Gagarin's niece appealed to Putin to help with the cosmonaut museum

Tamara Filatova, the niece of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin on a direct line with a request to help create a worthy museum of the first cosmonaut, since its federal status is still not supported by modern infrastructure. In a comment to Izvestia on December 15, she spoke about the problems the museum is facing now.

In 2019, a decree was signed that provided not only for the assignment of federal status to the Gagarin Museum in the Smolensk Region, but also for the construction of a new modern building. The first part of the order has been completed, but the issue of the new complex has not yet been resolved.

"A new director came to us and said, 'We don't need anything, we have enough space,' and that was the end of it. But how is nothing needed when we don't live up to our title as a federal museum at all?" shared Filatova.

According to her, all expositions are located in unrepaired buildings. They also lack the necessary infrastructure for people with limited mobility.

"We have no lifts, no wide flights of stairs, no facilities for people with limited mobility. The roof of one of the main buildings, Gagarin's School Years Home, has been leaking for years. <..> It was simply covered with roofing material, "mothballed." And this "conservation" has been going on for two years," the woman said.

The relative of the cosmonaut is particularly concerned about the state of the storage facility, which cannot guarantee the safety of unique memorial items.

"There are no cinema halls, no normal parking, no hotels for tourists. If you look at it, we don't have anything. But in a year it will be the 65th anniversary of the flight. <...> I want to know with a clear conscience that everything will be fine with the museum. This is the first cosmonaut — the pride of the country," she said.

Opened in space: an exhibition in honor of Leonov was shown in orbit

For the first time, an exhibition was organized on the ISS and a guided tour was conducted.

Tamara Filatova previously talked about the childhood of the great cosmonaut and noted that he began to prepare for overloads at an early age. In addition, according to her, during his studies, Gagarin came on vacation to his native places and brought gifts, the money for which he earned with hard work.

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