For decades Russian state propaganda portrayed the country as “preserving history”. Let’s take a look at what capitalism has done to the place where the first human to be in space studied to become a pilot.
The Russian city of Orenburg played an important role in the life of Yuri Gagarin – the first human in space. It was this city, where Yuri studied, lived and started a family. Thus, during the visit to Orenburg, in the Soviet period it was almost mandatory to visit the Orenburg Flight School as one of the local sights.
Despite the high status of the “cultural monument of federal importance”, the building is abandoned and in disrepair in modern capitalist Russia.
The abandoned flight school is located at the very beginning of Sovetskaya Street, on the embankment of the Ural River. The building of the Orenburg “lyotka”, as locals call the former school (from the Russian verb “летать” – to fly), was created in 1882. Initially, the cadet corps was located here, which existed until the beginning of the Civil War. After that the building was allocated to the headquarters of the 217th regiment. From here, the command of the Red Army led the battles for the city.
In the 1920s, the Serpukhov School of Military Pilots was transferred to Orenburg, and a year later the Leningrad Flight School of Observer Pilots was joined to it. It is worth noting that the school has been constantly restructured and reorganized throughout history. By 1967, the “lyotka” combined many military specialties and became known as the “Orenburg Higher Military Aviation Red Banner School of Pilots named after Twice Hero of the Soviet Union Major General of Aviation Ivan Polbin”.
Many outstanding pilots who were awarded the highest military and state awards came out of the walls of the school: 352 Heroes of the Soviet Union, 10 Twice Heroes of the Soviet Union, 250 test pilots of equipment and honored pilots, 4 cosmonaut pilots, 30 graduates have defended candidate and doctoral dissertations.
The most famous graduate of the “lyotka” was Yuri Gagarin. In addition to obtaining a specialty, here he met his future wife.
Yuri Gagarin: “Orenburg gave me a lot: a family, and power to rule the aircraft!”
Gagarin graduated from the college with honors and left Orenburg after professional redistribution. However, every year the Gagarin family came to Orenburg, where they spent their holidays.
The school existed until February 12, 1993. After the disbandment, the cadet corps (with a bias in flight-technical specialties), as well as the headquarters of the military transport aviation regiment were again placed in the premises of the former educational institution.
Now this formerly famous building is in ruins. Russian capitalism takes care of this or that monument only when it can use it to justify its ambitions, its expansionist policies, or to fool the broad masses of Russia. And they will do everything they can to wipe out the Soviet legacy, if they can not use it for their own purposes.
One should not think that the Russian capitalists are merciful: they robbed the Soviet people in the 90s, they stole their property, they destroyed their country.
One should not think that the interests of those capitalists are opposite of the Western ones. The goal of both imperialist camps is to distract the working masses and to force them into fighting each other.