A modern version of the "Air March", a video conference with orbit and a car parade: how the RUSSIA EXPO celebrated Cosmonautics Day

The International RUSSIA EXPO celebrated April 12 with a rich and exciting program united by the motto "Time of Russia! Time Forward!". It included unique educational events, colorful concert performances, a car parade and a big "space" wedding.

"Each of our achievements was once just a dream, and Yuri Gagarin's first flight into space became a symbol of human dreams, aspiration to new horizons and faith in one's own strength. It is symbolic that today we celebrate not only Cosmonautics Day, but also the extension of the Exposition until July 8, a decision made by President Vladimir Putin. The new stage of the Exposition will be dedicated to the future of our country, its growth and development prospects. After all, as the President said, now is the time of Russia," says Anastasia Zvyagina, Deputy Director General of the RUSSIA EXPO.

The Exposition hosted a solemn procession of aerospace students from MSU, MAI and N. E. Bauman MSTU, schoolchildren and students participating in thematic space clubs, employees of Roscosmos enterprises, representatives of "space dynasties", as well as cosmonauts and representatives of regions. They marched along VDNH accompanied by the brass band of the Ministry of Defence. The procession was opened by a dance flash mob "Charge to the Future", which symbolized the beginning of a new stage at the Exposition. It was accompanied by the work of Soviet composer Georgy Sviridov "Time Forward" in a modern arrangement. At the end of the event, the participants released hundreds of balloons shaped like the planet Earth and doves into the sky.

Educational events were held at the Exposition in the morning. Among them was a career guidance marathon "Key to Start" organized by the general partner of the educational program - the Russian Society "Knowledge". The guests were presented modern and promising projects and technologies of the world cosmonautics. The visitors learned details about modern trends in the development of equipment and technologies, got acquainted with the world of space science and even personally communicated with cosmonauts. In addition, a space dictation was held at the Exposition, where participants could test their knowledge in this field.

The most romantic event of the day was a wedding in a space entourage: four couples created new families at once. The newlyweds came from regions of special importance for Russian space, including the Amur, Arkhangelsk and Voronezh regions, as well as St. Petersburg. Greetings to the young people were addressed by the Deputy Director General of the ANO «Directorate of the Exhibition of Achievements "Russia"» Anastasia Zvyagina and test cosmonauts Arutyun Kiviryan and Sergei Teteryatnikov.

Afterwards, the newlyweds together with the cosmonauts took part in the car parade that united the iconic retro cars GAZ-21 and such modern Russian cars as Aurus and Evolute. And at the end of the ceremony, on the Main Street Stage of the Exposition, newlyweds were handed over the flame of the "Heart of Russia" Family Hearth, which was lit at the RUSSIA EXPO when President Vladimir Putin declared the Year of the Family in Russia.

The concert on the Main Street Stage began with the Soviet "Air March" ("We Were Born to Make a Fairy Tale Come True"), which was reinterpreted by the "Choir of the First". The program continued with performances by opera singer Ksenia Dezhneva, rap singer MOT, and the legendary space band "Zemlyane". The concert ended with the composition "Hello, Earth!", performed jointly by author Vladimir Babenko, "Choir of the First" and residents of "Tavrida.ART"

The culmination of the concert was the address of the Russian cosmonauts who are in orbit as part of the crew of the International Space Station (ISS). Oleg Kononenko, Nikolay Chub and Alexander Grebenkin, who recently arrived at the station, congratulated all the guests on Cosmonautics Day and the new stage of the RUSSIA EXPO - now it will be dedicated to the Future of Russia, its ways and prospects of development.

Throughout the day, an exposition dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's birth was running on the main Exposition alley. Visitors could see unique archive photos illustrating the cosmonaut's path to his famous flight.

Regions prepared their own program. The Saratov region at the Exposition held a space quiz "Gagarin. Saratov. The First." At the stand of the Irkutsk region, there was a meeting with the pilot-cosmonaut Alexander Poleshchuk. The Hero of Russia told about his way into the profession, and also shared unforgettable impressions of preparation and the first flight. At the meeting a video conference with the Irkutsk region was organized, where Irkutsk citizens asked their fellow countryman about space and his unique 179-day flight on the Soyuz TM-16 spacecraft. In turn, the exposition of the Republic of Udmurtia featured a performance of the mime theater "Tochka", which, among other things, demonstrated cosmonautics themed numbers. The stand of the Lipetsk region hosted a meeting with Sergei Treschev, a pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of Russia, who told about his childhood dream to fly into space and his profession. At the exposition of the Arkhangelsk region, the guests could make a space journey and learn useful information about Russian cosmodromes, and a virtual tour "City of Space Launches" introduced them to the history of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.