View source for Yuri Gagarin

{{Short description|Soviet cosmonaut (1934–1968)}}
{{Redirect|Gagarin|other uses|Gagarin (disambiguation)|the band|Yuri Gagarin (band)}}
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{{Use British English|date=July 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Yuri Gagarin
| image              = Yuri Gagarin with awards (2).jpg
| caption            = Gagarin in 1963
| native_name        = {{nobold|Юрий Гагарин}}
| native_name_lang   = ru
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|df=yes|1934|3|9}}
| birth_place        = [[Klushino]], [[Western Oblast]], Soviet Union
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1968|3|27|1934|3|9}}
| death_place        = [[Novosyolovo, Vladimir Oblast]], Soviet Union
| death_cause        = [[Death of Yuri Gagarin|MiG-15 jet crash]]
| resting_place      = [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]], Moscow, Russia
| occupation         = {{hlist|Pilot|[[Astronaut#Cosmonaut|cosmonaut]]}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|[[Valentina Ivanovna Gagarina|Valentina Goryacheva]]|1957}}
| children           = 2; including [[Yelena Gagarina|Yelena]]
| module             = {{Infobox astronaut| child = yes
 | type               = [[Ministry of General Machine Building|M.O.M.]] cosmonaut
 | time               = {{time interval|12 April 1961 06:07|12 April 1961 07:55|show=hm|sep=,}}
 | selection          = [[List of astronauts by year of selection#1960|Air Forces Group 1]] (1960)
 | mission            = [[Vostok 1]]
}}
| module2            = {{Infobox military person
 |embed        = yes
 |embed_title  = Military career
 | allegiance       = Soviet Union
 | branch           = [[Soviet Air Forces]]
 | rank             = ''[[Military ranks of the Soviet Union (1955–1991)|Polkovnik]]'' (Colonel)
 | serviceyears     = 1957–1968
}}
| awards             = {{Plainlist|
* [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]
* [[Order of Lenin]]
* [[Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR|Pilot–Cosmonaut of the USSR]]}}
| signature          = Gagarin Signature.svg
}}
{{Soviet space program sidebar}}
'''Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin'''{{efn|{{lang-rus|links=no|Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин|p=ˈjʉrʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪdʑ‿ɡɐˈɡarʲɪn}}; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''.}}{{Family name footnote|Alekseyevich|Gagarin|lang=Eastern Slavic}} (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and [[cosmonaut]] who, aboard the first successful [[Human spaceflight|crewed spaceflight]], became the first person to journey into [[outer space]]. Travelling on [[Vostok 1]], Gagarin completed one orbit of [[Earth]] on 12 April 1961, with his flight taking 108 minutes. By achieving this major milestone for the [[Soviet Union]] amidst the [[Space Race]], he became an international celebrity and was awarded many medals and titles, including his nation's highest distinction: [[Hero of the Soviet Union]].

Hailing from the village of [[Klushino]] in the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], Gagarin was a foundryman at a steel plant in [[Lyubertsy]] in his youth. He later joined the [[Soviet Air Forces]] as a pilot and was stationed at the [[Luostari/Pechenga (air base)|Luostari Air Base]], near the [[Norway–Russia border|Norway–Soviet Union border]], before his selection for the [[Soviet space program]]me alongside five other cosmonauts. Following his spaceflight, Gagarin became the deputy training director of the [[Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center|Cosmonaut Training Centre]], which was later named after him. He was also elected as a deputy of the [[Soviet of the Union]] in 1962 and then to the [[Soviet of Nationalities]], respectively the lower and upper chambers of the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet]].

Vostok 1 was Gagarin's only spaceflight, but he served as the backup crew to [[Soyuz 1]], which ended in a fatal crash, killing his friend and fellow cosmonaut [[Vladimir Komarov]]. Fearful that a high-level national hero might be killed, Soviet officials banned Gagarin from participating in further spaceflights. After completing training at the [[Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy]] in February 1968, he was again allowed to fly regular aircraft. However, Gagarin died five weeks later, when the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15]] that he was piloting with flight instructor [[Vladimir Seryogin]] crashed near the town of [[Kirzhach]].

== Early life ==
[[File:Yuri Gagarin parents Home (cropped).jpg|thumb|Gagarin family home in Klushino]]

Gagarin was born 9 March 1934 in the village of [[Klushino]],<ref>{{harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=332}}</ref> in the [[Smolensk Oblast]] of the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]], near Gzhatsk (renamed [[Gagarin, Smolensk Oblast|Gagarin]] in 1968 after his death).<ref>{{harvnb|French|2010|p=270}}</ref> His parents worked on a [[sovkhoz]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/europe/hero2006/gagarin.html |title=Yuri Gagarin |magazine=Time Europe |first=Dennis |last=Tito |date=13 November 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080326180036/http://www.time.com/time/europe/hero2006/gagarin.html |archive-date=26 March 2008}}</ref>—Aleksey Ivanovich Gagarin as a carpenter and Anna Timofeyevna Gagarina as a [[Dairy farming|dairy farmer]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Burgess|Hall|pp=41–42|2009}}</ref>{{efn|Alexey and Anna's names are sometimes transliterated as Aleksei Ivanovich and Anna Timofeevna, respectively.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jenks|2012a|pp=140–41}}</ref>}} Yuri was the third of four children. His older brother Valentin was born in 1924, and by the time Yuri was born he was already helping with the cattle on the farm. His sister Zoya, born in 1927, helped take care of "Yura" and their youngest brother Boris, born in 1936.<ref>{{Harvnb|Doran|Bizony|2011|pp=11–12}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Burgess|Hall|2009|p=42}}</ref>

Like millions of Soviet citizens, his family suffered during the [[German-occupied Europe|German occupation]] during [[World War II]].<ref name="Moskvitch2011" /> During the [[Battle of Moscow#Mozhaisk defense line (13–30 October)|German advance on Moscow]], retreating [[Red Army]] soldiers seized the collective farm's livestock.{{Sfn|Jenks|2013|p=35}} The Nazis captured Klushino on 18 October 1941. On their first day in the village, they burned down the school, ending Yuri's first year of education.{{Sfn|Jenks|2013|p=36}} The Germans also burned down 27 houses in the village and forced the residents including the Gagarins to work the farms to feed the occupying soldiers. Those who refused were beaten or sent to the concentration camp set up at Gzhatsk.{{Sfn|Jenks|2013|p=36}}

