In this capsule, retrieved from the wall of the House of Culture in Novosibirsk, the three-page letter signed by the local Party Committee resembles a chapter from communist sci-fi fan fiction: “Dear descendants, today you are celebrating a unique day: a hundred years of Soviet rule. […] We know our time is interesting, but yours is much more so. We are building communism and you live it. We believe that you have perfectly equipped our blue planet, colonised the Moon, landed on Mars; that you are continuing the exploration of outer space that we, people of the first 50 years, have begun, and that your ships are sailing across the galaxy. We believe you are holding talks about scientific and cultural collaboration with representatives of other galaxies, alien civilisations. We believe that the work that our fathers and grandfathers started 50 years ago and which we share, you will finish and bring to victory.” While the Soviets might be disappointed by Russia’s rockets consistently falling out of the sky and the successes of the capitalist Space X, they’d probably still be quite curious about all the apps that we now have that can model your face and neatly place a dog mask over it.

“You will probably grow gardens in the Arctic Circle”

Murmansk

In far-northern Murmansk, the time capsule had been hidden inside a monument erected in 1967 to celebrate the 101st anniversary of the city. The retrieval took over two hours, as the capsule was buried under two concrete slabs and fixed inside a big concrete block. Judging by these burial techniques, those who created the time capsule definitely thought that our technology would at least be advanced enough to cut through concrete with space-age lasers. The letter hidden inside confirms this: “We have found in the earth of our peninsula the richest deposits of valuable metals and minerals, we have built towns, cities, factories and power plants in the tundra, laid roads, built a navy and learned how to reap a harvest from this meagre polar soil. We have only made our first steps into outer space, and you are probably already flying to other planets. You will uncover many natural secrets, curb nuclear power, tame the forces of nature, improve the climate, grow gardens in the Arctic Circle. Remember us, your predecessors, who built your city and whose lives were sacrificed for the struggle to build communism.”

“You have eliminated harmful bacteria and viruses, ageing and sickness”

Tiraspol