OREANDA-NEWS. April 15, 2011. The United States has said its “No” to the return of the Vostok-2 capsule to Russia. It was purchased by Russian businessman Yevgeny Yurchenko at a Sotheby’s auction in New York on April 12 with the aim of being further delivered to a Russian museum of cosmonautics.

The capsule carried the dog Zvezdochka and the famous dummy Ivan Ivanovich back from space shortly before Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin’s first-ever flight into space on April 12, 1961. The State Department says that a special license is needed to transport what Washington claims is the US’ national endowment. According to Sotheby’s,  the capsule was covertly sent abroad in the mid-1990s and then bought by an anonymous American spaceship collector. Since then, it has repeatedly been on display in the United States, which is now demonstrating its trademark foot-dragging on the issue. In an interview with the Voice of Russia on Thursday, Moscow-based space expert Igor  Lisov  expressed surprise over the US putting the capsule on the list of its missile defense-related weaponry. He also slammed Washington’s claims as far as the license for the capsule’s transportation to Russia is concerned.

Obtaining the license will most likely be a tricky task, Lisov says, questioning Washington’s claims for such a document. Thus far, all signs have been that the US is loath to cooperate with Russia on the matter, he concludes.

He was echoed by prominent Russian lawyer Alexander Treshchev, who pointed to the fact that the Vostok-2 capsule was the only lot to be brought to the hammer at the April 12 Sotheby’s auction dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight. Organizers failed to check out legitimacy of the lot, Treshchev said, blasting the State Department’s unwillingness to collaborate. He also warned against politicizing the issue.

Organizers should have suggested that the capsule may be sent abroad after being auctioned off, Treshchev says, cautioning against turning to the Russian Foreign Ministry for explanations. The main thing now is to check out legitimacy of the deal, which may well be annulled, which in turn means that the capsule may be returned to Russia without being licensed, Treshchev explains. Generally speaking, the US’ claims for the license hold no water, because the capsule was made in the Soviet Union, he wraps up.

As for businessman Yevgeny Yurchenko, he voiced hope that the capsule will be transported to Russia in the next two weeks. It must be on display at a Russian museum as part of the country’s space history, Yurchenko stressed.