How Ho Chi Minh gave the Soviet cosmonaut German Titov a whole island. Everything you need to know about the German Titov Memorial Museum

Less than six months have passed since the flight of German Titov into space, when he had a chance to look at the planet Earth again, only not from the heights of the stars. The cosmonaut was vied with invitations to visit friendly countries, he, as part of a large Soviet delegation, traveled around the world with pleasure, talking about his flight and preparations for it. And he got acquainted with the culture different countries: East Germany, Romania, Mongolia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Vietnam. And even in the United States, German Titov also visited the space forum as part of a delegation from the Academy of Sciences.

German Titov arrived in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam at the personal invitation of President Ho Chi Minh. After that, the astronaut will note the attentiveness and wisdom of the Vietnamese president. In a busy schedule of meetings and interviews, Ho Chi Minh set aside one day for the Soviet delegation to rest and took the guests for a walk along Halong Bay in the South China Sea. Literally Halong translates as "where the dragon descended into the sea." This name of the bay was not accidental.

Scattered in the bay more than three thousands of islands, they are all of different sizes and shapes, but if you look at the water surface, it really seems as if a real dragon has dozed off in the water, and only parts of its stone ridge appear as islands on the water surface.

When the morning mist cleared, German Titov was able to fully appreciate the beauty of the bay. fishing boats with sails only emphasized the pristine beauty of nature.

The astronaut even wanted to plunge into its waters. The water temperature was only 16 degrees, but this did not frighten the native Siberian. However, he could not just throw himself into the water, he asked permission from Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnamese president, at the time of his acquaintance with German Titov, asked to call him Bak Ho (Uncle Ho) and really behaved like a caring relative.

The head of the country, in response to the request of the astronaut, only asked if he would freeze in cold water Halong. And then he gave the command to the commander of the boat to turn to the nearest island.

Its sheer cliffs went straight under the water, only in one place was a golden speck of a small beach visible.

German Stepanovich took a swim with pleasure and very pleased with his swim, returned to the boat. Ho Chi Minh just smiled slyly and shook his head, expressing his approval. And he asked the commander of the boat what the name of this island was. It turned out that he did not even have a name, on the map he was listed as an island at number 46.

But at the direction of Ho Chi Minh, from that day on, the island began to bear the name of German Titov. Buck Ho announced that he was giving the astronaut this island and giving him his name. Since he cannot leave the astronaut himself in Vietnam, he will make him the master of the island, where he can come at any time. True, there are no “ov” endings in the Vietnamese language, and all Russian surnames automatically receive the “op” ending. So the island of Titov became T-top.

For a long time, German Titov did not manage to visit the island named after him again. Despite frequent visits to the DRV, he had so many urgent matters that one could not even think about rest. Moreover, during the period of American intervention, German Titov, who headed the Soviet-Vietnamese Friendship Society, was concerned not only with the situation itself, but with the opportunity to provide friendly assistance to the people suffering from the war.

Thanks to the direct participation of Soviet-Vietnamese society in different corners countries supplied medicines, food, stationery and furniture for schools. It is for this activity that German Stepanovich will subsequently be awarded high awards from the Vietnamese leadership, and in fact, from the entire people of this country.

Today, tourists from different countries come to Halong to enjoy its unique beauty. And the story is also passed from mouth to mouth about how German Titov, on one of his last visits to Vietnam, nevertheless decided to visit the island named after him. However, he had to buy a ticket for this.

The young usher categorically refused to believe that in front of him was the same Soviet cosmonaut, in whose honor the island No. 46 received its name. But now a monument to German Stepanovich Titov has been erected on the island, and at the very top there is Observation deck from where Ha Long opens in all its glory.

The Vietnamese do not live on Ti-Top Island and tourists do not stop there. Pleasure boats and ships moor here so that travelers can sunbathe on the golden beach and swim in Halong Bay. And each of them is greeted by the Soviet cosmonaut German Titov.

More than three thousand rocky islands are scattered in Halong Bay. They are completely different in size and shape, located in small groups and individually. But one of them is especially remarkable because it bears the name of cosmonaut German Stepanovich Titov. It was this island that was presented to the astronaut by the legendary President Ho Chi Minh. And this happened long before the Soviet cosmonaut received most of his awards from the Vietnamese leadership.

