Putin Honors 2011 as Year of the Cosmonaut

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin discussed life and work aboard the International Space Station with the Expedition 26 crew during a call to the six crew members from the Russian Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia, on Jan. 11, 2011. Mr. Putin was in the control center outside Moscow chairing a commission involved in formulating commemorative events to honor the 50th anniversary of the launch on April 12, 1961, of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin as the first human in space. Putin also offered his condolences to ISS Commander Scott Kelly for the tragedy in Tucson and assured Kelly "all Russians were touched by the news." Putin expressed his best wishes and prayers to Kelly's brother, Mark, and the recovery of Mark's wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.