RUSSIA’S space corporation Roscosmos wants the Baikonur cosmodrome to be put on Unesco’s world heritage list as a joint nomination of Russia and Kazakhstan, according to TASS news agency.

It quoted the Secretary of the Russian commission on Unesco affairs Grigori Ordzhonikidze as saying that the head of Roscosmos has asked for assistance from Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in promoting the Baikonur complex, including its launch pad named after Yuri Gagarin, as a joint nomination for Russia and Kazakhstan. Lavrov heads the Russian commission on Unesco affairs.

The committee usually welcomes joint nominations and considers them priorities, Ordzhonikidze said.

In 2015, Russia marked the 25th year of Unesco’s decision to put the first Russian sites on the World Heritage List.

Those were St Petersburg’s square, Kizhi in Karelia, the Kremlin and Red Square. As of 2017, the list contains 29 natural and architectural objects in Russia.

The Global Heritage List, which began in 1972, contains 1,073 objects in 165 countries. – Bernama, October 29, 2017.