A Nazi officer took over the Gagarin residence. On the land behind their house, the family was allowed to build a mud hut measuring approximately {{convert|3|by|3|m|ft|0}}, where they spent 21 months until the end of the occupation.<ref name="Moskvitch2011">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12875848 |title=Yuri Gagarin's Klushino: forgotten home of space legend |website=BBC News |last=Moskvitch |first=Katia |date=3 April 2011 |access-date=4 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404034945/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12875848 |archive-date=4 April 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> During this period, Yuri became a saboteur, especially after one of the German soldiers, called "the Devil" by the children, tried to hang his younger brother Boris on an apple tree using the boy's scarf. In retaliation, Yuri sabotaged the soldier's work; he poured soil into the tank batteries gathered to be recharged and randomly mixed the different chemical supplies intended for the task.{{Sfn|Doran|Bizony|2011|pp=14–15}} In early 1943, his two older siblings were deported by the Germans to Poland for [[Ostarbeiter|slave labour]]. They escaped and were found by Soviet soldiers who conscripted them into helping with the war effort. They did not return home until after the war, in 1945.<ref name="indep20110403">{{cite news|last=Rodgers|first=Paul|date=3 April 2011|title=Yuri Gagarin: the man who fell to Earth|newspaper=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/yuri-gagarin-the-man-who-fell-to-earth-2257505.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404093839/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/yuri-gagarin-the-man-who-fell-to-earth-2257505.html|archive-date=4 April 2011}}</ref><ref name="eandt20110314">{{cite journal |url=http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2011/03/yuri-gagarin.cfm |title=First man of Space – the flight and plight of Yuri Gagarin |journal=[[Engineering & Technology]] |first=Piers |last=Bizony |author-link=Piers Bizony |volume=6 |issue=3 |date=14 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325045249/http://eandt.theiet.org/magazine/2011/03/yuri-gagarin.cfm |archive-date=25 March 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=26 March 2013 }}</ref>

The rest of the Gagarin family believed the two older children were dead, and Yuri became ill with "grief and hunger";{{Sfn|Doran|Bizony|2011|p=17}} he was also beaten for refusing to work for the German forces and spent the remainder of the war at a hospital as a patient and later as an orderly. His mother was hospitalized during the same period, after a German soldier gashed her leg with a scythe. When the Germans were routed out of Klushino on 9 March 1944, Yuri helped the Red Army find mines buried in the roads by the fleeing German army.{{Sfn|Doran|Bizony|2011|p=17}}

== Education and early career ==
In 1946, the family moved to Gzhatsk, where Gagarin continued his education.<ref name="Moskvitch2011" /> Yuri and Boris were enrolled at a crude school built in the town and run by a young woman who volunteered to be the teacher. They learned to read using a discarded Soviet military manual. A former Soviet airman later joined the school to teach math and science,{{Sfn|Doran|Bizony|2011|p=18}} Yuri's favourite subjects. Yuri was also part of a group of children that built model aeroplanes. He was fascinated with aircraft from a young age and his interest in aeroplanes was energized after a [[Yakovlev]] fighter plane crash landed in Klushino during the war.{{Sfn|Doran|Bizony|2011|pp=18–20}}

[[File:Yuri Gagarin como cadete del club de vuelo de Saratov.jpg|thumb|Gagarin as an air cadet in the Saratov flying club {{circa|1954}}]]
In 1950, aged 16, Gagarin began an apprenticeship as a foundryman at a steel plant in [[Lyubertsy]], near Moscow,<ref name="indep20110403" /><ref name="eandt20110314" /> and enrolled at a local "young workers" school for seventh-grade evening classes. After graduating in 1951 from both the seventh grade and the vocational school with honours in [[moldmaker|mouldmaking]] and foundry work,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Birth of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, Cosmonaut Pilot, the First Human to journey into Outer Space, Hero of the Soviet Union |url=https://www.prlib.ru/en/history/1864421 |access-date=4 November 2023 |website=Presidential Library |language=en |archive-date=4 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104034214/https://www.prlib.ru/en/history/1864421 |url-status=live }}</ref> he was selected for further training at the Industrial Technical School in [[Saratov]], where he studied tractors.<ref name="indep20110403" /><ref name="eandt20110314" /><ref name="bbc20110404">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12460720 |title=Profile: Yuri Gagarin |website=BBC News |first1=Paul |last1=Rincon |first2=Katia |last2=Moskvitch |name-list-style=amp |date=4 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180421163636/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12460720 |archive-date=21 April 2018 |url-status=dead |access-date=20 June 2018}}</ref> While in Saratov, Gagarin volunteered at a local flying club for weekend training as a Soviet air cadet, where he trained to fly a [[biplane]], and later a [[Yakovlev Yak-18]].<ref name="eandt20110314" /><ref name="bbc20110404" /> He earned extra money as a part-time dock labourer on the [[Volga|Volga River]].<ref name="Moskvitch2011" />

== Soviet Air Force service ==
In 1955, Gagarin was accepted to the [[1st Chkalov Military Aviation School for Pilots|First Chkalov Higher Air Force Pilots School]] in [[Orenburg]].<ref name="BurgessHall p. 43">{{Harvnb|Burgess|Hall|2009|p=43}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Burgess|Hall|2009|p=352}}</ref> He initially began training on the Yak-18 already familiar to him and later graduated to training on the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15]] in February 1956.<ref name="BurgessHall p. 43" /> Gagarin twice struggled to land the two-seater trainer aircraft, and risked dismissal from pilot training. However, the commander of the regiment decided to give him another chance at landing. Gagarin's flight instructor gave him a cushion to sit on, which improved his view from the cockpit, and he landed successfully. Having completed his evaluation in a trainer aircraft,<ref>{{Harvnb|Burgess|Hall|2009|pp=43–44}}</ref> Gagarin began flying solo in 1957.<ref name="indep20110403" />

On 5 November 1957, Gagarin was commissioned a [[lieutenant]] in the [[Soviet Air Forces]], having accumulated 166 hours and 47 minutes of flight time. He graduated from flight school the next day and was posted to the [[Luostari/Pechenga (air base)|Luostari Air Base]], close to the Norwegian border in [[Murmansk Oblast]], for a two-year assignment with the [[Northern Fleet]].<ref name="BurgessHall p. 45">{{Harvnb|Burgess|Hall|2009|p=45}}</ref> He was assigned to the [[769th Fighter Aviation Regiment]] of the [[122nd Fighter Aviation Division]] flying [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15]]bis aircraft.<ref name="Sever">{{cite web|author=Olga Vorobyova|title=North in the fate of a pioneer|url=http://old.redstar.ru/2011/04/12_04/2_02.html|date=12 April 2011|website=[[Krasnaya Zvezda]] (Red Star)|access-date=9 November 2023|archive-date=17 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817012051/http://old.redstar.ru/2011/04/12_04/2_02.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By October 1959, he had flown a total of 265 hours.<ref name="rosbio"/>

