posted 02-22-2011 02:46 PM               

Statue to World's First Spaceman Gagarin to go up in London

Acting Chief Executive of the UK Space Agency, David Williams, made the statement [on Feb. 22] after signing an agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos in Moscow on holding the Russian-British Year of Space in 2011.

He said the statue will be built in front of a monument to British explorer and navigator James Cook, joking that the site could serve as a perfect place for space launches.

The statue is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic first manned space flight made by Soviet cosmonaut Gagarin in 1961.

"The idea of erecting Gagarin's statue in the center of London is just great!" Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov said.

Perminov said this year the sides plan to hold several events and sign an agreement on joint cooperation in space.

Sculpture of Gagarin to be presented to London by Roscosmos (14th July 2011). A sculpture of Yuri Gagarin, generously presented by Roscosmos, will be installed in central London on 14 July 2011, 50 years to the day that Major Gagarin was officially welcomed to London by the Prime Minister, Harold McMillan. Sited in the shadow of Admiralty Arch, the sculpture will be opposite the statue of Capt Cook, so that the first explorer into space will stand opposite the UK's greatest explorer of the oceans.

posted 06-30-2011 05:24 AM               

Yuri Gagarin Comes to London

A statue of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, will be unveiled on the Mall, opposite the statue of Captain Cook and outside the British Council offices headquarters, on Thursday 14 July 2011, to mark the 50th Anniversary of Manned Space Flight.

The statue is a gift from the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) to the British Council. It will be installed on the Mall for a period of 12 months.

Vitaly Davydov, State Secretary and Deputy Head, Russian Space Agency commented on the statue coming to London: "Gagarin belongs not only to Russia but to all countries and nations, and it's important to us that the statue of Yuri Gagarin will be shown in London - one of the world's most international and intercultural cities - to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight. Russia and the UK have much in common, not only as allies during the Second World War, and victory gained through sacrifice - but as nations which have always been eager to travel to the unknown, and to discover new space; Gagarin symbolises this aspiration. And I believe that it is very important for us to combine our efforts - intellectual, cultural, logistical, and practical - to create a better planet for future generations everywhere."

Vernon Ellis, Chair of the British Council commented: "The unveiling of the statue of Yuri Gagarin in July so close to Trafalgar Square will be a wonderful moment. I remember the excitement in 1961 when we heard that Gagarin had successfully orbited the earth. Everyone was moved by the sheer bravery and adventure of his flight and through this statue we celebrate both that break-through for mankind, and the UK-Russian relationship.

"The statue's arrival in London reinforces the strong cultural and scientific ties that bind the UK and Russia together and is the culmination of a year of planning by Roscosmos and the British Council. It is just one example of the British Council's ongoing work to strengthen the relationship with Russia through education, English and the arts."

Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts, who visited Moscow in February for the signing of the joint statement on the UK Russia Year of Space, said: "We have a strong record of collaboration with Russia in space science. This statue is a particularly fitting emblem of both that history and the commitment to future work put in place through the UK Russia Year of Space, and I'm delighted it is coming to London."

The statue is an exhibition copy of the statue commissioned in 1984 by the small town of Lubertsy, just outside Moscow, where Gagarin trained as a foundry worker from the ages of 15-16. Made by Anatoly Novikov, one of the chief sculptors of the Stalingrad Memorial (now the Volgograd Memorial), the sculpture was commissioned to commemorate Gagarin's 50th birthday (he died in a plane crash aged 34), and is today a site of pilgrimage for cosmonauts before they travel into space.

The statue will be formally unveiled by the cosmonaut's daughter, Elena Gagarina, now Director of the Kremlin Museums. Others attending the ceremony include Alexei Leonov, the first man to walk in space and a close friend of Gagarin's; Sergei Krikalev, the cosmonaut-Director of Star City; and Natalia Koroleva, daughter of Sergei Korolev, the 'Chief Designer' of the Soviet space programme, and the man responsible for many space firsts: the first artificial satellite (sputnik) to be launched, the first man in space, the first space walk, the first woman in space, and the first lunar probe.

Yuri Gagarin was 27 when he journeyed into space on board Vostok 1. His space capsule travelled at a speed of 27.400 kms per hour, and orbited the earth in 108 minutes. On landing, he became the most famous man on earth. This statue, showing a life-sized Gagarin standing on a globe in his space suit, focuses on the human aspect of the extraordinary scientific innovations that lie behind the Russian space programme.

