Yuri Gagarin exhibition in Irkutsk celebrates Space Day

An exhibition dedicated to Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, will open in Irkutsk tomorrow to celebrate Cosmonaut Day, a national holiday in Russia dedicated to the first manned spaceflight in 1961. Multi-Faceted Space at the Irkutsk Regional Art Museum comprises 59 black-and-white photographs and video footage of Gagarin who would have turned 80 this year.

While much of the exhibition is devoted to Gagarin, some of works on show chronicle the development of Soviet space programmes, including photographs taken by cosmonauts inside of Soviet space bases, laboratories and the mission control centre. Multi-Faceted Space runs from 11 April to 18 May.