Russia's most important spaceport isn't even in Russia. Welcome to Baikonur, a closed city in Kazakhstan where the Space Age never really ended. Baikonur is one of the strangest and most extraordinary places on Earth, a true (Soviet) bucket-list destination that only a handful of international travelers visit each year. I was so excited for years to go there and witnessing a real Soyuz rocket launch to the ISS! Baikonur is a closed city in the middle of the Kazakh steppe. Russian police, Russian banks, Russian post offices, yet officially located in Kazakhstan. Few people realize that Russia leases the entire city and Cosmodrome until 2050, creating a unique Russian enclave far from Moscow itself. For decades, Baikonur was hidden from the outside world. Built in a remote desert location, once called "Leninsk", to support the Soviet space program, access was tightly controlled and the city didn't even appear correctly on maps. Even today, you still need a special permit to enter. In this video, I explore both sides of Baikonur: the closed city itself and the legendary Cosmodrome that launched Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, Soyuz spacecraft, and countless other missions into space. I visited Soviet monuments, hidden mosaics, abandoned infrastructure, the Palace of Pioneers, Hotel Tsentralnaya, Gagarin's Start, the launch control center, and Launch Pad 41. Along the way, I discover remarkable examples of Soviet modernism, brutalist architecture, and a city built entirely around humanity's journey into space. I also get to see something I never thought I would witness in person: the original Energia rocket and the legendary Buran space shuttle, the Soviet answer to NASA's Space Shuttle program, sitting inside their giant Soviet hangars. And as if that wasn't enough, the journey ends with a live Soyuz rocket launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. What surprised me most? I was able to standing next to Energia and Buran themselves. A once-in-a-lifetime moment! At the end of the video, I also explain exactly how to visit Baikonur and what I learned from traveling to one of the most fascinating and inaccessible destinations of the Space Age. ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:26 Closed city until today 02:10 Russian side of Baikonur 02:38 The Planned City & Setup 04:20 Environment (Desert / Steppe) BAIKONUR CITY 04:50 Soyuz Rocket Monument 05:32 Gagarin Monument 05:53 Transportation in Baikonur 06:19 Abandoned Train Station 07:26 How to get around (by taxi mostly) 07:46 Open Air Museum at Gagarin Boulevard 08:31 Monument 'Glory to the conquerors of space' 08:54 Sputnik / Trailblazers Monument 09:09 Monument 'Science and space' 09:38 Central Market 10:04 Supermarket Local Shopping 10:38 Russian influences 10:57 Safety 11:41 Cleanliness 12:00 Central Heating / Heating Pipes 12:28 International Space School 14:27 Central Square / Lenin Square / Roscosmos 15:51 Around Central Square / Architecture 16:42 Museum of Baikonur Cosmodrome History 17:43 Hotel Tsentralnaya / Inside 19:41 Pioneer Palace 20:28 House of Officers (Cultural Palace) 20:58 Park Pobedy (Victory Park) 21:15 Eternal Flame (At Gagarin Boulevard) 21:44 Abay Avenue / Central Boulevard 22:13 Cosmonaut Mosaik COSMODROME 22:55 Intro Cosmodrome 23:26 Gagarin's Start 25:01 Gagarin's Start - Command Center 26:18 Launch Pad 41 / Nedelin catastrophe monument 27:00 Energia Rocket 28:54 Abandoned Comsodrome 29:22 Buran Shuttle 32:53 Launch Pad 31 Observation point 35:05 Mission Progress MS-31 Rocket Launch (Soyuz 2.1a) to the ISS 35:27 Launch 36:07 Recap Rocket Launch 37:02 Recap Part II plus night impressions of Baikonur BONUS How to Travel to Baikonur 37:48 All information how to got there