gdb.rferl.org/8bba11d8-b592-43ea-87c0-4fcf1af1149c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
8
Slurping up sealife in the heady days before depleted fish stocks became a concern.
![Personal helicopters with some questionable engineering attributes hover above a propaganda march in Moscow.](https://gdb.rferl.org/eb259565-492c-412a-8a04-780a4e28d1b7_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
9
Personal helicopters with some questionable engineering attributes hover above a propaganda march in Moscow.
![The eerie synth soundtrack of Blade Runner (1982) can almost be heard in this 1973 vision of a future city.](https://gdb.rferl.org/e73b4139-9b9d-4c42-a418-9a336e773a7c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
10
The eerie synth soundtrack of Blade Runner (1982) can almost be heard in this 1973 vision of a future city.
![A rocket blasts from its Moscow launch ramp.](https://gdb.rferl.org/91269e69-69ac-4c7c-bd12-bdade5916884_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
11
A rocket blasts from its Moscow launch ramp.
![Seafloor-wheel drive: an underwater truck having some technical problems, surprisingly. ](https://gdb.rferl.org/1c97d5b6-0adf-413f-9b1d-13d2c2fb0172_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
12
Seafloor-wheel drive: an underwater truck having some technical problems, surprisingly.
![An engineering fruit salad on an intersection of the future.](https://gdb.rferl.org/cfed2b55-980f-469e-89ed-4ff6686bb198_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
13
An engineering fruit salad on an intersection of the future.
![An orbiting space station illustrated on a 1950 cover, 48 years before the launch of the International Space Station (ISS). ](https://gdb.rferl.org/f1670fe5-5caa-4069-8af3-0052677e8b2f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
14
An orbiting space station illustrated on a 1950 cover, 48 years before the launch of the International Space Station (ISS).
![A smart watch resembling something straight from Jony Ive’s playbook.](https://gdb.rferl.org/e3aed209-0d0e-4270-9042-8242e83f6503_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
15
A smart watch resembling something straight from Jony Ive’s playbook.
![Unloading time is cut to a few roaring, dust-clouded seconds in this vision of a ship delivering coal.](https://gdb.rferl.org/8b31874c-1b6c-4d9b-be10-e11e7939a41d_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
16
Unloading time is cut to a few roaring, dust-clouded seconds in this vision of a ship delivering coal.
![Parachutists crammed into a chilly-looking craft as the world slid toward war in 1937.](https://gdb.rferl.org/f6ab6db6-8313-4106-811f-ea6326c4d65f_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
17
Parachutists crammed into a chilly-looking craft as the world slid toward war in 1937.
![A space-aged Adam and Eve making small steps on another planet. The text reads, "...Our traces will remain..." ](https://gdb.rferl.org/3912eb46-e377-44df-a903-0c72a2ace109_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
18
A space-aged Adam and Eve making small steps on another planet. The text reads, "...Our traces will remain..."