The first cosmonaut was “a symbol for humanity”

Cypriot residents, Russian compatriots, as well as employees of the Russian Embassy in Nicosia and students of the Embassy’s Yevgeny Primakov Comprehensive School honored the memory of the planet’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin by laying flowers to his bust in the Municipal Park of the Cypriot capital on Cosmonautics Day.

In his address to the participants of the celebrations, Russian Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus Murat Zyazikov noted that Gagarin’s legendary flight “became a triumph of domestic space science and a symbol of the beginning of a new era,” which, he said, “was a time of scientific breakthroughs and inspiring courage”.

“The feat of the Soviet cosmonaut opened the way to the stars for the inhabitants of the Earth and still remains for millions of people around the world an example of true heroism, courage and selflessness,” the Russian ambassador emphasized, recalling that Gagarin himself noted that “this success was achieved by Soviet people in the interests of all mankind.” Zyazikov added that the memory of such people “lives not only in books and monuments, but also in our actions, in the pursuit of knowledge, cooperation, in the ardent desire to conquer the unknown,” and that such ideals “unite representatives of different countries and cultures. Those who look up to the sky can believe in the ability of man to overcome the boundaries of the possible.”

The Russian ambassador recalled that in 1962 Yuri Alekseevich visited Cyprus with the “Peace Mission”. The visit that left a deep trace in the history of relations between the peoples of the two countries. “And today his name evokes sincere respect and appreciation among both the older generation and the youth. I am sure that the islanders will always remember Yuri Gagarin as a great friend of the Cypriot people and a man of peace who managed to do what previously seemed impossible,” Zyazikov said.

Gagarin and Cyprus

The theme of the first cosmonaut’s visit to Cyprus was also warmly noted by the Cypriots themselves, who gathered at his bust in the Cypriot capital on that day. According to the president of the Cyprus-Russia Friendship Society and head of the International Movement of Russophiles of Cyprus, Gagarin “gave his sweet smile to tens of thousands of Cypriots in all the cities he visited”. He recalled that Gagarin was received in Nicosia by the first president of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios III, who presented the first cosmonaut with the island’s highest state award.

Before his departure from Cyprus, Gagarin said that he would be very happy if his visit would serve to strengthen the friendship between the two countries. And indeed, as the head of the Friendship Society emphasized, after the first cosmonaut’s trip to the island there was a sharp intensification of diplomatic contacts between Moscow and Nicosia, which, in turn, contributed to the strengthening of relations between the peoples of Russia and Cyprus, which became exceptionally friendly. “And today, despite the difficulties and hardships, all of us – members of the Cyprus-Russia Friendship Society, the International Movement of Russophiles of Cyprus, the Association of Graduates [of Soviet and Russian universities], activists and all those who truly love Russia, are obliged to fight for these fraternal relations between the peoples of Cyprus and Russia to become even stronger,” the prominent Cypriot said.

Also addressing the audience, Yorgos Troulias, director of the Kition Observatory in Cyprus, called Gagarin “an amazing man who was and will forever remain a symbol of humanity.” He said the first cosmonaut was an extremely brave man who risked his life for the sake of progress and the future of world civilization and helped to attract a huge number of people to science.

Conference with the cosmonauts

With the assistance of Rossotrudnichestvo and the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Nicosia, a video call was organized between those gathered at the bust of Gagarin and Russia’s hard working cosmonauts. Oleg Novitsky, a hero of Russia and participant of four expeditions to the International Space Station ISS with three completed spacewalks at the Cosmonaut Training Center, greeted the participants of the event. “Space is not only new technologies, it is also a view from a height that allows us to see the Earth as it is – united, beautiful, fragile. From the porthole of a spaceship the borders disappear and only a living, breathing planet remains, and in this boundless space the image of the island of Cyprus as a precious part of our land surrounded by the blue glow of the sea is especially bright and clear,” the cosmonaut said.

Novitsky said he conveyed to the participants of the event in Nicosia words of gratitude, friendship and inspiration on behalf of the Russian cosmonauts. “Let this day be a reminder that in each of us lives the aspiration for more: for light, for the stars. And may the children of Cyprus and Russia continue to look up into the sky with the same enthusiasm with which Gagarin once said: “Let’s go!”.

The participants of the celebration in the Cypriot capital conveyed their greetings to the “conquerors of space”, including those pilot-cosmonauts who are currently on board the ISS.