Marina Vasilevskaya awarded Hero of Belarus title
The first cosmonaut of sovereign Belarus, Marina Vasilevskaya, has been awarded the Hero of Belarus title. President Aleksandr Lukashenko presented her with the Hero of Belarus Medal during today’s ceremony honouring Belarusian cosmonauts at the Palace of Independence.
Other project participants also received high awards.
The Order of Honour went to Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Vladimir Gusakov, while the Medal for Labour Merits was bestowed upon Belavia’s Director General Igor Cherginets. The President’s letters of gratitude were given to Deputy Head of the Aerospace Activities Department at Belarus’ NAS Ivan Bucha and Marina Vasilevskaya’s backup cosmonaut Anastasia Lenkova.
Marina Vasilevskaya’s parents – Vitaly Vasilevsky and Irina Vasilevskaya, as well as Anastasia Lenkova’s parents – Andrei Lenkov and Natalia Mandik – were presented with letters of gratitude from the President.