The site for the statue on the Mall has been chosen to reflect the nature of Gagarin's achievement, as well as the history of his visit to London. It will stand opposite the statue of Captain Cook, whose explorations created a new understanding of the planet, and on whose pedestal are inscribed the words' the circumnavigator of the globe'. It also stands in the shadow of Admiralty House, where Gagarin was formally welcomed to London by the then Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan, and from where he was driven to have lunch with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

In addition to the statue, the British Council will be showing an exhibition in its headquarters on the life of Gagarin and the early Soviet space programme. This will include rare photographs lent by the Gagarin family, Soviet posters from the Moscow Museum of Cosmonautics; a film made by Roscosmos showing original footage of the early training programme and the 1961 launch itself; books by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the 'father of the Russian space programme', from the Kaluga Space Museum. Also included are some extremely rare space items from the Vostok programme: the first space suit - SK-1 including the padded inner lining, blue rubberised pressure -suit and outer orange layer; and an ejector seat of the model used by Gagarin when he parachuted out of Vostok 1 at an altitude of 7 km. As there are no items from the early Soviet space programme on view in the UK, this is an exceptional opportunity to see space items which marked the launch of man's venture into space.

posted 06-30-2011 05:33 AM               

Yuri Gagarin: The Statue

The statue of Yuri Gagarin for London was originally commissioned by Lubertsy Vocational School no 10 in l984, to celebrate what would have been Gagarin's 50th birthday. Gagarin was killed in a plane crash on 27 March l968, aged 34.

Lubertsy is a small town on the northwest fringes of Moscow. Vocational School no 10 was a trade school where young boys of poor families learned to work as foundrymen while completing their academic studies to the equivalent of GSE or 'O' levels. Gagarin entered the school in September l949, aged 15. He graduated in June l951.

The statue was paid for by local subscriptions from the town of Lubertsy and its pupils. They commissioned the sculptor Anatoly Novikov, one of the principal sculptors of the Stalingrad Memorial (now the Volgograd Memorial), to make the work. It was cast in an alloy of aluminium and zinc (similar to the statue of Eros on Piccadilly), and without its pedestal stands 12 ft high. It shows a youthful Gagarin wearing his SK-1 spacesuit ('spasatelny kostum': rescue or life costume), standing on a globe with the trajectory of his 90-minute orbit of the earth circling around it. The statue stands today at the entrance to Lubertsy Vocational School no 10, and close by, the gardens are planted with fir trees, each planted by a cosmonaut on his safe return to earth.

This statue was chosen for a number of reasons:

• Logistical: height, scale, weight, proportion and movability

• Suitability: its proximity to other monuments on the Mall and its compatibility with the surroundings of Admiralty Arch and the Mall - it stands at more or less the same height as the statue of Captain Cook on the opposite side of the Mall; and level with the statue of Navigation seated in a specially designed niche in the wall of Admiralty Arch. The pedestal of Captain Cook is inscribed with the words 'circumnavigator of the globe'.

The location for the statue was also chosen for a number of historic reasons: Admiralty House was the site where Harold MacMillan formally welcomed Gagarin to London on 13 July l961, after two days of hesitant response by the British Government over how to greet this Soviet hero. The overwhelming welcome given to Gagarin by the British people forced the government to tack an extra two days onto Gagarin's UK visit, and a lunch with Her Majesty the Queen was hastily arranged for 14 July (she gave him two dolls for his daughters, Elena and Galina). The statue appropriately sits opposite that of Captain Cook, another explorer whose discoveries radically altered our view of the planet and our place within it. Permission to install the statue of Gagarin on this site was formally granted by Westminster City Council in January 2011.

Russian monuments and memorials are rarely given permission to be moved or to leave the country and, in this 50th Anniversary year, moving a statue of Gagarin out of Russia was unthinkable. Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency, was however extremely keen to help find a way of showing this statue in London, and after discussions with the Governor of Moscow Region, and with the Lubertsy authorities, it was agreed that Roscosmos would make an exhibition copy of the work, which they agreed to pay for. Moulds were taken from the original work in September 2010, and the statue was manufactured in Izhevsk in the heart of the Urals, in the town made famous for its manufacture of Kalashnikovs. Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK-47, still lives in the town.

The statue of Gagarin will be installed on the British Council Plaza on 14 July, where it will be mounted on a new plinth of white Portland stone. It will be unveiled officially by Elena Gagarina daughter of Yuri Gagarin.

posted 07-14-2011 10:08 AM               

Russia and UK bring statue of Yuri Gagarin to London

A statue of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, was unveiled outside the British Council's London headquarters in the Mall today to mark the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight. The statue's arrival in London reinforces the cultural and scientific ties between the UK and Russia.

