Celebrations in the homeland of the first cosmonaut of the planet

Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy attended the space pioneer Yuri Gagarin’s birthday celebration and the opening ceremony of the 40th International Social-Science readings which were held in the town of Gagarin.

The first cosmonaut of the planet would have been 79 years old on March 9, 2013 and for 40 years Gagarin’s homeland has been welcoming the participants of the Social-Science readings. On the border of the Smolensk and Moscow regions the countrymen of Yuri Alexeevich Gagarin met the delegation headed by the cosmonaut of the first space team, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Alexei Leonov. The Hero of the Soviet Union and Russia, the chief of the Cosmonaut Training Center Sergei Krikalev, the team of cosmonauts headed by its commander Sergei Volkov also visited the district center.

They took part in the ceremony which traditionally was held in the central square of the town. It brought together many guests, participants of the International Readings, members of the youth organization “Gagarintsy”. In his speech Alexei Leonov said it is already the second generation who were in Red Square of the town of Gagarin on March, 9.

In his welcoming address to the participants of the ceremony Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy said: "It is great that the Smolensk land gave birth to a son like Yuri Gagarin, but it's also a huge responsibility for to the local authorities and the Administration of the region. Of course, we need to improve the town and the district. Especially when there are all conditions for it such as the location close to Moscow and to the federal highway Moscow-Minsk. The Administration of the region, the district authorities and I personally surely intent to change the situation here for the better: attract investors, create new jobs, improve the living standards of the people of Gagarin. In this context the famous words of Yuri Gagarin "Let's go" are a great motto for the regional authorities indicating the intensive mode they should work in to achieve results."