The wishes of a Russian film director with ancestral links to Orkney are to be finally granted later this week (Saturday 12th April 2008) as an additional milestone is laid in place within the historic time trail that marks the passage towards Skara Brae.
Mr Alexander Korobkov, who came to Orkney in 2006 to make a film about his ancestry, having discovered his Orcadian roots while researching another film, was dismayed to find there was no stone present to mark the date of the first man in space - Russian-born Yuri Gagarin, who set off on 12th April in 1961 and became the first man to orbit the Earth. Now, thanks to sponsorship from Russian Hour TV, producers of Korobkov’s documentary, a suitable stone will be added to the historic time trail.
Staff from VisitOrkney assisted Mr Korobkov during the several days he spent filming, and were pleased with the resulting, award-winning documentary, which Area Director, Barbara Foulkes described as, “a charming and accurate snapshot of Orkney life…and a wonderful advert for the islands.”
The stone will be unveiled on Saturday 12th April at 10:30am, some 47 years on from Gagarin’s achievement, before a delegation from Russia which will include Mr Korobkov, famous Russian cosmonaut Georgy Grechko, Deputy Chairman of the Government of Ugra, Mr Oleg Goncharvo, and Commander of the Russian Aerobatic Team, Igor Tkachenko, as well as numerous Russian TV stations including Russian Hour TV, who have sponsored the stone.
Alexander Korobkov said: “I owe my Orcadian DNA to my mother, Lidia Ilushenko. For me the Gagarin stone is a tribute to her - as much as it is to Yuri Gagarin, Orkney, Russia and Britain. If there's one secret we can learn from the time trail in Skara Brae, it is the value of a moment.
“Gagarin's space flight lasted only 1 hour and 48 minutes but the event lasts on into eternity, as I'm sure this stone will do. The old Russian proverb, ‘A Russian hour may be very long’, applies to Gagarin’s flight and also, I hope, to our ‘Russian Hour’ TV programme, for which this stone is a very important sign.”
Members of staff from VisitScotland and VisitOrkney will also be present at the unveiling.
Barbara Foulkes said: “We are delighted at the prospect of welcoming the Russian party to Orkney next week, and very grateful for Mr Korobkov’s persistence – which has resulted in great publicity for our beautiful islands. It is right and proper that the date of the first man in space is recognised in this way and I hope that the addition of the stone will please Russians visiting Orkney in the years to come.”
