Russian astronauts who recently reached the ISS wore yellow flight suits with blue inserts. Many saw this as covert support for Ukraine, which is now under aggression by their country. But perhaps the real purpose of this action was just the opposite.
Yellow and blue Russian suits
The crew of the Russian spacecraft Soyuz arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, March 18. Despite the continuous aggression against Ukraine, cooperation on the Earth’s orbit with the country, violating the neighbor’s borders on the Earth, still continues. But it was not this appalling fact that attracted the attention of the world media, but the fact that the Russians arrived on board in yellow flight overalls with blue patches. Many saw this as a hint at the Ukrainian flag. There are several speculations on the web as to what this may mean. After all, the version of the “excessive amount of yellow fabric” voiced by the astronauts themselves does not stand up to any criticism.
Support by cosmonauts of Ukraine
The first version is that Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveyev and Sergei Korsakov support the country that was invaded by Russia. Presumably, they can only express their position in this way.
The following argument is put forward in support of this version: Oleg Artemyev joked during a press conference about the color of overalls, although he could just directly say that this is not about Ukraine at all. This premise is rather dubious. After all, the majority of the Russian population supports the armed aggression perpetrated by their country. Astronauts, many of whom are servicemen, are no exception. In addition, the costumes were packed a few months ago, and there is no chance that someone reacted so quickly to the changing circumstances.
In addition, we must not forget that astronauts often end up in places similar to the Russian State Duma after the end of their careers. Moreover, they are not inclined to speak on behalf of the opposition — Sergei Krykalyov and Valentina Tereshkova are a clear example of this. These prominent conquerors of space fully support the war.
The mere coincidence
The second version of why Russian flight suits are so reminiscent of the Ukrainian flag is a coincidence. Roscosmos adheres to it. The press service of the agency reported in its Telegram-channel that the costumes of the new crew are made in the colors of the emblem of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, from which all three astronauts graduated. They could well support their alma mater in this way. After all, the yellow color is not exceptionally Ukraine’s symbol, and to see the Ukrainian flag everywhere and in everything is madness.
Against this version says the fact that the colors of overalls are closer to the yellow and blue Ukrainian flag than to the range of colors of the university. The main argument for this version — overalls were made long before the flight and with the full consent of management. But it can also work in favor of the opposite version: “guessing” with colors was easier not by accident, but specifically.
Lame propaganda
Finally, the whole story with the yellow and blue overalls could only turn out to be a failed propaganda of the Russians. Thus, they wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the “Crimean referendum”, which took place on March 18.
The argument for this version is the confidence of the Russian leadership in a quick victory over Ukraine. The Russians wanted to capture our country in just 15 days. They planned to repeat Crimea. This is confirmed by the planning documents of one of the units of the battalion tactical group of the 810th separate brigade of marines of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, which were seized by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. That is, the whole “special operation” was to be completed by March 6. In this case, it could be considered that it should have been a kind of demonstration of “fraternity of peoples.”
Therefore, such a choice of colors could mean Russian support for Ukrainians who were “liberated” from the “Nazis”. It is possible that a similar action was planned in Kyiv that day, but in tricolor colors.
It should be remembered that the overalls were made for each astronaut individually. In addition, these clothes cannot be sewn quickly somewhere around the corner. Therefore, everything suggests that such a choice of colors cannot be a protest or a coincidence.
In any case, we will not know the truth soon. The very word “war” is banned in Russia. And it does not seem that the state is ready to make exceptions even for astronauts. And their real opinion on this matter will be known to the world only after the fall of Putin’s regime.
According to Arstechnica.com
