After the successful first manned space flight by Yuri Gagarin on April 12, 1961, earning the title of ‘First Cosmonaut’, he visited Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) eight months later on December 7, 1961.

The year 2021 marks 60 years since this historic moment and the Russian House in Colombo and the Sri Lanka Russia Friendship Society have jointly organized a special Stamp and Photographic Exhibition on April 6, 7 and 8 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s Space Flight and Visit to Ceylon.

More than a thousand rare and original postage stamps on the first manned space mission and exploration will be on display for public viewing at the Russian House in Colombo.

The inaugural ceremony will be held on April 6 at the Russian House in Colombo with Dr. Seetha Arambepola, State Minister of Skills Development Vocational Education, Research and Innovation as the chief guest. Susil Premajayantha, State Minister of Education Reforms, Open Universities and Distance Learning Promotion and President of the Sri Lanka Russia Friendship Society, Yuri Materiy, Ambassador of the Russian Federation, and Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Russia Friendship Society will also be attendance.

The stamp exhibition has been organized in collaboration with Anura Samaraweera, Philatelic Expert and Assistant Treasurer of the Philatelic Society of Sri Lanka. He is also a member of the International Association of Philatelic Journalists. He has been maintaining close ties with the Russian House in Colombo since he was young as a member of the Soviet Cultural House in 1973 when he served as a guitarist of the first musical group of the Soviet Cultural House.

In addition to the stamp exhibition, there will also be a photo exhibition on Yuri Gagarin’s Spaceflight and Visit to Ceylon. The photographic material was obtained from the Russian House archives as well as with the assistance of the Department of National Archives. Adding more colour to the event, a special guest will be present to share her experience as ‘the girl who was chosen to garland Gagarin’ in 1961; Magilin Nona, a local hero of the country who is a living witness of that glorious day.

The exhibition will be open to the public from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm on April 7 and 8