On 7 July 1959, he was rated Military Pilot 3rd Class.<ref name="rosbio">{{cite web |url=http://www.astronaut.ru/as_rusia/vvs/text/gagarin.htm?reload_coolmenus |title=Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин |website=Astronaut.ru |language=ru|trans-title=Gagarin Yuri Alekseevich|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622072230/http://www.astronaut.ru/as_rusia/vvs/text/gagarin.htm?reload_coolmenus|archive-date=22 June 2019|url-status=live|access-date=2 April 2019}}</ref> After expressing interest in space exploration following the launch of [[Luna 3]] on 6 October 1959, his recommendation to the [[Soviet space program]]me was endorsed and forwarded by Lieutenant Colonel Babushkin.<ref name="BurgessHall p. 45" /><ref>{{harvnb|Lindsay|2013|p=42}}</ref> By this point, he had accumulated 265 hours of flight time.<ref name="BurgessHall p. 45" /> Gagarin was promoted to the rank of [[senior lieutenant]] on 6 November 1959,<ref name="rosbio" /> three weeks after he was interviewed by a medical commission for qualification to the space programme.<ref name="BurgessHall p. 45" />

== Soviet space programme ==

=== Selection and training ===
{{See also|Vostok programme}}
[[File:Gagarin Capsule.jpg|thumb|Gagarin's [[Vostok (spacecraft)#Vostok 3KA|Vostok 3KA capsule]] and an effigy of him on display at the [[RKK Energiya museum]] in 2010]]
[[File:Gagarin-skafander.jpg|thumb|Gagarin's Vostok 1 spacesuit]]
Gagarin's selection for the [[Vostok programme]] was overseen by the Central Flight Medical Commission led by Major General Konstantin Fyodorovich Borodin of the Soviet Army Medical Service. He underwent physical and psychological testing conducted at Central Aviation Scientific-Research Hospital, in Moscow, commanded by Colonel A.S. Usanov, a member of the commission. The commission also included Colonel Yevgeniy Anatoliyevich Karpov, who later commanded the training centre, Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Yazdovskiy, the head physician for Gagarin's flight, and Major-General Aleksandr Nikolayevich Babiychuk, a physician [[flag officer]] on the Soviet Air Force General Staff to the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force#Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Force|Commander in Chief of the Air Force]].<ref name="Hall, Shayler & Vis p. 120" /> The commission limited their selection to pilots between 25 and 30 years old. The chief engineer of the programme [[Sergei Korolev]] also specified that candidates, to fit in the limited space in the [[Vostok (spacecraft)|Vostok capsule]], should weigh less than {{convert|72|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} and be no taller than {{convert|1.70|m|ftin}};<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=244}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Norberg|2013|p=16}}</ref> Gagarin was {{Convert|1.57|m|ftin}} tall.<ref>{{Harvnb|Impey|2015|p=51}}</ref>

From a pool of 154 qualified pilots short-listed by their Air Force units, the military physicians chose 29 cosmonaut candidates, of whom 20 were approved by the Credential Committee of the [[Government of the Soviet Union|Soviet government]]. The first twelve, including Gagarin, were approved on 7 March 1960 and eight more were added in a series of subsequent orders issued until June.<ref name="Hall, Shayler & Vis p. 120">{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=120}}</ref>{{efn|The first twelve announced on 7 March 1960 were Lieutenant [[Alexei Leonov]], Senior Lieutenants [[Ivan Anikeyev]], [[Valery Bykovsky]], Yuri Gagarin, [[Viktor Gorbatko]], [[Grigori Nelyubov]], [[Andriyan Nikolayev]], [[German Titov]], [[Boris Volynov]], and [[Georgy Shonin]], Captain [[Pavel Popovich]] and Engineer Captain [[Vladimir Komarov]]. On 9 March 1960, Senior Lieutenant [[Yevgeny Khrunov]] was added. Senior Lieutenants [[Dmitri Zaikin]] and [[Valentin Filatyev]] joined the group on 25 March. They were followed by Major [[Pavel Belyayev]] and Senior Lieutenants [[Valentin Bondarenko]], [[Valentin Varlamov]] and [[Mars Rafikov]], who joined on 28 April 1960. Captain [[Anatoly Kartashov (cosmonaut)|Anatoly Kartashov]] was the last to join in June 1960.<ref name="Hall, Shayler & Vis p. 120" />}}

Gagarin began training at the [[Khodynka Aerodrome|Khodynka Airfield]] in central Moscow on 15 March 1960. The training regimen involved vigorous and repetitive physical exercises which [[Alexei Leonov]], a member of the initial group of twelve, described as akin to training for the [[Olympic Games]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=121}}</ref> In April 1960, they began parachute training in [[Saratov Oblast]] and each man completed about 40 to 50 jumps from both low and high altitude, over both land and water.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 248">{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=248}}</ref>

Gagarin was a candidate favoured by his peers; when they were asked to vote anonymously for a candidate besides themselves they would like to be the first to fly, all but three chose Gagarin.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 262" /> One of these candidates, [[Yevgeny Khrunov]], believed that Gagarin was very focused and was demanding of himself and others when necessary.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 261" /> On 30 May 1960, Gagarin was further selected for an accelerated training group, known as the [[Vanguard Six]] or Sochi Six,<ref>{{harvnb|Cavallaro|2018|p=96}}</ref>{{efn|The group was also nicknamed the "Lilies" by their fellow cosmonauts, a reference to "Lilies of the Valley", a song by composer [[Oscar Feltsman]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFMEAAAAMBAJ&q=Lilies&pg=PA124 |title=How bright it is – how incredibly beautiful! |last1=Belyayev |first1=Pavel |date=14 May 1965 |magazine=Life |last2=Leonov |first2=Alexei |name-list-style=amp |page=124 |access-date=23 October 2020 |archive-date=11 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311053441/https://books.google.com/books?id=QFMEAAAAMBAJ&q=Lilies&pg=PA124 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HallShaylerVis p. 122">{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=122}}</ref>}} from which the first cosmonauts of the Vostok programme would be chosen. The other members of the group were [[Anatoly Kartashov (cosmonaut)|Anatoly Kartashov]], [[Andriyan Nikolayev]], [[Pavel Popovich]], [[Gherman Titov]], and [[Valentin Varlamov]]. However, Kartashov and Varlamov were injured and replaced by Khrunov and [[Grigory Nelyubov]].<ref name="HallShaylerVis p. 122" />

