In an atheist state, the cult of space exploration and science is the closest religion that one can get.

Since the 20th century, Russia has thirst for space exploration, which replaced religion. Science has been disseminated via propaganda and not through sermons.

The International Space Day is April 12, which coincided with Russian Orthodox Easter Sunday this year. According to Calvert Journal, the religious celebrations on the television as well as on the streets blanketed the ones dedicated to the day of the first manned space flight in 1961. The people reacted fast through cyberspace by making it "Easternautics Day," in which Yuri Gagarin's face was painted on Easter bread, surrounded with eggs that were painted with images of Vostok-1, the International Space Station, and other spaceships.

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Gagarin, who used the call sign "Kedr" (meaning Cedar), was the first man to fly in Vostok-1 spacecraft after he was voted to become the first human to travel into space. He was also the first man to orbit the Earth. He was the God-like figurehead, a man of the people, and a martyr who died too young in a mysterious situation, as stated by The Guardian.

Between the 1950s and 1970s, space themes were interwoven in everyday life, which brought to endless celebrations and festivals of interstellar exploration by the USSR. The kids' playgrounds were designed as rockets, and the walls of kindergartens and schools were decorated with paper stars and spacecrafts.

In addition, houses were also designed and built like spacecraft, flying saucers, or lunar stations. Nowadays, the experts refer to the decades 1960s to 1980s as the "cosmic period" in Russian architecture.

Moreover, images and statues of some revered icons where everywhere, such as Valentina Tereshkova who was the first woman cosmonaut in space,  Sergei Korolev who was a rocket engineer, and Alexei Leonov who was the first astronaut to do a spacewalk. Therefore, it is clear why many Russian people expressed their disapproval on April 12 as the day of a great scientific breakthrough was being transcended by a religious holiday.

Tagsyuri gagarin, Easternautics Day, Vostok-1 spacecraft, cosmic period, science and space exploration, Interstellar, Russian architecture