A time capsule interred by members of the Soviet Komsomol youth organization in the 1970s has been discovered under a Lenin statue in Kamchatka with a message to the world of 2024.
The message — handwritten on a large sheet of paper nearly a meter and a half wide — contains words of encouragement and expresses confidence that the message's readers would be “better” than its writers — and would still be Communist.
"We say to you, who will join us in 45 years, … let your character be courageous. Let your songs be happier. Let your love be hotter. We do not feel sorry for ourselves because we are certain you will be better than us," the message says.
"Improve the world and yourself in the name of communism, as Vladimir Ilyich Lenin taught us, as the Communist Party teaches us! Lenin is always with us!" it says.
The capsule was found in the village of Vulkanny in the Yelizovsky district of Kamchatka during the restoration of the foundation under a statue of Lenin. In Soviet times, placing time capsules under statues of Lenin was a common practice.
By strange coincidence, the capsule was uncovered 33 years to the day after it was buried, on July 15, 1979, Rosbalt news agency reported Thursday. It was placed under the statue to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the Komsomol being renamed after Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, with its official title becoming the Russian Leninist Young Communist League.
The message, written by Komsomol military unit No. 14086, was also filled with ritualistic praise for heroes of the Soviet past.
"Our pride is the feats of older generations — it is our responsibility to the Party, the motherland and the people. Everything reached through the blood and work of heroes, and your wonderful life, is the extension of our love," it says.
In a ceremony Wednesday, Yelizovsky district head Dmitry Zaitsev turned the capsule over to Oleg Markov, head of the modern military unit No. 14086, to become part of a military museum.
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