Mintimer Shaimiev lays flowers to the monument to Yuri Gagarin

On April 12, Tatarstan first President and State Counsellor Mintimer Shaimiev, who is on leave in Karlovy Vary, laid flowers to the monument to the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin installed in front of the city airport. In 1966, Yuri Gagarin spent his vacation at a resort in Karlovy Vary.

The ceremony marked 55 years since the man’s first flight into the outer space, an event celebrated worldwide today.

Russia Consul General in Karlovy Vary Mikhail Ledenev and Russian cosmonaut pilot Sergei Volkov with spouse and two sons took part in the event. From September 2015, Volkov worked at the space orbit as the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft commander for 182 days, he returned to the Earth early in March and is taking a rehabilitation course at a health resort.

Before laying flowers, Mintimer Shaimiev thanked the Czech Republic and municipality authorities for attention and assistance in promoting the memory of the world’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.