Stroll along Halong Bay

Less than six months have passed since the flight of German Titov into space, when he had a chance to look at the planet Earth again, only not from the heights of the stars. The cosmonaut was vied with invitations to visit friendly countries, he, as part of a large Soviet delegation, traveled around the world with pleasure, talking about his flight and preparations for it. And he himself got acquainted with the culture of different countries: the GDR, Romania, Mongolia, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Indonesia, Vietnam. And even in the United States, German Titov also visited the space forum as part of a delegation from the Academy of Sciences.

German Titov arrived in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam at the personal invitation of President Ho Chi Minh. After that, the astronaut will note the attentiveness and wisdom of the Vietnamese president. In a busy schedule of meetings and interviews, Ho Chi Minh set aside one day for the Soviet delegation to rest and took the guests for a walk along Halong Bay in the South China Sea. Literally Halong translates as "where the dragon descended into the sea." This name of the bay was not accidental.

More than three thousand islands are scattered in the bay, they are all of different sizes and shapes, but if you look at the water surface, it really seems that a real dragon has dozed off in the water, and only parts of its stone ridge appear as islands on the water surface.

Island number 46

When the morning mist cleared, German Titov was able to fully appreciate the beauty of the bay. Fishing boats with sails only emphasized the pristine beauty of nature.

The astronaut even wanted to plunge into its waters. The water temperature was only 16 degrees, but this did not frighten the native Siberian. However, he could not just throw himself into the water, he asked permission from Ho Chi Minh. The Vietnamese president, at the time of his acquaintance with German Titov, asked to call him Bak Ho (Uncle Ho) and really behaved like a caring relative.

The head of the country, in response to the request of the astronaut, only asked if he would freeze in the cold water of Halong. And then he gave the command to the commander of the boat to turn to the nearest island.
Its sheer cliffs went straight under the water, only in one place was a golden speck of a small beach visible.

German Stepanovich took a swim with pleasure and very pleased with his swim, returned to the boat. Ho Chi Minh just smiled slyly and shook his head, expressing his approval. And he asked the commander of the boat what the name of this island was. It turned out that he did not even have a name, on the map he was listed as an island at number 46.

But at the direction of Ho Chi Minh, from that day on, the island began to bear the name of German Titov. Buck Ho announced that he was giving the astronaut this island and giving him his name. Since he cannot leave the astronaut himself in Vietnam, he will make him the master of the island, where he can come at any time. True, there are no “ov” endings in the Vietnamese language, and all Russian surnames automatically receive the “op” ending. So the island of Titov became T-top.

Great friendship

For a long time, German Titov did not manage to visit the island named after him again. Despite frequent visits to the DRV, he had so many urgent matters that one could not even think about rest. Moreover, during the period of American intervention, German Titov, who headed the Soviet-Vietnamese Friendship Society, was concerned not only with the situation itself, but with the opportunity to provide friendly assistance to the people suffering from the war.

Thanks to the direct participation of the Soviet-Vietnamese society, medicines, food, stationery and furniture for schools were supplied to different parts of the country. It is for this activity that German Stepanovich will subsequently be awarded high awards from the Vietnamese leadership, and in fact, from the entire people of this country.

T-top

Today, tourists from different countries come to Halong to enjoy its unique beauty. And the story is also passed from mouth to mouth about how German Titov, on one of his last visits to Vietnam, nevertheless decided to visit the island named after him. However, he had to buy a ticket for this.

The young usher categorically refused to believe that in front of him was the same Soviet cosmonaut, in whose honor the island No. 46 received its name. But now a monument to German Stepanovich Titov has been erected on the island, and at the very top there is an observation deck from where Halong opens in all its glory.

The Vietnamese do not live on Ti-Top Island and tourists do not stop there. Pleasure boats and ships moor here so that travelers can sunbathe on the golden beach and swim in Halong Bay. And each of them is greeted by the Soviet cosmonaut German Titov.

