Cosmonautics Day this year has been pretty on-duty, like balloons from a joke. Officially, they congratulated everyone who was supposed to be, some even posted the necessary pictures on their social networks, but there was no real joy. Indeed, how is cosmonautics now? It is not the cosmonaut, the sphere of state activity – everything is in harmony with it. In the sense that it works somehow, officials meet on this issue, budgets are allocated, rocket-shaped objects stand in the frame under canvas covers. That’s what it should be – the more problems arise, the more money needs to be spent on some of the biggest industries. The harder the climb, the harder you have to press the pedal. So this situation continues as usual in cosmonautics.
But there is also the cosmonautics of humans – all this joy that does not pass and is renewed every year. Photos from Leninsky Prospekt sixty years ago, where a million completely sincerely delighted people met Gagarin with “The Seagull”. Folk art in the form of memes – “Yura, we returned everything!”. Today, all this seems a little out of place, or rather secondary, against the background of what is happening.
Not even Google has put a “doodle” with Gagarin on its homepage for the first time in many years – such a small thematic image above the search bar. And by the way, all this may not happen, but the cosmos will remain forever. And Gagarin’s flight will remain forever. And the fact that the first person to fly into space was a Russian does not go anywhere either. Although often pushed aside. We see it now, we’ve seen it before.
I focus on children’s books about space exploration: because children’s books are an element of ideological education and are not usually published in Russia. In the 90s there was a fashionable multi-volume children’s encyclopedia, in which a large article was devoted to the American lunar mission. And about the first man in space, it was said that he just flew there. There was also a picture – something that looked like a missile without identification marks.
The same is found in modern children’s books. Beautiful, detailed, very witty and fascinating. About the lunar mission – four pages, about Gagarin’s flight – two paragraphs. At least it’s good to have his name mentioned.
And what is Yuri Gagarin for a Russian? This is an active symbol. This is a clear indication that the 60s were indeed the spring of humanity. Maybe nobody needs this cosmos, because there is nothing there anyway, and if there is something, you will never reach that point. But Gagarin is a complex and at the same time radically positive image. It combines many features and it’s all good. These are courage, strength, endurance, charm, kindness, courtesy, ease of communication, nobility, loyalty. Yes, much more. And no matter to what extent the living person Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin himself adheres to these qualities, then it is important that the world – every person – wants to correspond to these qualities. The earth is directed upwards into space. This means that man also strived for good, that is, for Allah. Even if he is an atheist.
This story is retold by many and often. But in detail it sounds something like this. After Gagarin’s flight into space, a circular was passed from the dioceses for all clergy: in the Sunday sermon, it must be said that the Soviet man Yuri Gagarin flew into space. And he did not see God there.
Joseph (Chernov), Archbishop of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan, went out to the herd and said: “The first Soviet man, Yuri Gagarin, went into space. He did not see God there. But God saw him and blessed him.”
Because in general, the issue is not whether one of us sees God or not. I suspect the vast majority don’t even look in that direction. The fact is that if a person strives for something good – for flight, for science, for kindness, for the memory of the history of the country, for joy and peace – then he is already getting a little better. And closer to that area.
I hope the time will come when millions of people will take to the streets in a burst of sincere joy, not by command, but by the command of the unstoppable power of the heart, to meet something equally reasonable and kind. . Something they deserve in their life.
Until now, it is not even approximately clear what could happen – who can drive this conditional “Seagull” along the street. The first Russian man on the moon? But he will no longer be the first man. First man on Mars? Worn topic. And most importantly, it’s pointless.
In any case, humanity now needs cosmic efforts to survive and overcome the challenges it faces. And in such a situation, one should never forget about the cosmos, because so far only the brightest is associated with it. Something that gives hope. Hope for the future of humanity.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.