60th Anniversary Celebration of Yuri Gagarin’s Space Flight and Visit to Ceylon

The inauguration ceremony of the 60th Anniversary Celebration of Yuri Gagarin’s Space Flight and Visit to Ceylon was concluded on the 6th of April, 2021 at the Russian House in Colombo on a grand note with the presence of a number of key individuals at the event. Among them were Chief Guest Hon. (Dr.) (Mrs.) Seetha Arambepola, M. P., State Minister of Skills Development Vocational Education, Research and Innovation, Mr. Alexey Budanov, Deputy Head of Mission and Counselor of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, Hon. Susil Premjayantha, MP, State Minister of Education Reforms, Open Universities and Distance Learning Promotion and President of the Sri Lanka – Russia Friendship Society, Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and General Secretary of the Sri Lanka – Russia Friendship Society, Madam Anastasia Khokhlova, First Secretary of the Embassy of the Russian Federation and Director of the Russian House in Colombo and Mr. Buddhapriya Ramanayaka, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian House in Colombo. The event was organized by the Russian House in Colombo in partnership with the Sri Lanka Russia Friendship Society in a joint collaboration with Mr. Anura Samaraweera, Member of the International Association of Philatelic Journalists, Assistant Treasurer of the Philatelic Society of Sri Lanka consisting many stamps and photos pertaining to Yuri Gagarin’s Spaceflight from 1961. One of the highlights of the ceremony was the presence of Magilin Nona, ‘the girl who was chosen to garland Gagarin’ back in 1961. She was chosen for this honourable task due to her heroism in saving the lives of multiple individuals from drowning when she was merely a teenager. As she shared her experience of that memorable day 60 years ago, the crowd parted with knowledge and memories gained by the photos, newspaper articles, stamps put up for exhibition. The exhibition will be open to the public on the 7th and 8th of April 2021.