The formation of the future image in children and adolescents in the USSR in the 1950s-1960s.

The subject of the research is the role of the magazine "Young Technician" (1956–1965) as a key tool of secondary socialization aimed at shaping the future image in children and adolescents in the USSR. The focus of the analysis is on the mechanisms through which the publication constructed perceptions of scientific and technological progress, cosmic expansion, and techno-optimism, as well as their integration into the worldview of the younger generation. The study covers the substantive, visual, and ideological aspects of the magazine: content analysis of articles, illustrations, science fiction stories, practical sections, and their connection to state policy for the training of personnel for industrial and cosmic development. Special attention is given to the transmission of key concepts of the era–such as "readiness for the future," "scientific and technological revolution," and "collective construction of communism" – through educational and instructional materials. The methodology of the research is based on content analysis of 120 issues of the magazine (1956–1965), a systematic approach, and data visualization. The interdisciplinary analysis reveals the role of texts, illustrations, and practical sections in shaping a techno-optimistic vision of the future. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the philosophical reflection on the magazine "Young Technician" as a tool for constructing techno-utopian consciousness within the framework of the Soviet model of progress. For the first time, through the lens of the philosophy of technology and social utopia, the mechanism is revealed through which children's periodicals formed the ontology of "the future-as-project," where scientific and technological progress appeared not only as the engine of history but also as an ethical imperative. The content analysis revealed the dialectic between "algorithmization" (acting "by instruction") and "creative imagination": the magazine transmitted the idea that the freedom of invention is possible only within the framework of a collective goal–serving the state. The philosophical analysis of illustrations and sections showed how visual images of spaceships and futuristic cities became "icons of progress," fitting into the narrative of "mastering the world"–key to the Soviet version of the philosophy of cosmism. The findings of the research raise questions about the cost of techno-optimism: the upbringing of a generation oriented towards "scientific service" entailed not only the transmission of knowledge but also the substitution of existential quests with engineering calculations.