German Titov made 17 orbits around the Earth and spent just over 25 hours in orbit. His safe return to Earth became as stormy a holiday as the flight of the first cosmonaut in world history, Yuri Gagarin, and brought him no less loud fame. But still, in his space biography there was something that he did for the first time in orbit.

Ti Top Island, located in Ha Long Bay in northern Vietnam, is today one of the most popular tourist places countries. But for Russian tourists, this island covered with greenery is especially symbolic, because a monument to the second Soviet cosmonaut German Titov awaits them on the pier, whose name is forever inscribed in the history of Soviet-Vietnamese relations.

Personal guest of Ho Chi Minh

German Titov visited Vietnam in the winter of 1962 just a few months after his historic space flight. The visit took place at the invitation of Ho Chi Minh, the first president of Democratic Republic Vietnam. The Vietnamese leader decided to show the Soviet cosmonaut one of the most beautiful places in the country - Halong Bay, known for its picturesque rock islands.

As German Stepanovich himself recalled in his book “Seventeen Cosmic Dawns”, while walking along Ho Chi Minh Bay, he offered him a swim, not believing that his guest would agree to this, because the temperature that day was only +16 degrees. But the Soviet cosmonaut, who grew up in the Altai Territory, was not afraid of the local weather conditions. The historic swim took place near the island, which at the time was number 46.

“We give you this island! Come here whenever you want, you will be a dear guest! ”, exclaimed Ho Chi Minh and ordered to rename the island number 46 into the island of German Titov.

Difficulties in translation

Why, then, the island, symbolically donated by G.S. Titov by the Vietnamese leader, was called Tee-top? The fact is that the ending “-ov” is not found in the Vietnamese language, so in Russian surnames it is automatically transformed into “-op”.

Now this can confuse Russian tourists, who, according to the Vietnamese guide, do not immediately understand which Soviet hero the island was named after. Yes, and German Stepanovich himself once became a victim of such an interpretation of his surname. On one of the last visits of G.S. Titov to Vietnam in the 1990s. he decided to visit his island, which is on the list world heritage UNESCO, but faced the fact that he had to buy an entrance ticket. He was simply not believed that Tee-top Island was named after him.

The visit of 1962 was only the beginning of the colossal work that G.S. Titov did to strengthen Soviet-Vietnamese relations. In 1966, he became chairman of the Soviet-Vietnamese Friendship Society (OSVD), established eight years earlier. This happened at a difficult time for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, at the height of American intervention. During this period, the support of the USSR played a special role for the DRV. Soviet military specialists were sent to Vietnam, and weapons were also supplied, which to a large extent made it possible to repel American aggression.

The contribution of the Soviet-Vietnamese Friendship Society, which stood at the head of the solidarity movement, was also enormous. Thanks to the efforts of the Society, medicines, food, school equipment and supplies were sent to the DRV. In addition, OSVD carried out political actions, including months and weeks of Soviet-Vietnamese friendship, in which millions of Soviet citizens took part in condemning US policies.

G.S. Titov, as chairman of the OSVD, himself repeatedly visited the DRV at this time and received delegations through the Society. Subsequently, for his contribution to the development of Soviet-Vietnamese relations, he was awarded such high awards as the Order of Ho Chi Minh and the Order of Friendship, as well as the title of Hero of Labor of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In 1991, German Stepanovich became honorary chairman of the Russian-Vietnamese Friendship Society and held this position until his death in 2000.

Monument on Ti-Top Island

In September 2015, in honor of the 80th anniversary of the birth of the second Soviet cosmonaut, a marble monument German Stepanovich Titov. Since then, he has daily met numerous tourists arriving on the island in order to climb to the very top of the cliff, which offers an unforgettable view of the Sleeping Dragon Bay. And now no one can doubt who this place was named after.

German Titov

Many of the three thousand Vietnamese islands in the Halong bay of the Gulf of Tonkin South China Sea have very bizarre names: Dragon's Head, Fighting Roosters, Dog, Banana, Censer ... Among them is Ti-Top (Ti-Top) - this is how the name of the island sounds in Vietnamese, named more than half a century ago by the legendary first president of Democratic Vietnam Ho Chi Minom in honor of the second Soviet cosmonaut, Hero Soviet Union German Titov. But about everything in order, informs "Pacific Russia".

