When I was a boy, back in the late 60's and early 70's, I was
fascinated by the unfolding Space race. One of my first toys was a
Matt Mason astronaut doll and to this day one of my most precious
books is a lavish biography of Yuri Gagarin printed by Progress
Publishers in Moscow in the 70's. The first time I visited Russia,
visiting some of the monuments to the space pioneers was high on my
list of priorities.
The most striking and beautiful memorial is to be found in the
North of Moscow near the Pan Russian Exhibition Centre (VDNKh
metro). Its elegant design , over a hundred metres tall, features a
rocket on top of a curving obelisk clad in titanium so it glitters
in the summer sun. The base has a relief design of members of the
space program, scientists, engineers and of course cosmonauts. My
favourite figure however is slightly hidden amongst the humans, it
is the portrait of Laika, the dog who became the very first living
creature ever to leave the earths orbit and enter space.
Inside the showground itself are the beautiful pavilions from each
part of the former USSR and at the back of the exhibition is the
space pavilion outside of which stands the Vostok rocket in which
the first human , Yuri Gagarin made his historic flight into space
in 1961. Throughout Russia today his achievements are recorded with
statues and roads named in his honour. It is possible to visit the
Space training centre known as Star City which is about 20 miles
north of Moscow but it is vital to book this in advance. In this
once top secret location are many of the most famous artefacts of
the space adventure including mock-ups of the Mir space station and
other space craft. To this day it is a tradition amongst cosmonauts
setting off into space to place flowers at the base of the Gagarin
monument here to bring them a safe return.
David Turner
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