Russian mayor ignores time capsule message saying people ‘don't need wars’

The mayor of the Russian city of Voronezh, Sergey Petrin, chose not to mention an anti-war message from the past at a ceremony to reopen a 25-year-old time capsule, local blogger Yury Rodionov revealed on Thursday.

The time capsule was buried in Voronezh, in western Russia, in the year 2000 to mark the 55th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. A solemn ceremony to reopen the capsule was held in the city on Thursday.

The message to the future began: “We don’t need wars. No one needs them. We have lived through many — the Civil War, World War II, the war in Afghanistan, the Chechen War. Let them be remnants of the 20th century.”

Petrin posted footage from the reopening of the capsule on Telegram, but chose to ignore the words about war. He did, however, quote another section in which the authors called for “making the country powerful again”.

“The military operation is ongoing,” Petrin said, referring to the invasion of Ukraine. "Once again, we have to stand up for our right to life and liberty. I believe that we will prevail and we will do what was expected of us,” Petrin added, saying that a new capsule had been laid which would be opened on the 100th anniversary of victory in World War II.