Statue of Yuri Gagarin after Anatoly Novikov, 2010

Yuri Gagarin statue after Anatoly Novikov, 2010. This is a replica of a 1984 statue by Anatoly Novikov at the Technical College in Lyubertsy, Russia, where Gagarin trained. The display of this statue and 'Gagarin in Britain' exhibition (2011) were organised by Roscosmos and the British Council to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the First Manned Space Flight, and the life of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin and the early Soviet space programme.

This statue shows Yuri Gagarin standing on a globe in his spacesuit. It was cast in 2010 from the original mould of the statue made by the artist Anatoly Novikov in 1984 which is on display in Lyubertsy in Russia where Gagarin trained as a foundry worker. Made from zinc, which is an unusual material for statues, it speaks directly to Gagarin’s training as zinc is used extensively during the production of steel. It is a striking example of the triumphant approach to Socialist Realism portraiture in Soviet-era art. It represents the broad range of material culture that was produced in the Soviet Union in celebration of the nation's early pioneering space missions from the late 1950s on. It speaks to how space exploration was perceived and promoted in the USSR then and now.

This one was gifted by the Russian space agency, Roscosmos, to the people of Britain via the British Council for its 'Gagarin in Britain' exhibition in 2011, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of his visit to London in July 1961 following his trip into space. It was part of a larger exhibition of objects and images which had never left Russia before, including space food, a flight seat for a dog and Gagarin's anti-gravity training harness and seat. It was displayed outside the British Council office, on The Mall for the London Olympics, and then moved to Greenwich where it was displayed outside the Royal Observatory from 2013-2022.

In the 1950s, after the Second World War and as a Cold War proxy, the race to space commenced between the USA and the USSR. In 1955, the US announced it would launch artificial satellites and the USSR quickly followed with their own announcement. The Soviet Union beat the USA with their launch of Sputnik I in October 1957 and on the 12 April 1961, the USSR put the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin.

After he returned, Gagarin toured the UK during a time of growing tension between the USSR and the West. Despite this, he was welcomed as a hero in Britain and his three-day visit was extended twice so he could lunch with the Queen and meet Harold Macmillan, the Prime Minister. The Palace and government were criticised by NATO allies for the official welcome. Within a month of his visit, construction of the Berlin Wall commenced.