Medal snub for Russian cosmonaut sparks 'cosmic scandal'

[Tal Inbar]

Medal snub for Russian cosmonaut sparks 'cosmic scandal'

Cosmonaut Maxim Surayev, who returned to Earth in March after six months aboard the International Space Station (ISS), has twice been denied the Hero of Russia medal, in what the media has called a "scandal of cosmic proportions."

"The defence ministry has twice refused to award the Hero of Russia medal to Surayev," Roskosmos spokesman Alexander Vorobyov told AFP. "As far as I know there was no reason given."

The accolade -- one of the country's highest honours -- has been granted to nearly every first-time cosmonaut since pioneer spaceman Yuri Gagarin in 1961 and to every Russian to fly on the Soyuz craft since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

"The entire Russian cosmonaut community is up in arms at what is happening and in the end they may all go on strike," Vorobyov said, adding that the space agency had appealed to President Dmitry Medvedev to intervene.

The Hero of Russia medal confers housing, pension and travel benefits, as well as a state funeral.