"Masterpieces of sculpture made by the hands of nature"

In Vietnamese, "ha long" means "descending dragon". Tradition says that the Ha Long Islands were created by a mythical ruler - a dragon who lived in the mountains. When he descended from the mountains to the shore, he hollowed out valleys and hollows with his tail, and when he plunged into the sea, the places dug out by his tail filled with water and only small visible patches of land remained.
Locals claim that a mythical dragon still lives in the local waters, which is occasionally seen by fishermen near distant islands. True or not, you can try to find out for yourself by going on a junk to an exciting cruise across the bay. This is how the famous Vietnamese poet Thi Sanh describes the Halong cruise: “In the middle of Halong Bay with thousands of islands, tourists will feel that they fabulous land where everything is turned to stone.

Halong is beautiful not only for its islands and unique emerald color sea ​​water. Hidden in its rocks amazing caves with stalactites and stalagmites, which resemble fabulous dragons, lions and elephants with their shapes. And although everyone knows that stalactites and stalagmites are formed quite naturally, in the caves of Halong it may seem that they are part of the local world of myths and legends. The most famous and most visited by tourists are the Thienkung Grotto (“Heavenly Palace”) and the Syngsot Cave (“Amazement”). The names of many of the islands of Halong also have a meaning - for example, Daungoyoi ("Man's Head"). This island really resembles a petrified silhouette of a man looking towards the mainland. Lawong Island is associated with the image of an old man with a fishing rod, while Choeng Mai Island looks like a pair of chickens. “These are all masterpieces of sculpture made by the hands of nature,” notes Thi Sanh, describing inviting tourists the beauty of Halong.

“We give you this island!”

But back to the island of Titov. It would seem, what could be the connection between the second astronaut of the planet and a small Vietnamese island in the South China Sea?
German Stepanovich, who was elected chairman of the Soviet-Vietnamese Friendship Society in 1961, came to Vietnam a year later at the invitation of the first president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV), Ho Chi Minh. During a boat trip along Halong Bay, the Vietnamese leader personally accompanied the dear Soviet guest. When the sun came out, Titov decided to swim despite the fact that the water temperature was about 16 degrees - the lowest for that time of year. He, along with Ho Chi Minh, was taken by boat to a rocky island covered with greenery, where a small sand beach. It was number 46 on the map.

After the astronaut's swim, Ho Chi Minh hugged him by the shoulders and said: “We give you this island! Come here whenever you want, you will be a dear guest!” And, turning to the captain of the ship, he explained his thought: "Correct on the maps: this island will henceforth be called the island of German Titov." So island 46 became Titov's island, and cosmonaut Titov became a close friend of the Vietnamese people for life. For three decades, German Stepanovich remained the permanent leader of the Soviet-Vietnamese Friendship Society, and in 1991 he became the honorary chairman of the Russian-Vietnamese Friendship Society, a post he held until his death in 2000.

Titov was always very loved and respected in Vietnam. This is evidenced not only by the island, renamed in honor of the Soviet cosmonaut, but also by the title of Hero of Labor of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, awarded to him, as well as the awarding of the Order of Ho Chi Minh and the Order of Friendship.

How Titov turned into T-Top

... "Captain, - I turn in English to the helmsman of our small pleasure boat, which is preparing to moor to Titov Island, - what does the name of this island mean - Ti-Top?" In response - a puzzled look. “You said that you are Russian?! We will consider your question as an unsuccessful joke, ”the helmsman answers.

Of course, I tried to cheat by pretending to be a tourist and turning this question to a sailor. I know what kind of island Ti-Top is, and I, being a Vietnamese with a quarter of a century of experience, even know why Titov turned into Ti-Top. In the words of the Vietnamese language consisting of morphemes, the ending “-ov” does not occur, and any “-ov” at the end of the word automatically becomes “-op”: Ivan-nop, Pet-rop, Si-do-rop ... So it turned out Ti -top.

