In the late 1980s, as Russian productivity shrank and mouldered, a rocket scientist called Vladimir Syromyatnikov proposed a remedy: he would lengthen the working day by lengthening the day itself. Project Znamya survived the fall of the Soviet Union and — backed by a consortium of oligarchs — underwent a successful test in 1993, when the Mir space station was used to unfurl a huge flower of reflective polyester in the thermosphere. Cosmonauts saw a 5km-wide beam of light rake across the surface of the Earth. Syromyatnikov was poised to abolish the night; to allow work to conquer sleep.
20世纪80年代末，随着俄罗斯生产率的下滑和停滞，一位名为弗拉基米尔•西罗米亚特尼科夫(Vladimir Syromyatnikov)的火箭科学家提出了一剂“良方”：通过延长白昼本身来延长工作时间。Znamya计划在苏联解体后仍得以延续，并在一批寡头的资助下于1993年完成了一次成功测试——当时，和平号空间站在热层展开了一朵巨大的反光涤纶“花”。宇航员看到一束宽约5公里的光带横扫地球表面。西罗米亚特尼科夫似乎已准备好废除黑夜，让工作征服睡眠。