Today in Ashgabat, on the territory of the Russian Embassy, in agreement with the Turkmen side, a monument to the first cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union, Yuri Gagarin, was solemnly opened.

The opening ceremony of the monument was attended by the Russian Ambassador to Turkmenistan Alexander Blohin, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Ashgabat Hyakimlik, employees of the Space Administration of the “Turkmen Communications” Agency, diplomats and media representatives.

The bronze bust of the cosmonaut, created by sculptor Alexey Leonov, was donated by the international charitable foundation “Dialogue of Cultures - One World”. Since 2011, the Foundation has been implementing a project to install sculptural compositions dedicated to Yuri Gagarin in dozens of countries around the world. Today there are monuments to the first cosmonaut in Italy, France, Bulgaria, Germany, USA, India, China, Czech Republic and other countries.

The architectural design and granite pedestal were provided by the representative office of the Russian construction company “Vozrozhdenie”.

In 2021, exactly 60 years have passed since the “Vostok” launch vehicle launched into orbit a spacecraft on board which was the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin. After 108 minutes of flight in the Earth's orbit, Gagarin successfully landed in the Saratov region.

Also see the photo report from the opening of the monument to Yuri Gagarin.