YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 8, ARMENPRESS. A unique Soviet-made limousine which carried Yuri Gagarin to the Kremlin for a meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev after he became the first human to journey into outer space in 1961 is being auctioned off in Moscow, Russia, according to Zvezda TV.

The ZIL-111V limousine is one of the 12 of its kind ever made. One of these vehicles was gifted to Cuban leader Fidel Castro by the Soviet leadership.

Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin traveled in this vehicle only once, on April 14^th 1961. Ever since, the car has not undergone any renovation, and the paint and tires are still the original ones. Even more interestingly, all this time the car was parked in a special designation garage in Armenia, where it was taken during the Soviet years for the Shah of Iran’s visit.  The auction will take place on February 15^th in Moscow’s Old Time showroom.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan