Russia to return the oldest and most famous launch pad in the Baikonur Cosmodrom to Kazakhstan

Russia will return the oldest and most famous launch pad in the Baikonur Cosmodrome, also known as “Gagarin’s Start,” to Kazakhstan, handing it over by 1 June. Kazakhstan plans to turn the world’s first crewed space launch site — which was decommissioned back in 2019 into a museum. In the meantime, Russia turned its attention to its own launching sites of Plesetsk and Vostochny, shifting commercial launches to one of them. While it still leases Baikonur from Kazakhstan until 2050, it has presented Kazakhstan with a list of 234 facilities it no longer needs, to be struck from the lease agreement.Meanwhile, Kazakhstan continues to develop its own Baiterek space complex, though progress has been slow. Experts warn that delays, coupled with the waning relevance of Baikonur, could result in outdated infrastructure and missed economic opportunities. Is Russia trying to recreate Soviet Union ?