Vladimir Putin's opening address:

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen!

Today's meeting of the Organising Committee to Prepare and Hold the 2011 Celebrations of the 50th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's Space Flight is being held in a symbolic place – the legendary Mission Control Centre.

The Mission Control Centre has been the foundation of key Russian and international space programmes; it also maintains the communication between the Earth and the International Space Station. Today, I had a chance to talk with the International Space Station's Expedition 26 crew. And once again, I saw evidence of how reliably and professionally the Mission Control Centre's employees work. I would like to thank them for that.

First of all, before discussing our issues, I would like to congratulate you all on the New Year. Russia has proclaimed 2011 the Year of Cosmonautics, and I would like to emphasise that we have a wide range of space exploration projects scheduled for this year. For instance, we will initiate the full-scale construction of the Vostochny space centre as well as its first launch site with the corresponding infrastructure. I would like to remind you that some 24 billion roubles will be allocated for the space centre's construction over the next three years – only three years! Also, about 50 space vehicles will be launched into near Earth orbit. The federal targeted programme for developing GLONASS through 2020 will be approved this year. And I would like to add that we will allocate about 115 billion roubles from the federal budget toward national space programmes in 2011.

Of course, the celebrations devoted to the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight will have a special place in the Year of Cosmonautics. And we truly hope that our cosmonauts and all those involved in the space industry will take an active part in the upcoming events – first and foremost at the level of educational programmes focused on the coming generation.

At the last meeting, we spoke thoroughly about the upcoming celebrations, which are meant primarily to attract young people. The country's youth must receive as much information as possible on our role in space exploration and the present and future of the Russian cosmonautics. This has to be objective and interesting information provided in the most up-to-date manner. And, naturally, personal meetings with pilots, cosmonauts, and engineers can promote the interest of young people in innovation, technology, and scientific work. This is extremely important both for us and for the successful development of the country as a whole.

The upcoming commemorative programme offers a variety of formats for interaction and direct communication between youth and aerospace professionals. For example, a special class called "Space is for Humanity" will be held this year in schools throughout the country, as well as numerous science Olympiads and competitions for young inventors, at which professional engineers and cosmonauts will sit on the jury. And, of course, a major celebration of the first manned spaceflight's anniversary is an opportunity to express our deep respect for industry's veterans – the people whose hard work and scientific and engineering expertise have allowed Russia to become a great space power. They laid the foundations for those traditions, which today allow us to be among the leaders in the global space industry.

Honoured veterans of the space industry and participants in the launch of the first cosmonaut will be feted in all regions of Russia and in all space organisations. In addition, these veterans will receive material support.

Our task is to once again emphasise the high national importance of space endeavours and to strengthen the social relevance of these professions, which provide for both the progress and the strong stature of Russia in space exploration.

Let me remind you that last year the Medal of Merit for Space Exploration was established. I propose that we consider other forms of government incentives to encourage those people who make a significant contribution to the development of Russian space industry.

Everything connected with the cosmos – and the brightest pages of its development – remains the absolute pride of our nation. This is our heritage, which we are obliged to maintain, expand, and develop. We should pay particular attention to supporting museums and maintaining the memorials of those involved in the Russian space industry. They should be accessible to our schoolchildren and our students, as well as numerous Russian and foreign tourists. This is a matter of the patriotic upbringing of our youth and the formation of a worthy image of our country abroad.

One of the centrepieces of the upcoming festivities, of course, will rightfully be the birthplace and childhood home of the first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin. And today, I will ask Smolensk Region Governor Sergei Antufiev to give us details on how the restoration work is progressing at the Yuri Gagarin Memorial Complex.

The next topic is popularising the anniversary celebrations and the promotion of joint international projects. As we agreed, we must actively seek coverage of the commemorative programmes in the national media and interact with foreign agencies, TV channels, and the press, especially since a number of planned events will be held in partnership with our foreign friends and partners. With the support of UNESCO in December last year in Paris, we started the World Space Stellar Relay Olympics, which, as preliminary estimates show, will gather around 100,000 teenagers from all over the world. A whole series of international conferences, festivals and, of course, exhibits is planned. Some of these events will be held in both the United States and Europe at venues provided by the United Nations.

Today, we will discuss in detail the status of these and other projects that are included in the agenda for celebrating the 50th anniversary of the flight of Yuri Gagarin, and we will analyse what needs to be done for the Year of Russian Cosmonautics to be a success. I repeat – we must proceed from the premise that Russia has everything to do with space – not only as a traditional priority, but also as a matter of national pride. It was our countrymen – Tsiolkovsky, Korolyov, Gagarin – who made the long-cherished dream of conquering the cosmos a reality and who created, without exaggeration, enormous opportunities for the scientific, technical, and socio-economic development of human civilisation as a whole.

To be at the centre of the anniversary events is Russia's unconditional right, but at the same time, it is a huge responsibility. So I once again urge all parties preparing for and holding the celebrations to exert their maximum effort and attention to the implementation of the plans we have prepared.

Let's get to work.