Retrospective: An Orbital Trace on Vitebsk Land. How Did Pyotr Klimuk Work at "Monolit"?
Pyotr Klimuk was born on July 10, 1942, in the village of Komarovka, Brest region. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. He visited space three times, the first from December 18 to 26, 1973. In total, he spent almost 79 days in near-Earth orbit.
On September 8, 1978, the citizens of Vitebsk solemnly welcomed the first cosmonaut from Belarus on Victory Square, where he laid flowers at the Eternal Flame. Then, at the Communist Party of Belarus regional committee, Pyotr Klimuk was greeted by representatives of the party, economic, and Komsomol aktiv. The cosmonaut also visited the carpet factory, "Evistor," and "Monolit." The meeting at the latter, a large enterprise, was particularly heartfelt. The reason for this was that in the spring of 1975, ten workers from the metal-cutting equipment repair section of "Monolit's" 22nd workshop included Pyotr Klimuk in their team as an honorary member and decided to work for 11 people. They wrote about this to the newspaper "Vitsebski Rabochy" and invited the cosmonaut to the regional center: "We will welcome you in our thousand-year-old city." The letter was published on May 1, 1975, and on May 24, Pyotr Klimuk, along with Vitaly Sevostyanov, embarked on their second long-duration orbital mission. During this flight, a telegram arrived at "Monolit" from the cosmonaut, in which he expressed his gratitude to the workers and wished them all the best.
During his visit to the 22nd workshop, the team members showed the guest his workspace and reported that approximately 7,000 rubles had been transferred to the Peace Fund from his personal account. In the enterprise's Book of People's Glory, Pyotr Klimuk left an entry: "Dear friends! I feel joy and an incredibly great responsibility for being included in the repair team. I would be very pleased to work together with my friends – the team members. However, I am far from you, and now I have different work ahead of me. But I promise to work in my place in such a way as not to let down the "Monolit" association.
After Vitebsk on September 9, Pyotr Klimuk visited Novopolotsk, where he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the city. He visited Polymir and the construction site of the protein-vitamin concentrate plant. At a lively meeting with representatives of the younger generation, the cosmonaut was accepted into the honorary pioneers. In Novopolotsk, Pyotr Klimuk left an autograph for the readers of the regional newspaper with wishes in Belarusian: "To the readers of 'Vitebsky Rabochy', to all the workers of the glorious Vitebsk region, I wish great success in the year of the 60th anniversary of the BSSR and the Communist Party of Belarus".
The next day, Novolukoml, the youngest city in the republic, awaited Pyotr Klimuk. The cosmonaut familiarized himself with the flagship of Belarusian energy – Lukomlskaya GRES and, in memory of his visit, planted an oak sapling near the Palace of Culture of Energy Workers.
The Soviet Columbus
This is how Yuri Gagarin was called. As soon as it became known that a Soviet citizen was the first in the world to travel to space, responses poured into the media.
"What courage it takes to embark on a space journey, even when you know that everything is provided for down to the smallest detail," wrote a representative of the Kirov plant in "Vitebsky Rabochy". From the Lenin collective farm of the Liozno district, they reported: as soon as the news began to be broadcast on television at 12:00 PM, the office was filled with people, everyone wanted to see the cosmonaut's portrait. By the way, the newspaper published a photo of Yuri Gagarin in the next issue – it was taken from the TV screen by photojournalist M. Sivakov.
The space pioneer himself, due to his busy schedule, could not come to Vitebsk, but on May 22-23, 1962, his parents – Alexey Ivanovich and Anna Timofeevna Gagarin – visited the city. They came at the invitation of their friend Konstantin Ivanovich Gorovets, the father of the legendary wartime pilot Alexander Gorovets. The guests visited a number of enterprises, attended secondary schools No. 2 and 15 (now Gymnasium No. 1), whose pioneer detachments bore the names of Yuri Gagarin and Alexander Gorovets, respectively. The parents of the planet's first cosmonaut liked the new development on Kirov Street, and they also admired the city panorama from Uspenskaya Hill.
On the eve of the 45th anniversary of the October Revolution, the editorial office of the newspaper received a letter from Yuri Gagarin congratulating the working people of Vitebsk: "Dear comrades! Thank you for the invitation to visit your glorious city of Vitebsk. Leonid Ivanovich (Unfortunately, the surname is unknown. – Ed.) conveyed your last letter and photographs to me. I sincerely thank you for the attention you show to me, my family, and my friends – Soviet cosmonauts.
I congratulate you on the upcoming 45th anniversary of the Great October. I wish all Vitebsk residents great success in their lives and work.
Sincerely yours, Gagarin. 30.10.62."
The Voice of "Chaika"
In May 1970, the first female cosmonaut Valentina Nikolaeva-Tereshkova, who had the call sign "Chaika" (Seagull) during her flight, visited Vitebsk. She arrived on the eve of the elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR as a member of the Central Election Commission.
"I am pleased to visit your city. Vitebsk region is the homeland of my mother, so we are relatives," the regional newspaper quoted the cosmonaut.
Valentina Tereshkova's father, Vladimir Aksyonovich, was from Belynichi district of Mogilev region and died in the Soviet-Finnish War. Her mother, Elena Fyodorovna (née Kruglova), was born in the village of Yeremeyevshchina, Dubrovno district. The family lived in the Yaroslavl region, where the future cosmonaut was born in 1937.
Valentina Tereshkova visited the district commission and two polling stations in the club of the veterinary institute. In the book of honor of the M. F. Shmeryov Museum, she left an entry: "I familiarized myself with the memorial museum of Minay Filippovich Shmeryov with great emotion. I express my sincere gratitude for preserving the memory and unique documents about the glorious feat of the Belarusian people. May the memory of the heroes of the Belarusian people live for centuries."
In those days, Valentina Tereshkova was awarded the title "Honorary Citizen of Vitebsk," and two years later, a new street in the regional center was named after her.
Star Brothers
Pyotr Klimuk visited Vitebsk for the second time in July 1988, accompanied by Mirosław Hermaszewski. At the suggestion of journalists, they were called "star brothers" because they represented two closely related nations – Belarusian and Polish. The cosmonauts' visit was timed to coincide with the 1st All-Union Festival of Polish Song.
As part of the festival, a commemorative sign of Polish-Soviet friendship was unveiled in the square of the Comintern plant, adjacent to Budyonny Street, dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the joint flight of Pyotr Klimuk and Mirosław Hermaszewski. On behalf of the townspeople, the guests were welcomed by the Chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, Nikolai Fedorchuk.
It so happened that Vasily Repetsky covered this event. In a note under a photograph published in the regional newspaper, he wrote that many people managed to get the cosmonauts' autographs. And those who didn't succeed shouldn't be upset. The autographs of Pyotr Klimuk and Mirosław Hermaszewski are cast in bronze on a granite pedestal and will now remain in Vitebsk forever.
However, in the late 1990s, vandals tore off the metal elements on the pedestal. In 2013, the commemorative sign was renovated.
