Fifty years ago, Russians thought, by 2017, they'd be "prowling the galaxy", "doing business with aliens" and perhaps most unrealistically, still living under communist rule.
A time capsule buried in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk in 1967 has been unearthed to mark the 100th anniversary of the October revolution, reports RT (formerly Russia Today).
Video showed city officials unfurling a three-page letter and reading it out to gathered media.
"We believe that you have masterfully outfitted our wonderful blue planet - the Earth - explored the Moon and landed on Mars, that you are continuing the exploration of space started by the people of the first half of the century and that your starships have been long prowling the galaxy," it read.
"We believe you are negotiating cultural and scientific cooperation with representatives of other, extraterrestrial civilizations… We know, our time is interesting, but yours is more interesting.
"We have built communism and you are living under communism."
Communism in Russia ended relatively peacefully in 1991. Humans haven't been to the moon since 1971.
No-one has set foot on Mars. Galaxy-hopping starships are still the domain of fiction.
Aliens have yet to ask to be taken to our leaders.
A minute's silence was held for the authors, RT says, none of which are still alive.
- Mars 'mothership' spotted in NASA images
- Beehive time capsule from 1960s cracked open
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- Replacement time capsule buried in Cathedral Square
Newshub.
