The President visited the astronauts
The astronauts left him
Vladimir Putin celebrated Cosmonautics Day by visiting Star City. The President came simply to talk with the astronauts. NASA representatives declined to communicate.

President Putin visited the Cosmonaut Training Center (CTC) not for the first time. In March last year then also. O. The President inspected the simulators of the Cosmonaut Training Center and awarded the cosmonauts. Vladimir Putin began yesterday's trip by laying flowers at the monument to Yuri Gagarin. Then I talked with the residents of the town. He toured the museum's exhibition, where in the memorial room of Yuri Gagarin, over a cup of tea, he spoke with the widow of the first cosmonaut, Valentina, and his daughters, 42-year-old Elena and 40-year-old Galina. The eldest works as an art critic at the Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin, and the younger one teaches economics at the Academy of Management.
At this time, employees of the Cosmonaut Training Center and cosmonauts, among whom there were many foreigners, gathered in the exhibition hall of the cultural center (since 1976, 43 cosmonauts from 18 countries have been trained at the Cosmonaut Training Center). However, there was not a single American: two hours before Vladimir Putin’s arrival, all NASA employees left Star City in two minibuses. The fact is that Washington, in protest against Moscow’s decision to send the first tourist, American businessman Dennis Tito, to the International Space Station (ISS) at the end of April, recommended its astronauts to refrain from contacts on Earth with Russian colleagues. It got to the point that the commander of the first ISS expedition, William Shepherd, who recently returned from orbit, did not arrive at the CPC for today’s traditional ceremonial meeting of the crew. This happened for the first time during Russian-American flights.
However, this circumstance did not at all overshadow the meeting of the president with the astronauts. Vladimir Putin immediately stated that, “despite all the difficulties, Russia still remains one of the recognized leaders in the field of space research and manned flights.” The President donated to the Star City Museum a portrait of Yuri Gagarin, made back in 1961 by the artist of the Grekov Studio Nikolai But. The painting has the astronaut's autograph. In response, the head of the TsPK, Colonel-General Pyotr Klimuk, presented the president with a “Flight” watch with the image of Yuri Gagarin on the dial. President Putin immediately put them on his hand, removing the old ones. After this, the general commanded: “Champagne!” And, looking at the president, he added: “After all, it’s possible - since it’s a holiday.” “It’s possible,” the president allowed. The holiday has begun.
At 21.00 a festive fireworks display was set off in Star City. But the president did not see him: at 14.00, after an hour and a half at the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Putin went to the Kremlin.

IVAN Kommersant-SAFRONOV

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 66 dated 04/13/2001, p. 9

Authors:

Ivan Safronov