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Posts Tagged “

Russia

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science fiction art

In Soviet Russia, Space Opera Really Was Operatic

Look at the Russian cover for Robert Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land: It's like one of Caravaggio's Bible scenes: lurid, fiery, over-the-top and awesome. It should surprise nobody that Heinlein and Philip K. Dick were fantastically popular in the U.S.S.R., with their sharp social commentary and crazy plot devices. The Russian Science Fiction page (in English, luckily) has a bunch of Heinlein and Dick covers, and we have a gallery of our favorites below. More »

12:04 PM on Wed Jul 16 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
1,378 views, 14 comments

Latest by n/a: @kyfho23: Would RAH notice a difference between the Soviet Union and Putin's Russia (he's still in charge!)? I love the Stranger In A Strange Land illustration-it reminds me of William Blake... liked Ubik cover too more »

peniscopter

In Russia, the Flying Penises of Second Life Are Real

Kiddies, I remember the days when flying penises could only attack public figures in virtual world Second Life. Who doesn't remember the day when virtual real estate mogul Anshe Chung, the richest lady in Second Life, was attacked during a virtual press conference by giant virtual penises (left)? Clearly, Russian protesters haven't forgotten. A group of pro-government rabble-rousers sent a peniscopter (right) into the air recently during an anti-Putin speech from former chess champ and political activist Victor Kasparov. More »

5:30 PM on Mon May 19 2008
By Annalee Newitz
4,215 views, 42 comments

Latest by n/a: @Dereks: Yes, I did, 19 comments ago. more »

mutant

Beware Giant Radioactive Turtles of the Soviet Era

It's comforting to know that during the height of Reagan's Cold War in the 1980s, the Soviet Union was making movies that were just as cheesy as the ones you could see in the United States. When you see this clip of the scary, growling radioactive giant turtle from Мутанты (which means Mutant), you'll be forced to concede that the Soviet Union would not ever have lost the cheesy flick arms race. Especially if the cheesy movie war had been fought with giant monster movies. Alas, I don't speak Russian so I can't understand the dialog. But that didn't get in the way of my appreciation at all. I had a genuine moment of cross-cultural understanding. [English Russia] (Thanks, DieR!)

8:20 AM on Tue Apr 15 2008
By Annalee Newitz
1,968 views, 15 comments

Latest by phoenix: @Miranda Kali: You are now my favorite person ever. more »

space exploration

The Future Of Space Exploration?

Black smoke belches out of a grinding old engine as it hauls Russia's latest Soyuz space capsule across a Kazakh wasteland, while armed guards keep watch. This mixture of high and low technology is probably the future of space exploration, as resources get scarcer and more small governments and independent operators get into the space game. More images of Soyuz in the wasteland, and its launch to the International Space Station, below. More »

4:00 PM on Wed Apr 9 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
3,427 views, 28 comments

Latest by MatthewT: Cool! Rocket-powered train! I wonder if they're going to use it to travel through time. more »

retro-futurism

Nuclear Missiles Are Rock Stars In Moscow

Russians prepare to parade nuclear missiles through Red Square as part of the annual Victory Day celebrations. The procession of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, a scary Cold War tradition, ended after the Soviet Union fell, but now Russia is reviving it. Call it apocalyptic retro-futurist nostalgia. Or maybe just overcompensation. Either way, Russians will be screaming and maybe throwing their underwear at these shiny gray WMDs. A gallery of weapon-porn, after the jump. More »

11:40 AM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By Charlie Jane Anders
2,196 views, 34 comments

Latest by Guizzy: They forgot to put the price tags. more »

Russian Scifi Epic "Inhabited Island" Comes to Berlin The long-awaited Russian scifi film Inhabited Island will screen in Berlin this week. This $40 million dollar epic is one of the most expensive films to come out of the Motherland. It's based on the 1971 Soviet novel called Prisoners of Power, written by the Strugatsky brothers, and follows amateur astronaut Maxim Kammerer after he lands on a planet based satirically on the U.S.S.R. The planet is peppered with mind-control towers that the government has disguised as a missile defense system. The newcomer destroys this network, but might have doomed its people and himself in the process. You can read an online version of the out of print (in English, anyhow) novel here. [Variety]

4 comments

architecture

St. Petersburg Starts Process of Becoming a Domed City

It's not quite a glass-domed city yet, but St. Petersberg has taken the first steps towards that goal. British architecture firm Wilkinson Eyre, best known for the design of the Gateshead Millenium Bridge in Newcastle, unveiled a bold new plan to revamp the old market of St. Petersburg, Russia by putting it entirely under glass. Over the next few years they'll be putting a giant sheet of reinforced glass over Aprasin Dvor, a shopping district. A matching glass bridge will span the river. We've got some interesting facts about the project. More »

4:30 PM on Wed Jan 30 2008
By LISA KATAYAMA
37,885 views, 23 comments

Latest by n/a: But it'll just get covered in smog and pollution. Russia's not exactly a clean place. more »

space race

The U.S. Needs A Space Race With China

China plans to launch 15 rockets, 17 satellites and a crewed spaceship during 2008. But that's not going to be enough to scare the United States into launching a new space race. And the U.S. really, really needs a new space race to get us to take space exploration seriously again. More »

Feature

9:00 AM on Thu Jan 24 2008
By charliejane
993 views, 28 comments

really giant machines

Diving Into the Russian Nuclear Sub Wreck

The Kursk was a Russian nuclear cruise missile submarine that was lost under mysterious circumstances involving some explosions in 2000. Here it is a year later, dredged up from the waters by a Dutch crew. Want to see the insides? More »

7:00 AM on Thu Jan 24 2008
By Annalee Newitz
5,456 views, 21 comments

Latest by n/a: You now, the irony is that the sub was only 350 feet down - while it was 450 feet long. All they had to do was raise up the rear to near the surface to save the men. more »

extraterrestrial garbage

Suicidal Russian Space Junk Plunges Into Earth's Atmosphere

Sturdy, car-sized space freighter Progress 26 was launched off the International Space Station on Saturday, filled to the brim with trash — basically, all the crap (literally and figuratively) the crew had been accumulating for weeks. Progress 27, another uncrewed freighter, will be arriving with fresh food and supplies from Earth for the ISS cosmonauts. No word on what will happen to the poop-packed Progress 26 once it's been launched from the ISS, but probably it will meet the same fate as its predecessor Progress 23 last March, which was programmed to burn itself up in our atmosphere. Russian Trash Ship [Space.com]

7:30 AM on Mon Dec 24 2007
By Annalee Newitz
140 views, Comment

Siberian Doomsday Supercrater Finally Located A team of scientists has finally located the impact crater from a "Doomsday" 1908 meteor strike that was one thousand times more powerful than the blast that leveled Hiroshima. You wouldn't think looking for something that size would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but it's gone undetected for nearly 100 years. Mainly because it was sneaky and hiding under a lake.
Crater From 1908 Russian Space Strike Found, Says Team [National Geographic]

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