![]() This fact caused much concern and upset at the time, specifically from westerners. While she was the first of many Soviet dogs sent into space, she was the only one deliberately sent to her death. Laika the street dog was never meant to return home from this trip, and died due to overheating and panic just a few hours into the flight. In order to test the effects of space travel on living creatures, the Soviets sealed a small stray dog found on the streets of Moscow in the vessel. On November 3rd, 1957, the Soviets launched the Sputnik II into outer space, a notable step in the space race. ![]() Indeed, the universal love for Laika was a miraculous and necessary display of turning tragedy into celebration, and continues to be today. However, love for Laika was uncontroversial, an outlet to express sadness over the innocent lives lost, a vehicle for our collective grief. To speak out against it was dangerous, and sometimes not possible with censorship. In other words, people were universally powerless to the horrible acts their governments were imposing, the killings of millions. were jailed under suspicion of being a communist, or condemned for anti-war protesting. While this may seem ignorant in the face of a myriad of Cold War tragedies, particularly human tragedies, because the individual was so powerless during this era the oppressive communist regimes purged those against the government and even those in the U.S. By celebricizing Laika, we honor and pay tribute to her, allowing us to come to terms with our grief and pain over her tragedy. While her story is undeniably tragic, and arguably inspiring, in the larger scheme of Cold war horror and controversies, why do we care so much about Laika? The answer partially lies in government propaganda, by both the American and Soviet governments, but Laika’s celebrity goes beyond that. Since 1957 when the Soviets launched the Sputnik spacecraft, Laika has been at the center of Cold War conversation, the subject of toys, children’s books, protests, and media headlines. Laika was the name given to the Soviet stray dog sent up to space in the Sputnik II mission, famous for her death and sacrifice to space exploration. Yet, one of the most popular and celebrated figures from the Cold War defies this iconography by being adorable, loveable, and completely canine. The terms instantly evokes images of nuclear bombs, Soviet tanks, machine gun guerilla fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, and sentiments of fear and political tension. The Cold War has a distinct and decided legacy both in the media and in the minds of the American people. Turning Cold War Tragedy into Celebration
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