I feel very honoured at having been asked by the IAU Executive to present Prof. Sagdeev’s invited discourse on Venus in his absence. As has already been mentioned Prof. Sagdeev was summoned to the talks between the USSR and the USA in Geneva as an expert in Space Research. He went there with several very important proposals for future cooperation in scientific exploration of outer space and we all hope that the results of his mission will be beneficial for the development of space astronomy and therefore for the whole astronomical community represented by the International Astronomical Union. I am sure that all present in this room realize that it is not an easy task to present someone else’s lecture especially at such short notice and in a foreign language. Besides, it is my opinion that a talk on Venus – the brightest celestial body in the sky except the moon and the Sun – Venus which always has been the symbol of beauty, love and femininity, that such a talk should surely be given by a man.