Moscow of the future from dreamers a century ago

“Winter is the same as it was in our day, 200 years ago. The snow is the same, white and cold. Pictured is the Central Station of Ground and Air Transportation. Tens of thousands of people are coming and going, everything is moving extremely quickly, systematically and smoothly. Passengers who wish to can travel at the speed of a telegram.”

“Teatralnaya Square in front of the Bolshoi Theater. The speed of life has increased a hundredfold. Somewhere in the distance a fire rages. We see a fire engine that will put an end to it in an instant. Biplanes, monoplanes and air cabs are hurrying to the scene of the fire.”

“The Kremlin adorns the ancient white-walled Moscow (as the Russian capital was called even in 1914 when the walls were white), which along with the golden domes makes for a fantastic view. Here at the Moskvoretsky Bridge we see huge new buildings occupied by trade companies, trusts, associations, syndicates, etc. Air-road trains are gracefully gliding against the background of the sky…”

“A fine evening. Lubyanka Square in the center of Moscow looks approximately as imagined. Long Moscow Metro trains fly out from the roadway square. In 1914 we had only heard about the Metro. We see valiant Russian troops walking rhythmically over a bridge above the Metro, their uniform preserved from our times.”

“The lively, noisy banks of the great shipping Moskva river. Huge transport cruisers and multi-storey passenger steamers hurtle over the clear, deep waves of the wide commercial harbor. The world's fleet is entirely commercial. Navies were abolished after a peace treaty in the Hague.”

“We are mentally carried away to Petrovsky Park (built in 19th-century Moscow). The alleys have expanded beyond recognition. Marvelous fountains are spurting everywhere, sparkling in the sunlight. The air is completely pure, free of germs and dust, and dissected by airships and airplanes. Crowds of people in bright 23rd-century attire, enjoying the wondrous nature where we, their great-great-great-grandparents, used to walk.”

One hundred and one years ago, in 1914, on the eve of the First World War, confectionery company Tovareshestvo Einem produced a series of postcards entitled “Moscow of the Future”. Later, in 1922, the name of the company changed to Krasnyi Oktyabr (Red October), which became the most famous confectionary company in Russia. / “Red Square. The noise of wings, the ringing of trams, the sound of bicycle bells and car sirens, the crash of engines, and the cry of the crowd. The monument to Minin and Pozharsky (who led a Russian force against Polish invaders in 1611-1612) is still on Red Square. A police officer with a sabre is in the center. This is reality in 200 years.”

An unnamed artist imagined how Moscow would look in the 22nd and 23rd centuries. Every picture also contained a description on the back; we translated some parts of it. / “A beautiful fine winter of 2259. A corner of “old” merry Moscow. To make travel a more pleasurable and comfortable experience, the St Petersburg highway has become an icy mirror, on which aero-sleighs are flying and sliding.”