As several of the candidates selected for the programme including Gagarin did not have [[higher education]] degrees, they were enrolled in a correspondence course programme at the [[Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy]]. Gagarin enrolled in September 1960 and did not earn his [[specialist diploma]] until early 1968.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=135}}</ref><ref name="Lebedev2011-8">{{cite journal |last=Lebedev |first=Vitaliy |date=August 2011 |title=Диплом гагарина |trans-title=Gagarin's diploma |url=https://dfnc.ru/images/magazines/PDF/august_2011.pdf#page=119 |journal=New Defence Order Strategy |language=ru |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=117–18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122145958/http://dfnc.ru/images/magazines/PDF/august_2011.pdf#page=119 |archive-date=22 January 2017 |access-date=13 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gagarin was also subjected to experiments that were designed to test physical and psychological endurance, including [[Hypoxia (medical)|oxygen starvation]] tests in which the cosmonauts were locked in an isolation chamber and the air slowly pumped out. He also trained for the upcoming flight by experiencing [[g-force]]s in a centrifuge.<ref name="HallShaylerVis p. 122" /><ref>{{harvnb|Doran|Bizony|2011|pp=34–38}}</ref> Psychological tests included placing the candidates in an [[anechoic chamber]] in complete isolation; Gagarin was in the chamber from 26 July to 5 August.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=77}}</ref><ref name="Siddiqi p. 248" /> In August 1960, a Soviet Air Force doctor evaluated his personality as follows:

{{blockquote|text=Modest; embarrasses when his humour gets a little too racy; high degree of intellectual development evident in Yuriy; fantastic memory; distinguishes himself from his colleagues by his sharp and far-ranging sense of attention to his surroundings; a well-developed imagination; quick reactions; persevering, prepares himself painstakingly for his activities and training exercises, handles celestial mechanics and mathematical formulae with ease as well as excels in higher mathematics; does not feel constrained when he has to defend his point of view if he considers himself right; appears that he understands life better than a lot of his friends.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 262">{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=262}}</ref>}}

The Vanguard Six were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961<ref name="HallShaylerVis p. 122" /> and underwent a two-day examination conducted by a special interdepartmental commission led by Lieutenant-General [[Nikolai Kamanin]], the overseer of the Vostok programme. The commission was tasked with ranking the candidates based on their mission readiness for the first human Vostok mission. On 17 January, they were tested in a simulator at the M. M. Gromov Flight-Research Institute on a full-size mockup of the Vostok capsule. Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich, and Titov all received excellent marks on the first day of testing, in which they were required to describe the various phases of the mission followed by questions from the commission.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 261">{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=261}}</ref> On the second day, they were given a written examination, following which the special commission ranked Gagarin as the best candidate. He and the next two highest-ranked cosmonauts, Titov and Nelyubov, were sent to [[Tyuratam]] for final preparations.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 261" /> Gagarin and Titov were selected to train in the flight-ready spacecraft on 7 April. Historian [[Asif Azam Siddiqi]] writes of the final selection:<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|pp=271–72}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|In the end, at the State Commission meeting on April 8, Kamanin stood up and formally nominated Gagarin as the primary pilot and Titov as his backup. Without much discussion, the commission approved the proposal and moved on to other last-minute logistical issues. It was assumed that in the event Gagarin developed health problems prior to liftoff, Titov would take his place, with Nelyubov acting as {{em|his}} backup.}}

=== Vostok 1 ===
{{Main|Vostok 1}}

{{Listen
| filename     = Gagarin-Poyekhali.ogg
| title        = ''Poyekhali!''
| description  = Gagarin's voice
}}

On 12 April 1961, at 6:07&nbsp;am [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]], the [[Vostok (spacecraft)#Vostok 3KA|Vostok 3KA-3]] ([[Vostok 1]]) spacecraft was launched from [[Baikonur Cosmodrome]]. Aboard was Gagarin, the first human to travel into space, using the call sign ''Kedr'' ({{lang|ru|Кедр}}, [[Pinus sibirica|Siberian pine]] or [[Cedrus|cedar]]).<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=283}}</ref> The radio communication between the launch control room and Gagarin included the following dialogue at the moment of rocket launch:

{{Blockquote|'''Korolev:''' Preliminary stage&nbsp;... intermediate... main... LIFT-OFF! We wish you a good flight. Everything's all right. <br />'''Gagarin:''' Off we go! Goodbye, until [we meet] soon, dear friends.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|2001|p=150}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|French|Burgess|2009|p=20}}</ref>}}

Gagarin's farewell to Korolev using the informal phrase ''Poyekhali!'' ({{Langx|ru|Поехали!|label=none|lit=Off we go!}}){{efn|Some sources translate this phrase as "Let's go!"<ref>{{harvnb|Evans|2010|p=18}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph8443777">{{Cite news |last=Orange |first=Richard |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/8443777/Yuri-Gagarin-50th-anniversary-of-the-first-man-in-space.html |title=Yuri Gagarin: 50th anniversary of the first man in space |date=12 April 2011 |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=4 July 2019 |issn=0307-1235 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704043157/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/8443777/Yuri-Gagarin-50th-anniversary-of-the-first-man-in-space.html |archive-date=4 July 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} later became a popular expression in the [[Eastern Bloc]] that was used to refer to the beginning of the [[Space Age]].<ref name="Dushenko">{{Harvnb|Dushenko|2019|p=1097}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Pervushin|2011|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kMGlvz53P3cC&pg=PT565 Chapter 6.2]}}</ref> The five first-stage engines fired until the first separation event, when the four side-boosters fell away, leaving the core engine. The core stage then separated while the rocket was in a suborbital trajectory, and the upper stage carried it to orbit. Once the upper stage finished firing, it separated from the spacecraft, which orbited for 108 minutes before returning to Earth in Kazakhstan.<ref>{{harvnb|Sheldon|2013|p=219}}</ref> Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth.<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=275}}</ref>

[[File:1961-04-19 First Pictures-Yuri Gagarin-selection.ogv|left|thumb|An April 1961 [[newsreel]] of Gagarin arriving in Moscow to be greeted by First Secretary [[Nikita Khrushchev]]]]

"The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unfamiliar compared with Earth conditions. Here, you feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended", Gagarin wrote in his post-flight report.<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=278}}</ref> He also wrote in his autobiography released the same year that he sang the tune "The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows" ({{lang|ru|"Родина слышит, Родина знает"}}) during re-entry.<ref name="Gagarin1961">{{Harvnb|Gagarin|Denisova|Borzenko|1961}}</ref> Gagarin was recognised as a qualified Military Pilot 1st Class and promoted to the rank of [[Major (rank)|major]] in a special order given during his flight.<ref name="rosbio" /><ref name="Gagarin1961" />

