Lukashenko awarded cosmonaut Novitsky
At the Palace of Independence, the President met with pilot-cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky and members of his family. Aleksandr Lukashenko warmly greeted his guests and presented the Order of Friendship of Peoples to the native of Belarus, Hero of Russia. By the decree of the Head of State, the cosmonaut was awarded in recognition of significant accomplishments in the area of space exploration and great personal contribution to the strengthening of international ties.
“Finally, you’ve come down to this sinful earth,” the Head of State greeted the cosmonaut.
“Not to the sinful, but to the best!” answered Oleg Novitsky.
“You know better from above!” smiled Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The President thanked Oleg Novitsky’s mother Valentina Eduardovna for her son and talked warmly with other family members. He also said the words of gratitude to the pilot-cosmonaut.
“I look at your and our Oleg and think that he is a real Slav both externally and internally. He has something Belarusian, Russian (outwardly even) and partly, probably, even something Ukrainian. What he does for his homeland, he is doing the right thing. Sooner or later, one will come to this land, so there is no need to lose one’s own roots. He is a true person who unites nations. And we thought that it would be wrong if we did not hand this golden order to him, as to a real person who unites our peoples. Actually, we have probably presented it to only a few heads of state...”
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked Oleg Novitsky to give this order to his mother to keep it.
“Let it be kept here, on the Belarusian land!” answered Oleg Novitsky. “This is indeed a very high honour. This is a very high assessment of my work. I really love Belarus very much. This is the land on which I was born, where I was raised by my parents, friends, secondary school. This hardening, probably, still helps me calmly go through life. I always know that this is my home, here I always receive a warm welcome. I want to work (even when my health won’t be enough for cosmonautics) for the benefit of Belarus and Russia. I cannot separate these two countries in any way. This is our Slavic union, which should always be together. We must always lend a shoulder to each other. We must rejoice and grieve together, stand up for each other together and, if necessary, go on the attack together. Thank you very much for this high honour.”
The Head of State also noted that several people are currently preparing for space flights in Belarus. The corresponding agreement was reached between the presidents of Belarus and Russia. In this regard, Aleksandr Lukashenko asked Oleg Novitsky to join the search for a candidate.
Moreover, the President presented the family of Oleg Novitsky with Chinese tea, which was given to him by the President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.
Oleg Novitsky, born in Cherven, started his journey into space in winter 2007. After scrupulous selection and special training in 2009, the professional pilot was awarded the ‘test cosmonaut’ qualification by the decision of a special commission. In 2012, Oleg Novitsky was enlisted to the main crew of the orbital station. As the commander of the Soyuz TMA-06M manned spacecraft, he made his debut flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The flight lasted 143 days.
Oleg Novitsky completed his second space flight, lasting 196 days, from November 17th, 2016 to June 2nd, 2017 as the commander of the Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft and the ISS-50/51 flight engineer.
In April of this year, Oleg Novitsky went into orbit for the third time. During this mission, he performed three spacewalks and even took part in a cinematic project.