Until recently, on the plate installed on the pier, in the English version of the spelling of the name of the island, it was not Titov Island, but Ti-Top Island. They even say that because of this, somehow, in the late 1990s, embarrassment came out. On one of his last visits to Vietnam, German Titov again decided to visit the island named after him. Imagine the astronaut's surprise when he was told at the pier that when buying a sightseeing ticket to visit Halong Bay on the shore, he had to pay extra for visiting the island. They say that German Stepanovich tried to explain that he was Titov and the island was named after him, to which he was answered: you are Titov, but the island is Ti-Top. Whether this story was real or not and how it ended, we will never know now, and it is useless. Anyway, everyone knows that President Ho Chi Minh named this island in honor of cosmonaut number two, a great and sincere friend of Vietnam German Titov.

And the sign on the pier was changed. And now it does not have Ti-Top, as before, but Titov.

Monument to the Soviet cosmonaut

Another convincing evidence for the doubters, in honor of whom this island is nevertheless named, was the monument to German Stepanovich, erected here in September 2015 to mark the 80th anniversary of the cosmonaut-hero.

The creation of the monument was carried out on the initiative and with the support of the Russian-Vietnamese and Vietnamese-Russian Friendship Societies. In 2013, the Arts Council held a thorough review of the competition projects of three authors from Hanoi, southern city Ho Chi Minh City and Quang Ninh Province, which has jurisdiction over Ha Long Bay, and chose the work of Ho Chi Minh City sculptor Lam Quang Noi. And now, after two years of painstaking work, the bust of the second cosmonaut of the planet, made of gray marble, was installed on a marble pedestal and officially opened on September 15, 2015.

The cosmonaut's widow, Tamara Vasilievna Titova, who was present at the opening ceremony of the monument, noted that the similarity of the monument with the original turned out to be one hundred percent. Herman Stepanovich's gaze is turned to the open sea, and with a slightly raised hand he welcomes the pleasure boats mooring to his island. Tourists do not live on the island, it is too small and there are no hotels. Pleasure boats stop for a short time, only so that tourists can swim and sunbathe a little on a small sandy beach.
Now all the guests of the island are still taking pictures at the monument to Titov and buying T-shirts with the print of the monument as a souvenir. The People's Committee (Administration) of Quang Ninh Province says that the monument to Titov has become another attraction of these places that attracts guests, but it was no longer created by nature, but by human hands.

Long road to the bay

Today, a visit to Ha Long is an integral part of the program of any traveler who enters northern part Vietnam. Despite the fact that more than 4.5 million foreigners and Vietnamese tourists, 150 km road leading to this bay from Vietnamese capital Hanoi, to put it mildly, leaves much to be desired. Two lanes of the highway in each direction are usually packed with container trucks heading both to the largest sea ​​port northern part of Vietnam - Haiphong, and back. In order to overcome not so long way, tourist bus due to constant traffic jams, it takes four or even five hours.
But before, seeing the beauty of Ha Long was even more problematic than it is now. Until the early 2000s, the journey to Halong included two ferry crossings, each of which took at least an hour. Now ferries have been replaced by bridges, but this has reduced travel time slightly due to the fact that the number of vehicles on the roads has increased many times over.

Realizing the importance of creating favorable opportunities for tourists to visit the gulf that glorified Vietnam to the whole world, the local authorities decided to approach the settlement transport problem comprehensively, including the construction of a new alternative highway and international airport. Harbour Air will be located on the largest island in the Gulf of Tonkin, Vandon Island. After commissioning by 2020, the airport will be able to serve up to 5 million passengers annually. According to local authorities, the emergence of an international airport will further increase the popularity and fame of Halong, recognized in 1994 by UNESCO as a world heritage site. This unique natural object is rightfully considered the main tourist attraction not only in the north of Vietnam, but throughout the country. And in 2014, Halong was included in the list of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

Halong is especially beautiful at sunset. Red sun - a giant fireball slowly disappears over the horizon, plunging the bay into a mysterious darkness. And as soon as it gets completely dark, we see another beauty of Halong, shimmering with hundreds of multi-colored lanterns of tourist ships, illuminating the endless expanse of the sea. The waves quietly beat against the side, rocking the junk, the salty wind brings about a fabulous dream about a mythical dragon - the ruler of these places.

Yuri Denisovich, TASS