Yet one of the most unexpected tributes to the first cosmonaut lies far from space museums or bustling capitals — on the windswept Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland.
Here, just steps from the Neolithic village of Skara Brae – a UNESCO World Heritage Site inhabited over 5,000 years ago – stands a carved stone that simply reads: “First Man in Space, AD 1961”. Nestled among markers of human milestones, it honours Gagarin’s place in our shared journey — from ancient stargazers to modern explorers.
This is a quiet reminder that Gagarin’s reach extends far beyond Earth’s orbit — and even beyond the expected.
💐 Recently Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin and Russian Consul General in Edinburgh Denis Moskalenko laid flowers at the site, paying tribute to the first man in space.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 