My congratulations to all on this remarkable anniversary. I have found
this collection of pictures of Yuri Gagarin which may give a fresh impression of him as a man who lived his unique life.
Yuri together with his wife and infant daughter in Orenburg, summer 1959. Few months later, he applied as a candidate for the 1st Cosmonaut Team selection.
Resting after the space flight in Star City, summer 1961.
Two above: Gagarin during his restoration time in Crimea, summer 1961.
Yuri during one of the many parties worldwide held in his honour (Helsinki, summer 1961).
Gagarin is in excellent shape two years after his mission, summer 1963.
Yuri Gagarin (left) and Alexey Leonov (right) during welcoming ceremony for newly accepted Cosmonauts in the Star City (spring 1965). A month before, Leonov performed the first spacewalk in history.
Gagarin and his Matra Djet car gifted him by French Matra company near the monument to conquerers of space in Moscow, summer 1965.
Yuri with his amateur photo camera, autumn 1965.
During a hunting together with Vladimir Komarov half a year before his tragic death during Soyuz 1 mission. Autumn 1966.
After a duck hunting, autumn 1966.
Gagarin and his daughters Galya and Lena in autumn of 1966. Since 2001 Yelena Gagarina supervises Moscow Kremlin historical museum.
My thoughts regarding the anniversary are mixed. I am happy that Gagarin's name is etched in history records for the eternity, and I am deeply thankful for him and every contributors of that victory, for his opening of a door in the sky for the entire world. Your flight marked the dawn of the new era for Humankind, and will never be forgotten.
However, it feels like the dawn takes too long to happen, and it's a great shame that we still cannot raise a flag in your honour on our Martian base this day, and no gorgeous interplanetary cruisers would fly over the world in formation to make us feel that no chanced we had along the way, was missed. Please, Yuri Alexeyevich, give us another 50 years to fix our failures. That is what I want my would-be grandsons to achieve. Let's get down to work now. I believe that we have no other way to follow than yours.