Yuri Gagarin statue in London marks fruitful space collaboration

On July 14, a statue of Yuri Gagarin was officially unveiled on the Mall in London to mark 50 years since the Soviet space pioneer made history by becoming the first man in space. 

The daughter of the legendary cosmonaut, Elena Gagarina, participated in the ceremony that was part of the UK-Russia space year, a collaborative effort to boost cooperation through a series of bilateral cultural and scientific initiatives.  

Martin Davison, chief executive of the British Council, described the event as a highlight of the joint year, telling Modern Russia that it was about, “warming the relationship and finding ways where we can work together more closely, whether that is through research or education or joint scientific working.

”The sentiment was echoed by Sergei Krikalev, the cosmonaut who accompanied Britain’s first astronaut Helen Sharman into space in 1989, who told Modern Russia that the day paid tribute to Russia’s and the UK’s relationship in space cooperation. “Installing this statue is basically a signal that we are going to continue this relationship” he added. 

Krikalev noted that with the NASA’s shuttle program coming to an end last month, Russia is set to play a larger role in the international space program, ferrying astronauts into space and back with its Soyuz spacecraft. “Russia will have more responsibility of supplying [space] stations…But we’ve already done this for many years. On my sixth flight…we only sent people up and down on Soyuz,” he said.

The statue, installed where Yuri Gagarin was greeted by cheering crowds in London on July 14, 1961, was a present to the British Council from the Russian space agency Roscosmos. The British Council is also hosting a Gagarin in Britain exhibition until September 14.   

Please see the Modern Russia factsheet on the Russian space program for further information.