2011 SMOLENSK REGION IS CELEBRATING THE BIRTHDAY OF THE 1ST COSMONAUT YURI GAGARIN

The festivities dedicated to the 77^th anniversary of our compatriot Yuri Gagarin took place in the homeland of the first cosmonaut in the world – in the city of Gagarin of the Smolensk region.

The Smolensk people met the cosmonauts near the Moscow region. There were representatives of the first detachment (Gagarin was a part of it) among them: two times heroes of the Soviet Union Aleksey Leonov and Viktor Gorbatko and also Aleksandr Aleksandrov, Anatply Berezovoy, Aleksandr Viktorenko, Petr Klimuk and other cosmonauts and pilots.

Together with Governor of the Smolensk region Sergey Antufiev, participants of the International socially scientific readings for Y. A. Gagarin, natives they took part in the solemn meeting that was in Gagarin on Red Square.

«We are glad to see the guests of the festival – not only the representatives of the cosmonaut detachment but scientists, engineers – who were from the very beginning of the native space programs», - said Sergey Antufiev. He emphasized that it was a great honor for the Smolensk region to be the native land of the first cosmonaut of the world: «We, Smolensk people, say with proud: Yuri Gagarin is our compatriot, he made the Smolensk land famous for ages. And today we’ll admire that unprecedented event that happened 50 years ago. I wish you all to not only proud the deeds of the first cosmonaut but to be worthy of great things».

Aleksey Leonov, a friend of Yuri Gagarin, that was the first who spacewalked reminded that Gagarin had opened a new page in the development of science and engineering. «As long as we can walk we’ll visit the land of Gagarin», - said the famous cosmonaut. The detachment commander of the Russian cosmonauts Yuri Lonchakov added that the recent generation of cosmonauts follows the deed of Gagarin.

Governor Sergey Antufiev and participants of the festivities laid flowers on the monuments to Yuri Gagarin and his mother Anna Timofeevna.

In school № 4 there was a solemn opening of the museum devoted to two times hero of the Soviet Union, space pilot Aleksey Leonov. This educational institution is titled after Leonov.

After that the future cosmonauts went to the village of Klushino where the first cosmonaut of the planet had been born, then visited the Museum House of the Gagarins. The honorable guests of the Gagarin readings met with the labour collectives of the town. Scientific conferences «Space way without limits» and «Human being is a particle of the universe» started to work at schools. Also there started to work exhibitions («Our Gagarin» is among them) at the branch offices of the United Memorial Museum.

During the speech with the journalist Sergey Antufiev told about the results of the preparation of the Administration of the Smolensk region for the international event: «We invited a lot of guests, our friends – cosmonauts, scientists from the Center of space flights and others. Today we can see the renewed cinema and concert hall «Komsomolets» where the main events will take place in future. The village of Klushino was supplied with gas. Also they repaired the club, the school and the well of cosmonauts. They renewed road as well. We tried to do everything for the guests to feel that the Smolensk region has been preparing for the festivities and that we are proud of Yuri Gagarin and love him. We’ll meet our guests with pleasure not only in March or April but in other months of the year. The city of Gagarin is supposed to become a museum as there are a lot of places there that are connected with the life of the first cosmonaut».

Then the Head of the region visited the opening of the XVII All-Russian Tournament of unarmed self-defence and the building site of the House of Creative Activity for kids and young people. According to his words the initiator of the building was Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Cyril. «Being a representative of the Smolensk department metropolitan Cyril offered that the Cathedral of the Annunciation was to be the place destined by history. The Patriarch showed initiative to apply to Vladimir Putin about the project of the building of the House of Creative Activity for kids and young people and he met half-way. But there was an agreement: to finish the building in the Year of Cosmonautics », - told the Governor . – «Today we can see the mood of our contract organizations and designers. In 2011 the city will get a wonderful gift to the 50^th anniversary of the first flight to space».

The cost of the building is 250 million rubles. There is no an analogue to it. It will have an observatory with great deal of rooms for lessons of all kinds of art. We hope that will be a favourite place for young cosmonauts.

In the Culture Center there was a solemn evening party and a ceremony of opening of the XXXVIII International socially scientific readings for Y. A. Gagarin. They did a special extinguishing of the post envelop connected with the year of Russian cosmonautics and then started the Gagarin readings.