Credit: British Council

The statue, a gift from the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) to the British Council, will stand in the Mall for a period of 12 months. It was unveiled by HRH Prince Michael of Kent and Elena Gagarina, the cosmonaut's daughter and Director of the Kremlin Museums, exactly fifty years to the day that Yuri Gagarin met with the Queen as part of his visit to the UK in 1961.

Martin Davidson, Chief Executive of the British Council, said: "We are delighted to welcome this statue of Yuri Gagarin to London and to celebrate what was an extraordinary breakthrough for mankind. Russia and the UK are at their best when working together culturally and economically. Placing this statue in London is just one example of the goodwill and co-operation that exists between our countries."

Elena Gagarina said: "I am very proud to be unveiling a statue to my father in a city that welcomed him so warmly 50 years ago; and delighted that the spirit of adventure and the imaginative leap into the unknown which his flight exemplified are being honoured by Londoners today."

David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, said: "The statue unveiled today is a fitting memorial to a true pioneer of our time, and also serves as an emblem to the greater collaboration with the Russian space agency agreed during my visit to Moscow earlier this year. The UK Russia Year of Space will see our countries working together on exciting research and education projects, and I hope this statue further inspires our next generation of space scientists."

Yuri Gagarin was 27 when he journeyed into space on board Vostok 1. His space capsule travelled at a speed of 27,400 kilometres per hour, and orbited the earth in 108 minutes. On landing, he became the most famous man on earth. This statue, showing Gagarin standing on a globe in his space suit, focuses on the human aspect of the extraordinary scientific achievements of the Russian space programme.

The statue was commissioned in 1984 by the small town of Lyubertsy, just outside Moscow, where Gagarin trained as a foundry worker from the ages of 15-16. Made by Anatoly Novikov, one of the chief sculptors of the Stalingrad Memorial (now the Volgograd Memorial), it was commissioned to commemorate what would have been Gagarin's 50th birthday (he died in a plane crash aged 34) and is today a site of pilgrimage for cosmonauts before they travel into space. The version in London is an exhibition copy of the original.

The site on the Mall has been chosen to reflect the nature of Gagarin's achievement. It stands facing the statue of Captain Cook on the opposite side of the Mall; and close to the statue of Navigation seated in the wall of Admiralty Arch. The pedestal of Captain Cook is inscribed with the words 'circumnavigator of the globe'.

The statue is the culmination of a year of planning by Roscosmos and the British Council and is just one example of the British Council's work to strengthen the relationship with Russia through education, English and the arts. Others who attended the unveiling ceremony included Vladimir Popovkin, Federal Minister for Space and Head of Russian Federal Space Agency; Sergei Krikalev, the cosmonaut-Director of Star City; Natalia Koroleva, daughter of Sergei Korolev, the 'Chief Designer' of the Soviet space programme and Helen Sharman, Britain's first astronaut.

In addition to the statue, the British Council is showing an exhibition, entitled Gagarin in Britain in its London headquarters on the life of Gagarin and the early Soviet space programme. It is also publishing a catalogue to mark the occasion.

posted 07-14-2011 10:12 AM               

Message from the crew of the International Space Station

This message was recorded to mark the unveiling of a statue of Yuri Gagarin in the Mall in London on 14 July 2011 outside the British Council.

posted 07-15-2011 03:02 AM               

The statue, a gift from the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) to the British Council, will stand in the Mall for a period of 12 months.

posted 10-03-2011 06:30 PM               

This campaign, including today a short interview on Radio Manchester, includes an invitation to sign the online petition. You don't have to be a Mancunian or even be in the UK to sign this petition.

posted 10-07-2011 07:17 AM               

The British Council's Andrea Rose said that Mr Singh's bid was one of four she had received, with the other three being at undisclosed locations.

She said she was "delighted that Manchester has thrown its hat in the ring".

Mr Singh said that a decision on where the statue would be put if his bid was successful had yet to be made, but that possible sites in the city centre and at Trafford Park were being considered.

A decision on the permanent site for the statue will be made by the end of 2011.

posted 11-30-2011 02:04 PM               

Over 450 people now support this campaign, my target is 1000 by the end of 2011.

Many public figures from science, astronomy, academia, TV, and authors who have added their name to an open letter including Sir Patrick Moore, Nobel prize winning physicist Andre Geim and Apollo 15 command module pilot Al Worden.

If you think it is a good idea, read more and please sign the petition here. It takes less than 30 seconds.

If you happen to be in Manchester (UK) next Monday, I am doing a talk about Gagarin’s visit to Manchester hosted by Manchester Archives in the City Library on Deansgate on Monday 5th December at 6pm. It is free but need to book a seat here.