Why was Vladimir Komarovs body displayed in an open casket? It strikes me as odd that he would be open to view given the state of his remains. Was this to symbolise his sacrifice?
Do you have a source for the fact that his body was displayed in an open casket. I've seen this picture [beware - it's quite gruesome though it's hard to tell quite what is in the coffin), and I've heard differing reports about what it depicts. It's not clear that it is a body from the picture and I've read that it is a piece of wreckage, and a single bone fragment was all that was found of his body.
Can anyone please confirm? Would any remains even be left after a spacecraft crashed into earth?