The 3.5-metre (11 ft) high statue is a replica of an original by Anatoly Novikov in Lyubertsy, where Gagarin was trained as a foundry worker.

[1][2] It was a gift to the British Council from the Russian space agency Roscosmos as a part of several cultural events commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight.

The figure was originally unveiled on 14 July 2011 at a temporary location in the Mall, close to Admiralty Arch and facing the statue of Captain James Cook.

[3] This location was chosen as it was where Gagarin first met the then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

[4] It was later moved to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, at a site overlooking the Prime Meridian line, and was unveiled at the new location on 7 March 2013.