In the Year 2017

A Soviet propaganda poster depicting workers
Eric Lusito/Rex Features, via Associated Press
(source: NY Times)
no copyright infringement intended

Now that we’re nearly a month into 2017, we’d like to catch you up on scientific breakthroughs expected this year. Advancements in self-driving cars, photographs of the event horizon of a black hole, the first head transplant and the conclusion of a privately funded race to the moon are among the predictions. But they might seem underwhelming compared with those made in 1960 by a pair of optimistic Soviet artists. Their forward-looking filmstrip, “In the Year 2017 (В 2017 году)” (the centennial of the Bolshevik Revolution), was recently shared by the St. Petersburg resident who now owns it. The work’s 45 slides trace a day in the life of Igor, a Moscow schoolboy. His world includes atomic trains, machine-made breakfasts (“My favorite!” Igor says) and underground cities where it’s always spring. The story reaches its climax when Igor’s dad saves the day from “the imperialists” and their deadly weapons, with a device that controls the weather. While the artists missed the mark on many of the inventions, they did get one right: the videoconferencing system Igor uses to catch up with his mom. It’s not exactly a smartphone, but it’s close enough.

(source: NY Times; Valeriya Safronova contributed reporting)
no copyright infringement intended

In the Year 2017
no copyright infringement intended

(Filmele Avangardei)

(Russian and Soviet Cinema)