At about {{Convert|23000|ft|m|order=flip}}, Gagarin ejected from the descending capsule as planned and landed using a parachute.<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=281}}</ref> There were concerns Gagarin's orbital spaceflight records for duration, altitude and lifted mass would not be recognized by the {{lang|fr|[[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]]}} (FAI), the world governing body for setting standards and keeping records in the field, which at the time required that the pilot land with the craft.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 March 2021 |title='Let's go!' – FAI celebrates 60th Anniversary of Gagarin's space flight |url=https://www.fai.org/news/60th-anniversary-gagarin-space-flight |access-date=18 July 2022 |website=[[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]] |language=en |quote=Due to Gagarin not being able to land with his aircraft as usual during aeronautical feats, there were initial concerns that the FAI would not be able to recognise his achievements. However, the FAI duly amended the rules to encompass this new form of aviation and so the awards were ratified. |archive-date=3 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003132232/https://www.fai.org/news/60th-anniversary-gagarin-space-flight |url-status=live }}</ref> Gagarin and Soviet officials initially refused to admit that he had not landed with his spacecraft,<ref>{{Harvnb|Jenks|2011|p=112}}</ref> an omission which became apparent after Titov's flight on [[Vostok 2]] four months later. Gagarin's spaceflight records were nonetheless certified and reaffirmed by the FAI, which revised its rules, and acknowledged that the crucial steps of the safe launch, orbit, and return of the pilot had been accomplished.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/why-yuri-gagarin-remains-first-man-space-even-though-he-did-not-land-inside-his |title=Why Yuri Gagarin remains the first man in space, even though he did not land inside his spacecraft |last=Lewis |first=Cathleen |date=12 April 2010 |website=National Air and Space Museum |access-date=12 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618085443/https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/why-yuri-gagarin-remains-first-man-space-even-though-he-did-not-land-inside-his |archive-date=18 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gagarin is internationally recognised as the first human in space and first to orbit the Earth.<ref>{{cite news |title=Yuri Gagarin: Who was the first person in space? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/56718196 |website=BBC |access-date=13 July 2022 |archive-date=8 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008083730/https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/56718196 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== After the Vostok 1 flight ==
[[File:Yuri Gagarin welcome Warsaw 1961.jpg|thumb|right|Gagarin in Warsaw, 1961]]
[[File:Gagarin and Nasser and Sadat in Cairo Egypt 01-02-1962.jpg|alt=Yuri_Gagarin_and_Gamal_Abdel_Nasser_in_Cairo_Egypt_01-02-1962|thumb|Gagarin with Egypt's president [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] and Parliament Speaker [[Anwar Sadat]] in a speech at [[Cairo International Stadium|Cairo Stadium]], 1961]]
Gagarin's flight was a triumph for the Soviet space programme and he became a national hero of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, as well as a worldwide celebrity. Newspapers around the globe published his biography and details of his flight. He was escorted in a long [[motorcade]] of high-ranking officials through the streets of Moscow to the [[Kremlin]] where, in a lavish ceremony, [[Nikita Khrushchev]] awarded him the title [[Hero of the Soviet Union]]. Other cities in the Soviet Union also held mass demonstrations, the scale of which were second only to the [[Victory Day (Russia)|World War II Victory Parades]].<ref>{{harvnb|Pervushin|2011|loc=Chapter 7.1}}</ref>

[[File:RIAN archive 615544 The USSR pilot-cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova and Yuri Gagarin.jpg|right|thumb|Gagarin and [[Valentina Tereshkova]] (seated to his right) signing autographs at a youth forum in 1964]]

Gagarin gained a reputation as an adept public figure and was noted for his charismatic smile.<ref name="French1998">{{Cite journal |last=French |first=Francis |author-link=Francis French (author) |date=July 1998 |title=Yuri Gagarin's visit to manchester |url=http://yurigagarin50.org/history/gagarin-in-britain/gagarin-in-manchester |url-status=dead |journal=Spaceflight |publisher=British Interplanetary Society |volume=40 |issue=7 |pages=261–62 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314021857/http://yurigagarin50.org/history/gagarin-in-britain/gagarin-in-manchester |archive-date=14 March 2011 |access-date=7 March 2011 |via=YuriGagarin50.org }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-12661377 |title=Memories sought of Yuri Gagarin's way into space |last=Williams |first=Huw |date=7 March 2011 |website=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311101109/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-12661377|archive-date=11 March 2011|url-status=live |access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/mar/13/yuri-gagarin-first-space-korolev |title=Sergei Korolev: the rocket genius behind Yuri Gagarin |last=McKie |first=Robin |date=13 March 2011 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=11 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921231246/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/mar/13/yuri-gagarin-first-space-korolev|archive-date=21 September 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> On 15 April 1961, accompanied by officials from the Soviet Academy of Sciences, he answered questions at a press conference in Moscow reportedly attended by 1,000 reporters.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32882091/the_times_record/ |title=Astronaut meets press at Moscow |date=15 April 1961 |newspaper=The Times Record|access-date=15 June 2019 |agency=UPI |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Gagarin visited the United Kingdom three months after the Vostok 1 mission, going to London and [[Manchester]].<ref name="French1998" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wcml.org.uk/contents/international/cold-war/yuri-gagarin-in-manchester/ |title=Yuri Gagarin in Manchester |last=Callow |first=John |date=17 January 2009 |website=Working Class Movement Library|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702134815/http://www.wcml.org.uk/contents/international/cold-war/yuri-gagarin-in-manchester|archive-date=2 July 2010|url-status=live|access-date=12 April 2010}}</ref> While in Manchester, despite heavy rain, he refused an umbrella, insisted that the roof of the convertible car he was riding in remain open, and stood so the cheering crowds could see him.<ref name="French1998" /><ref>{{harvnb|Gerovitch|2015|p=175}}</ref> Gagarin toured widely abroad, accepting the invitation of about 30 countries in the years following his flight.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last=Belyakov |first=Vladimir |date=2011 |title=На орбите дружбы |trans-title=In orbit of friendship |url=http://mkegypt.net/etobilonedavno/1007-07-037-2011 |journal=МК в Египте [MK in Egypt] |language=ru |publication-date=7 May 2011 |volume=07 |issue=37 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190615010020/http://mkegypt.net/etobilonedavno/1007-07-037-2011 |archive-date=15 June 2019 |access-date=15 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In just the first four months, he also went to Poland, Brazil, [[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]], Canada, Cuba, [[Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|Czechoslovakia]], Finland, [[Hungarian People's Republic|Hungary]], and Iceland.<ref>{{harvnb|Gerovitch|2011|p=92}}</ref> Because of his popularity, US president [[John F. Kennedy]] barred Gagarin from visiting the United States.<ref name="Telegraph8443777" />

