A Russian film director with ancestral links to Orkney is to fulfil a long-held desire to commemorate the first man in space by unveiling a milestone in the historic time trail on the Scottish island.

Alexander Korobkov first visited Orkney in 2006 to make a film about his ancestry, having discovered his Orcadian roots while researching another film.

However, he was dismayed to find there was no stone to mark the date of the first man in space— Russian-born Yuri Gagarin, who set off on April 12, 1961, and became the first man to orbit the Earth.

Now, his wishes are to be granted on Saturday as an additional milestone is laid on the historic time trail that marks the passage towards Skara Brae.

It is being sponsored by Russian Hour TV, producers of Mr Korobkov’s documentary, and a suitable stone will be added to the historic time trail.

Staff from VisitOrkney assisted Mr Korobkov during the several days he spent filming and were pleased with the resulting, documentary, which area director, Barbara Foulkes described as, “a charming and accurate snapshot of Orkney life...and a wonderful advert for the islands.”

The stone will be unveiled on Saturday at 10.30am, some 47 years on from Gagarin’s achievement, before a delegation from Russia which will include Mr Korobkov, cosmonaut Georgy Grechko, deputy chairman of the government of Ugra, Oleg Goncharvo, and Russian aerobatics team commander Igor Tkachenko, as well as numerous Russian television stations.

Mr Korobkov said, “I owe my Orcadian DNA to my mother Lidia Ilushenko.

“For me the Gagarin stone is a tribute to her, as much as it is to Yuri Gagarin, Orkney, Russia and Britain.”