There’s a new face down on The Mall, standing tall outside the British Council office block, just west of Admiralty Arch, and opposite that other great explorer of the unknown, Captain Cook.
(Photo: S. Klinge)
Captain James Cook (1728 – 1779), below, is a man who needs no introduction. Nor does his new neighbour across the road.
James Cook by Nathaniel Dance
(Photo: S. Klinge)
Russian pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin (1934 – 1968) became a national hero and an international celebrity in 1961, when he became the first man to journey into space and orbit Earth.
Yuri Gagarin (Wikipedia)
Roscosmos, the Russian Federal Space Agency, marked the 50th anniversary of that event with the gift of this statue. The statue was unveiled in July by Yuri Gagarin’s daughter, Elena Gagarina, and Prince Michael of Kent.
(Photo: S. Klinge)
To read / listen to an interview with Elena Gagarina talking about her father, click here.
For a Royal Society webcast with astronaut Piers Sellers, space scientist John Zarnecki and playwright Rona Munro speaking about her play, Little Eagles, and the space race, click here.
See the unveiling of the statue in the video below.
For more in-depth coverage of Gagarin and East-West relations in London, watch the video below.
Posted on October 4, 2011
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