The trips of the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin were classified. This was stated by the former head of the garage of the Cosmonaut Training Center Isfat Minnizyanov, whose words are quoted in the material on the CTC website.
Minnizyanov, who has been working at the CTC for almost 55 years, said that several times on duty he replaced Gagarin’s personal driver Boris Babkin. According to Isfat Minnizyanov, the trips of the first cosmonaut were official and a limited circle of people knew about them: “We did not talk about such trips, it was secret information.” As a rule, Yuri Gagarin went to the Central Committee and OKB-1.
Also, the former driver of the Cosmonaut Training Center noted that despite the secret status of Gagarin’s movements, the traffic police saluted when the car with the first cosmonaut drove past the posts. Minnizyanov refused to disclose examples of conversations conducted by Gagarin and the driver. In addition, the driver said that he was never afraid of an accident or attempted murder, as he was always on the alert.
A service car – a black Volga M-21 with the state number 84-61 VG – was received by the cosmonaut after his flight. At the moment, the vehicle is located in one of the CPC buildings next to the ISS Russian Segment simulators.
The first cosmonaut drove the car himself – he had a personal black Volga M-21 with the number 78-78 MOD. Now the car is located near the House-Museum of Gagarin’s parents in the Smolensk region. A driver’s license in the name of Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, which was with the cosmonaut at the time of his death, is on display in the CTC museum.