io9: Soviet Union

What weapons could be used in a real-life space war?

Keith Veronese — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:20:00 PST

Space, the final frontier...of warfare? Science fiction tales often center around the militarization of space, with lasers and torpedoes made of light racing past (and through) battleships and star destroyers. More »

For 25 Euros, you can be a (mildly) tortured Soviet political prisoner in Lithuania

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:30:00 PST

Should you ever find yourself in the environs of Vilnius, Lithuania, you can sign up for 1984: The Survival Drama, a three-hour faux Soviet military interrogation, complete with former KGB guards looking to recapture the magic of the old days. 25€ will get you a three-hour regimen of belt-whippings, verbal abuse, and a sham trial. What a bargain! Here's the sales pitch:

Gambling Horses And The Soviet Mars Colonies: 20 Retro-futuristic Visions Of The Red Planet

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 10:30:00 PST

Now that the Mars Science Laboratory has begun its journey, let's step back and remember those depictions of Martian living from years gone by. According to certain past dreamers, Mars is occasionally occupied by nefarious sentient automobiles. More »

Watch Pereval, a gorgeous 1988 Soviet cartoon about a crashed spaceship

Cyriaque Lamar — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 07:05:09 PST

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We've seen some awesomely abstract Soviet science fiction cartoons before, including adaptations of the works of Ray Bradbury and Stephen King. More »

Welcome to Pyramiden, the Soviet ghost town at the edge of the world

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 14:15:00 PDT

On the Norwegian archipelago of Spitsbergen you can find Pyramiden, an abandoned mining town that's been almost entirely uninhabited since 1998. Founded in 1910, his town of 1,000 was a model Soviet outpost. That is, until the fall of Communism made it a less desirable place to live. Here's a recent news report from Russia Today, and you can see tourist footage of the town here. More »

Abandoned remains from the Soviet Shuttle Program

Lauren Davis — Sat, 28 May 2011 13:30:00 PDT

What happens when space programs are left to die? In the wake of the Soviet Union's collapse, the Buran reusable spacecraft program was canceled, leaving the launchpads and equipment to decay. More »

Would a Soviet Moon landing have forced the US to go to Mars?

Alasdair Wilkins — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:30:00 PDT

Yuri Gagarin's historic flight was just one of many Soviet victories in the Space Race, but the United States still won the big victory when they landed on the Moon. But what if the Russians had gotten there first? More »

Take a trippy journey into 1980s Soviet science fiction with Lunnaya Raduga

Jason Shankel — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 13:00:00 PDT

Lunnaya Raduga ("Moon Rainbow") is a 1984 Russian science fiction melodrama directed by Andrei Yermash and based on the novel by Sergei Pavlov. More »

This abandoned Soviet particle accelerator would have been the biggest in the world

Alasdair Wilkins — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 10:40:46 PST

In the twilight days of the Cold War, the Soviets began building UNK, a proton accelerator in the town of Provtino that would have been the biggest in the world. It was never completed...but its ghostly remains are still there. More »

The Soviet Union got closer to reaching the Moon than we ever suspected

Alasdair Wilkins — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 11:00:00 PST

The United States won the Space Race decisively when Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, but nobody ever really knew just how close the Soviet Union got to putting cosmonauts on the lunar surface. Now, forty years later, researcher Charles Vick says the Soviets really could have reached the Moon by the mid-seventies...if they just could have gotten their rockets under control. Check out Space.com for the full story. More »

Amazing aerospace porn from the Soviet space program

Lauren Davis — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 08:00:00 PDT

Straight from the halls of the Moscow Aviation Institute, these images of looming machines and intricate wiring are sure to stir up a longing for retro Russian rocketry. [victorprofessor via English Russia] More »

The adorable kitsch of the USSR's dog astronauts

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 26 May 2010 17:36:17 PDT

Soviet space dogs had their mugs plastered on stamps, cigarettes, matchbooks, and other baubles. Here's ephemera featuring Belka and Strelka, the first dogs to survive a space flight, and Laika, the first animal to live (and sadly die) in orbit. More »

In Soviet Russia, Pint-Sized Cyborgs Dance On Your Piano

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 17 May 2010 15:00:00 PDT

In this 1946 Soviet animation sequence, a miniature robot sailor prances on a piano with a human piano player. Everything's cute and wholesome...until the lil' mechanical Gene Kelly's skin begins to fall off. Then the weirdness begins. More »

Poorly Dubbed Soviet Animation Will Liquefy Your Brain

Cyriaque Lamar — Sun, 02 May 2010 11:00:00 PDT

We recently posted Soviet adaptations of American scifi tales. But what happens when Americans rework Soviet toons? The English dubbing of this Russian cartoon is so damn bad your gray matter will begin oozing out your ears. More »

From the Communist Time Capsule: Science Fiction Masters Adapted By Soviet Animators

Marc Bernardin — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:30:00 PDT

In the waning days of the U.S.S.R., Russian animators turned their eyes toward short stories written by science fiction authors like Ray Bradbury, Stephen King, and Robert Silverberg. The results are crude, experimental, and oddly beautiful. More »

Space Cowboys and a Disco Death Star in Soviet Star Wars Art

Lauren Davis — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:00:00 PST

These hand-drawn movie posters from the Soviet Union paint a much more surreal version of Star Wars than the familiar epic posters. In lieu of spaceships and stormtroopers, we get a horse-riding space cowboy and cat-like Darth Vader. [via Neatorama] More »

Soviets Lost Cold War, Won Pulp Scifi Sweepstakes

Charlie Jane Anders — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:26:00 PDT

In the heady days before Sputnik, the Soviet Union was bursting with enthusiasm for space travel and the conquest of big-headed aliens with tentacles coming off their faces. Dark Roasted Blend has posted a gallery of pulpy Soviet scifi art that's full of speed lines, light rays, spaceships, giant robots and killer aliens. Click through for our favorite Soviet futuristic art blasts. More »

1970s Soviet Alien Architecture

Lisa Katayama — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:40:00 PDT

French photojournalist Frederic Chaubin likes to take photographs of science-fictiony Soviet architecture from the 1970s and 80s. During that era, the Soviets erected several formidable buildings that look like cities you'd see on an alien world. Pictured here is a strangely organic-looking wedding palace which is located in Georgia. More U.S.S.R. spaceportecture below. More »