Erection date: 9/3/2013
The statue, a gift via the British Council, to the UK from the Russian Space Agency, is a copy of an outside Gagarin's former school in Lyubertsy where he trained as a foundry worker. It is zinc alloy on a Portland Stone base and was unveiled at the Royal Observatory on Gagarin's 79th birthday.
Site: Royal Observatory - Gagarin (1 memorial)
SE10, Greenwich Park, Physical Observatory
This statue was first installed on The Mall, on the small piazza just to the west of the British Council Building at Admiralty Arch. The arrival of the statue marked the 50th anniversary of Gagarin’s first earth orbit (12 April 1961). It was installed on 14 July 2011 exactly 50 years after Gagarin's only visit to the UK and on the spot where he met the Prime Minister Harold MacMillan.
April 2024: We We understood this position in Greenwich was permanent but then we read that the statue has been removed. We've marked it as 'lost' so if it returns, or you see it anywhere else, please let us know.
February 2026: Mick Goodenough (who has a ) kindly wrote to tell us that the statue is now in the Science Museum. And, indeed, on 10 October 2025, posted a photo of it in the Museum’s new Ages of Space Gallery.
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