ussr - io9

posts about #ussr more →
Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire
This Could Have Been Our Future
Soviets Lost Cold War, Won Pulp Scifi Sweepstakes
Happy Soviets Dance on the Moon, 1961
Nuclear Missiles Are Rock Stars In Moscow

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Bootknife-Jackson
11/18/09

In reply to Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire
i think Sputnik was a man-MADE satellite, not a MANNED satellite...
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Klebert L. Hall
11/18/09

In reply to Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire
Lots of good stuff like this at English Russia: [englishrussia.com] .

For US equivalents, try: [www.lostamerica.com] .
-Kle.
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Chip Overclock
11/17/09

In reply to Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire
I've mentioned this before when this topic has come up: you can see sights similar to this (minus the cyrillic writing) in the Western U.S., particularly along routes which an Interstate taking a different route put whole towns out of business. I have ridden US-36 from Denver to Indianapolis several times. The portion in Eastern Colorado is downright spooky with ghost towns created when the I-70 route was chosen to be US-40 instead of US-36.

If you're on a motorcycle, do _not_ pass any open gas stations along the Eastern Colorado section.
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Edited by Chip Overclock at 11/17/09 8:15 PM Chip Overclock was starred Chip Overclock was unstarred

jabber
11/18/09

@Chip Overclock: Yea, I also like to know why. Are there zombies in those areas?
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Chip Overclock
11/18/09

@jabber: "do not pass any open gas stations" means "do not pass up any opportunity to get gas because such opportunities are few and far between". I use a BMW R1100RT with about a 300 mile range as my touring bike, and even I got a little nervous.
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Chip Skylark of Space
11/18/09

@Chip Overclock: Same advice if you ever take a trip across the north shore of Lake Superior. There's a 75 mile stretch (give or take) where there is no civilization at all. I think that it's east of Marathon. Very cool. The views are awesome, but bring a good bug spray, and never confront a moose. The most fun I've ever had on a Canadian highway (someday I'll do the Alaska Highway).
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crashedpc - Haifisch
11/17/09

In reply to Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire
The worst ones are the pictures of abandoned playgrounds. Ooof, the blank eyes of grinning horsies. #sovietruins
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EdificeComplex
11/17/09

In reply to Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire

Some of the early Stalinist architecture is quite beautiful. It's when they ended up facing a housing crisis etc. that they turned to the mass produced, cheaply constructed austere architecture. Obviously it was not designed to stand the test of time. #sovietruins
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Chip Overclock
11/17/09

@EdificeComplex: I was in Beijing in a government building built by the Russians in the 50s. As you walked up the stairs, the upper flight of stairs got closer and closer to the lower flight, until near the top of the stairwell you had to stoop to continue walking up. My hosts just shook their heads and muttered "Russians" as if that explained everything.

There are two styles of buildings on the campus of Peking University (which is what it was still called when I was there): lovely classical Chinese buildings built (I was told) by the Americans many decades ago, and ugly concrete and cinder block buildings built by the Russians in the 50s and 60s.
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Edited by Chip Overclock at 11/17/09 5:22 PM Chip Overclock was starred Chip Overclock was unstarred

BadUncle
11/17/09

In reply to Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire
cool and creepy. You can almost hear the wind whistling through. And then come the Screamers. #sovietruins
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Post-Nuked
11/17/09

@BadUncle:
Dude, Screamers totally live there. #sovietruins
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WLDaywalker
11/17/09

In reply to Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire
Someone call Infinity Ward. They're going to need ideas for scenery for Modern Warfare 3. #sovietruins
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Dirk Anger
11/18/09

@WindowlickinDaywalker: I thought two of those were Prypyat, but they're not. Apparently all abandoned ex-Soviet buildings look the same
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ManchuCandidate
11/17/09

In reply to Abandoned Ruins of the Soviet Empire
All Your Base Are Belong To Desert #sovietruins
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