In 1962, Gagarin began serving as a deputy to the [[Soviet of the Union]],<ref name="Gafutulin">{{cite news |url=http://old.redstar.ru/2011/04/12_04/1_02.html |title=Космонавт и депутат |trans-title=Astronaut and deputy |newspaper=Krasnaya Zvezda |language=ru |first=Nail |last=Gafutulin |date=12 April 2011 |access-date=10 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023429/http://old.redstar.ru/2011/04/12_04/1_02.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> and was elected to the Central Committee of the [[Komsomol|Young Communist League]]. He later returned to [[Star City, Russia|Star City]], the cosmonaut facility, where he spent several years working on designs for a reusable spacecraft. He became a [[Podpolkovnik|lieutenant colonel]] of the Soviet Air Forces on 12 June 1962, and received the rank of [[Polkovnik|colonel]] on 6 November 1963.<ref name="rosbio" /> On 20 December, Gagarin became Deputy Training Director of the cosmonaut training facility.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astronaut.ru/as_rusia/vvs/text/gagarin.htm |title=Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин |trans-title=Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin |website=Astronaut.ru |language=ru |date=2 June 2013 |access-date=10 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140626041255/http://www.astronaut.ru/as_rusia/vvs/text/gagarin.htm |archive-date=26 June 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Soviet officials, including Kamanin, tried to keep Gagarin away from any flights, being worried about losing their hero in an accident noting that he was "too dear to mankind to risk his life for the sake of an ordinary space flight".<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=568}}</ref> Kamanin was also concerned by Gagarin's drinking and believed the sudden rise to fame had taken its toll on the cosmonaut. While acquaintances say Gagarin had been a "sensible drinker", his touring schedule placed him in social situations in which he was increasingly expected to drink alcohol.<ref name="indep20110403" /><ref name="bbc20110404" />

[[File:Gemini 4 Astronauts Meet Yuri Gagarin.jpg|left|thumb|Gagarin with U.S. Vice President [[Hubert Humphrey]], French Prime Minister [[Georges Pompidou]] and [[Gemini 4]] astronauts [[James McDivitt|Jim McDivitt]] and [[Ed White (astronaut)|Ed White]] at the 1965 [[Paris Air Show]]|alt=]]

Two years later, he was re-elected as a deputy of the Soviet Union but this time to the [[Soviet of Nationalities]], the [[Upper house|upper chamber]] of the legislature.<ref name="Gafutulin" /> The following year, he began to re-qualify as a [[fighter pilot]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gagarin |url=http://www.astronautix.com/astros/gagarin.htm |website=www.astronautix.com |access-date=28 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102093601/http://www.astronautix.com/astros/gagarin.htm |archive-date=2 November 2013}}</ref> and was backup pilot for his friend [[Vladimir Komarov]] on the [[Soyuz 1]] flight after five years without piloting duty. Kamanin had opposed Gagarin's reassignment to cosmonaut training; Gagarin had gained weight and his flying skills had deteriorated. Despite this, he remained a strong contender for Soyuz 1 until he was replaced by Komarov in April 1966 and reassigned to [[Soyuz 3]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|pp=568, 622}}</ref>

The Soyuz 1 launch was rushed due to implicit political pressures<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=590}}</ref> and despite Gagarin's protests that additional safety precautions were necessary.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/03/23/134597833/cosmonaut-crashed-into-earth-crying-in-rage |title=Cosmonaut crashed into Earth 'crying in rage' |department=Krulwich Wonders |website=NPR |first=Robert |last=Krulwich |date=18 March 2011 |access-date=12 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407040616/http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/03/23/134597833/cosmonaut-crashed-into-earth-crying-in-rage |archive-date=7 April 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gagarin accompanied Komarov to the rocket before launch and relayed instructions to Komarov from ground control following multiple system failures aboard the spacecraft.<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|pp=581–84}}</ref> Despite their best efforts, Soyuz 1 crash landed after its parachutes failed to open, killing Komarov instantly.<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|pp=588–89}}</ref> After the Soyuz 1 crash, Gagarin was permanently banned from training for and participating in further spaceflights.<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=622}}</ref> He was also grounded from flying aircraft solo, a demotion he worked hard to lift. He was temporarily relieved of duties to focus on academics with the promise that he would be able to resume flight training.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 627">{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=627}}</ref> On 17 February 1968, Gagarin successfully defended his aerospace engineering thesis on the subject of [[spaceplane]] aerodynamic configuration and graduated ''[[cum laude]]'' from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.<ref name="Lebedev2011-8" /><ref name="Siddiqi p. 627" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Lebedev |first=Vitaliy |date=October 2011 |title=Диплом Гагарина|trans-title=Gagarin's Diploma |url=https://dfnc.ru/images/magazines/PDF/october_2011.pdf#page=70|url-status=live |journal=New Defence Order Strategy |language=ru |volume=17 |issue=5 |pages=68–69|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122201029/http://dfnc.ru/images/magazines/PDF/october_2011.pdf#page=70|archive-date=22 January 2017|access-date=13 June 2019}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
[[File:Yuri Gagarin - Göran Sedvall.jpg|thumb|Gagarin and [[:sv:Göran Sedvall|Göran Sedvall]] at the 1964 [[List of Swedish bandy champions|Swedish bandy final]]]]
[[File:Yuri Gagarin with wife in 1964.jpg|right|thumb|Gagarin and his wife [[Valentina Ivanovna Gagarina|Valentina]] at a concert in Moscow in 1964|alt=Gagarin and his wife Valentina clapping at a concert in Moscow in 1964.]]
In 1957, while a cadet in flight school, Gagarin met [[Valentina Ivanovna Gagarina|Valentina Goryacheva]] at the [[International Workers' Day#Russia|May Day]] celebrations at the [[Red Square]] in Moscow.<ref>{{Harvnb|Burgess|Hall|p=44|2009}}</ref> She was a medical technician who had graduated from Orenburg Medical School.<ref name="eandt20110314" /><ref name="bbc20110404" /><ref>{{Harvnb|Jenks|2013|p=75}}</ref> They were married on 7 November of the same year,<ref name="eandt20110314" /> the same day Gagarin graduated from his flight school. 
[[Valentina Ivanovna Gagarina|Valentina]] and Yuri had two daughters.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/yuri-gagarin-first-man-in-space-1779362 |title=Biography of Yuri Gagarin, first man in space |last=Rosenberg |first=Jennifer |date=15 May 2019 |website=ThoughtCo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611064306/https://www.thoughtco.com/yuri-gagarin-first-man-in-space-1779362 |archive-date=11 June 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="firstman1961">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/firstmaninspace00unse |title=The First Man in Space |date=1961 |publisher=Crosscurrents Press |location=New York |page=[https://archive.org/details/firstmaninspace00unse/page/79 79] |oclc=220499322 |access-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611065048/https://archive.org/details/firstmaninspace00unse/page/79 |archive-date=11 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Yelena Gagarina|Yelena Yurievna Gagarina]], born 1959,<ref name="firstman1961" /> is an art historian who has worked as the [[director general]] of the [[Moscow Kremlin Museums]] since 2001;<ref name="airspace20110501">{{cite journal |url=http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/The-Family-He-Left-Behind.html?story=fullstory |title=The family he left behind |journal=[[Air & Space]] |first=Allen |last=Abel |date=May 2011 |access-date=26 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130512132747/http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/The-Family-He-Left-Behind.html?story=fullstory |archive-date=12 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euronews.net/2011/04/12/gagarin-in-his-daughter-s-words/ |title=Gagarin in his daughter's words |website=Euronews.net |date=12 April 2011 |access-date=27 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415094510/http://www.euronews.net/2011/04/12/gagarin-in-his-daughter-s-words |archive-date=15 April 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> and Galina Yurievna Gagarina, born 1961,<ref name="firstman1961" /> is a professor of economics and the department chair at [[Plekhanov Russian University of Economics]] in Moscow.<ref name="airspace20110501" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rea.ru/Main.aspx?page=REA_NEWS&NewsItem=2975 |title=8 – 9 апреля заведующая кафедрой национальной и региональной экономики, проф. Г.Ю. Гагарина посетила г. Самару, где проходили праздничные мероприятия, посвященные 50-летию полета Ю.А. Гагарина в космос |trans-title=8–9 April, Head of the Department of National and Regional Economics, Prof. G. Yu. Gagarin visited the city of Samara, where festive events dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the flight of Yu. A. Gagarin in space |website=Plekhanov Russian University of Economics |date=11 April 2011 |access-date=27 April 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130417123044/http://www.rea.ru/Main.aspx?page=REA_NEWS&NewsItem=2975 |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 April 2013 |language=ru }}</ref> Following his rise to fame, at a [[Black Sea]] resort in September 1961, he was reportedly caught by his wife during a liaison with a nurse who had aided him after a boating incident. He attempted to escape through a window and jumped off a second floor balcony. The resulting injury left a permanent scar above his left eyebrow.<ref name="indep20110403" /><ref name="bbc20110404" />

