The US State Department ignores its own history, not mentioning in its congratulations on Cosmonautics Day that the first person in space was Soviet citizen Yuri Gagarin, the Russian embassy in the United States said.
“We note with regret that this is not the first time that the US State Department has shown unconsciousness with regard to the history of space exploration,” the message says.
The diplomats recalled that the monuments to Gagarin are located in several US cities. In addition, the State Department archives contain congratulations from former US President John F. Kennedy to Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in connection with Gagarin's flight. The embassy also drew attention to the fact that on April 9, a NASA astronaut went to the ISS on a Russian spacecraft named after Gagarin.
“We hope that the stated facts will help American diplomats from now on not hesitate to pronounce aloud the name of the first cosmonaut of the Earth,” the diplomats summed up.
The day before, the State Department posted congratulations on the International Day of Human Space Flight, which, like the Russian Cosmonautics Day, is celebrated on April 12 – on this day in 1961, Gagarin's flight took place. “Today is the International Day of Human Space Flight.
On this day, we celebrate the 60th anniversary of man's stay in space, ”the message says. The State Department did not specify that the first person in space was Gagarin; the photo attached to the congratulation shows an astronaut with the US flag.
Gagarin became the first man in space on April 12, 1961. The United States was the second to put a man into low-earth orbit – in May 1961.
