The Russian National Anthem, presented Friday, February 7, at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremonies. At about 1:45, cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, Yelena Serova, Svetlana Savitskaya, Fyodor Yurchikhin, and Roman Romanenko step in to raise the Russian flag. Video originally presented by NBC – found via this link on YouTube.
So, many space watchers were pretty thrilled to see some of Russia’s best and most badass presenting the Russian and Olympic flags during Friday’s opening ceremonies. The cosmonauts present included important figures from the Vostok, Salyut, Mir, and International Space Station eras. Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman ever in space, made an appearance to hoist the Olympic flag.
For those interested in the activities of our cosmonaut friends, Russia’s pride in their space program during the opening ceremonies was lovely and refreshing to see.
Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space on 1963’s Vostok 6, carries in the Olympic flag. She is at the bottom, far right. Photo Credit: RIA Novosti, found on the Voice of Russia website.
Emily Carney is a writer, space enthusiast, and creator of the This Space Available space blog, published since 2010. In January 2019, Emily’s This Space Available blog was incorporated into the National Space Society’s blog. The content of Emily’s blog can be accessed via the This Space Available blog category.
Note: The views expressed in This Space Available are those of the author and should not be considered as representing the positions or views of the National Space Society.