In his youth Gagarin was a keen sportsman and played [[ice hockey]] as a goalkeeper.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gavrilin|1973|pp=26–27}}</ref> He was also a basketball fan and coached the Saratov Industrial Technical School team, as well as being a referee.<ref>{{harvnb|Louis|Louis|1980|p=43}}</ref>

Some Soviet sources have said that Gagarin commented during his space flight, "I don't see any god up here.", though no such words appear in the verbatim record of his conversations with Earth stations during the spaceflight.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cosmoworld.ru/spaceencyclopedia/gagarin/index.shtml?doc10.html |title=Полная стенограмма переговоров Юрия Гагарина с Землей с момента его посадки в корабль (за два часа до старта) до выхода корабля "Востока-1" из зоны радиоприема |website=Cosmoworld.ru |access-date=30 March 2008 |language=ru |trans-title=The complete transcript from the radio reception area of the communications of Yuri Gagarin with the Earth from the moment of his entering on the ship (two hours before the launch) until he exited the ''Vostok 1'' ship. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080320074240/http://www.cosmoworld.ru/spaceencyclopedia/gagarin/index.shtml?doc10.html |archive-date=20 March 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2006 interview, Gagarin's friend Colonel Valentin Petrov stated that Gagarin never said these words and that the quote originated from Khrushchev's speech at the plenum of the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee of the CPSU]] about the state's [[USSR anti-religious campaign (1958–1964)|anti-religion campaign]], saying "Gagarin flew into space, but didn't see any god there".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=interview&div=24 |title=I am proud to be accused of having introduced Yury Gagarin to Orthodoxy |website=Interfax-religion.com |date=12 April 2006 |access-date=30 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809215050/http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=interview&div=24 |archive-date=9 August 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Petrov also said Gagarin had been baptised into the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] as a child, and a 2011 ''Foma'' magazine article quoted the rector of the Orthodox Church in Star City saying, "Gagarin baptized his elder daughter Yelena shortly before his space flight; and his family used to celebrate Christmas and Easter and keep icons in the house".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8361 |title=Gagarin's family celebrated Easter and Christmas, Korolev used to pray and confess |website=Interfax-religion.com |date=11 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415131007/http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8361 |archive-date=15 April 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 April 2011 }}</ref> Nevertheless, Gagarin's officially sanctioned autobiography, released by the USSR's state publishing house in 1961, includes a passage that upholds the official Soviet position on religious belief: "The manned space flight was a crushing blow to the churchmen. In the streams of letters that addressed to me, I was pleased to read confessions in which believers, impressed by the achievements of science, renounced God, agreed that there is no god and everything connected with his name is fiction and nonsense".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Гагарин |first=Юрий Алексеевич |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_fYeAAAAIAAJ |title=Дорога в Космос: записки летчика-космонавта СССР |date=1961 |publisher=Правда |page=218 |language=ru}}</ref>

== Death ==
{{Main|Death of Yuri Gagarin|Funeral of Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Seryogin}}
[[File:The urn with Y. A. Gagarin's remains (1934-1968), Moscow Kremlin, Moscow.JPG|thumb|alt=Plaque on a brick wall with inscription: Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин, 1934-03-09–1968-03-27|Plaque indicating Gagarin's interment in the [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis|Kremlin Wall]]|left]]

