This week, Alexey Gusev, General Director of JSC "Aviakor – Aircraft Plant," and Vladimir Bogatyrev, Rector of Samara University, personally planted new pine saplings in the university's Botanic Garden. These trees are direct descendants of the pines originally planted by the plant's workers in 1961 to commemorate the visit of the world's first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, to the facility.
"As history tells us, after landing in the Saratov steppes, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was flown on an Il-14 aircraft to our plant's airfield in Kuybyshev (now Samara)," explained Alexey Gusev. "To mark this momentous occasion, the workers who welcomed the cosmonaut later planted ten pine trees. We came up with the idea to plant saplings from those very same trees—which, by the way, are still thriving today—in the university's Botanic Garden to honor the 65th anniversary of Gagarin's historic flight. This will help preserve the memory of that great event for generations to come."
"History is incredibly important, and we must remember it. We are deeply grateful to our industrial partner and personally to Alexey Viktorovich for this wonderful initiative," Rector Vladimir Bogatyrev noted.
In addition to the tree planting, JSC "Aviakor – Aircraft Plant" installed eco-friendly ash wood benches in the "Paradise Garden" (Raysky Sad) section of the Botanic Garden.
"We strive to maintain the ecological integrity of the Botanic Garden and highly welcome such initiatives from our partners," the Rector stated. "I am confident that the residents of Samara and visitors to the city—who, according to our estimates, number over 3,000 people daily—will be able to enjoy and relax on these benches. Informational plaques have been installed nearby, so visitors will know that JSC 'Aviakor – Aircraft Plant' has contributed to the development of this beautiful landmark in Samara."
Photo: Olesya Orina