On 27 March 1968, while on a routine training flight from [[Chkalovsky (air base)|Chkalovsky]] air base, Gagarin and flight instructor [[Vladimir Seryogin]] died when their MiG-15UTI crashed near the town of [[Kirzhach]]. The bodies of Gagarin and Seryogin were cremated and their ashes interred in the [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis|walls of the Kremlin]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Cavallaro|2018|p=248}}</ref> Wrapped in secrecy, the cause of the crash that killed Gagarin is uncertain and became the subject of speculation, including several conspiracy theories.<ref name="Holt">{{cite news |url=http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/world/Inquiry-promises-to-solve-Gagarin.2615429.jp |title=Inquiry promises to solve Gagarin death riddle |last=Holt |first=Ed |date=3 April 2005 |newspaper=Scotland on Sunday |access-date=30 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415080333/http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/world/Inquiry-promises-to-solve-Gagarin.2615429.jp|archive-date=15 April 2008|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Osborn">{{Cite journal |last=Osborn |first=Andrew |date=September 2010 |title=What made Yuri fall? |url=http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/What-Made-Yuri-Fall.html|url-status=live |journal=[[Air & Space]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100919162321/http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/What-Made-Yuri-Fall.html|archive-date=19 September 2010 |access-date=24 September 2010}}</ref> At least three investigations into the crash were conducted separately by the Air Force, official government commissions, and the [[KGB]].<ref name="DoranBizony p. 221">{{Harvnb|Doran|Bizony|2011|p=221}}</ref><ref name="telegraph1425937">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/1425937/KGB-held-ground-staff-to-blame-for-Gagarin%27s-death.html |title=KGB held ground staff to blame for Gagarin's death |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |first=Ben |last=Aris |date=28 March 2008 |access-date=1 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220073132/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/1425937/KGB-held-ground-staff-to-blame-for-Gagarin%27s-death.html |archive-date=20 December 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> According to a biography of Gagarin by [[Jamie Doran]] and [[Piers Bizony]], ''Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin'', the KGB worked "not just alongside the Air Force and the official commission members but against them."<ref name="DoranBizony p. 221" />

The KGB's report, declassified in March 2003, claimed that the actions of airbase personnel contributed to the crash. The report states that an air-traffic controller provided Gagarin with outdated weather information and that by the time of his flight, conditions had deteriorated significantly. Ground crew also left external fuel tanks attached to the aircraft. Gagarin's planned flight activities needed clear weather and no outboard tanks. The investigation concluded Gagarin's aircraft entered a [[spin (aerodynamics)|spin]], either due to a [[bird strike]] or because of a sudden move to avoid another aircraft. Because of the out-of-date weather report, the crew believed their altitude was higher than it was and could not react properly to bring the MiG-15 out of its spin.<ref name="telegraph1425937" /> Another theory, advanced in 2005 by the original crash investigator, hypothesizes that a cabin air vent was accidentally left open by the crew or the previous pilot, leading to [[oxygen deprivation]] and leaving the crew incapable of controlling the aircraft.<ref name="Holt" /> A similar theory, published in ''[[Air & Space/Smithsonian]]'' magazine, is that the crew detected the open vent and followed procedure by executing a rapid dive to a lower altitude. This dive caused them to lose consciousness and crash.<ref name="Osborn" />

On 12 April 2007, the Kremlin vetoed a new investigation into the death of Gagarin. Government officials said they saw no reason to begin a new investigation.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article2442171.ece |title=Kremlin vetoes new inquiry into mystery death of Yuri Gagarin |last=Osborn |first=Andrew |date=12 April 2007 |newspaper=The Belfast Telegraph |access-date=30 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430003953/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/article2442171.ece |archive-date=30 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In April 2011, documents from a 1968 commission set up by the [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee of the Communist Party]] to investigate the accident were declassified. The documents revealed that the commission's original conclusion was that Gagarin or Seryogin had manoeuvred sharply, either to avoid a weather balloon or to avoid "entry into the upper limit of the first layer of cloud cover", leading the jet into a "super-critical flight regime and to its stalling in complex meteorological conditions".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iyJUQulpBwoJk3rHAiK7mNM73eRw?docId=CNG.a9a3bd2a391cf386442c29b6c7f67b99.3b1 |title=Russia sheds light on Gagarin death mystery |last=Malpas |first=Anna |date=8 April 2011 |publisher=Agence France-Presse |access-date=8 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110414214009/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iyJUQulpBwoJk3rHAiK7mNM73eRw?docId=CNG.a9a3bd2a391cf386442c29b6c7f67b99.3b1 |archive-date=14 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Landing. Mig-15 RA-0488G (10316391126).jpg|thumb|A [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15UTI]], the same type as Gagarin was flying when he was killed]]
Alexei Leonov, who was also a member of a state commission established to investigate Gagarin's death, was conducting parachute training sessions that day and heard "two loud booms in the distance". He believes that a [[Sukhoi Su-15]] was flying below its minimum altitude and, "without realizing it because of the terrible weather conditions, he passed within {{convert|10|or|20|meters}} of Yuri and Seregin's plane while breaking the sound barrier". The resulting turbulence would have sent the MiG-15UTI into an uncontrolled spin. Leonov said the first boom he heard was that of the jet breaking the sound barrier and the second was Gagarin's plane crashing.<ref>{{harvnb|Leonov|Scott|2004|p=218}}</ref>

== Awards and honours ==

=== Medals and orders of merit ===
On 14 April 1961, Gagarin was honoured with a {{Convert|12|mile|km|adj=on|abbr=out}} parade attended by millions of people that concluded at the Red Square. After a short speech, he was bestowed the Hero of the Soviet Union,<ref name="tpd">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30144610/the_press_democrat/ |title=Soviets give Yuri hero's welcome |last=Shapiro |first=Henry |date=14 April 1961 |newspaper=The Press Democrat |agency=UPI |location=Santa Rosa, California |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401081832/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30144610/the_press_democrat/|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="tcn">{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30201056/the_couriernews/ |title=Moscow goes wild about spaceman |date=14 April 1961 |newspaper=The Courier-News |agency=Associated Press |location=Bridgewater, New Jersey |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403010044/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30201056/the_couriernews/|archive-date=3 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Order of Lenin]],<ref name="tpd" /> [[Merited Master of Sports of the Soviet Union]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30209447/the_springfield_newsleader/ |title=Gagarin's honors piling up fast |date=15 April 1961 |newspaper=The Springfield News-Leader|access-date=3 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403023034/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30209447/the_springfield_newsleader/|archive-date=3 April 2019|url-status=live |agency=Associated Press |location=Springfield, Missouri |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and the first [[Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR]].<ref name="tcn" /> On 15 April, the Soviet Academy of Sciences awarded him with the Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Gold Medal, named after [[Konstantin Tsiolkovsky|the Russian pioneer of space aeronautics]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30209726/the_times_record/ |title=Astronaut meets press at Moscow (continued from page 1) |date=15 April 1961 |newspaper=The Times Record|access-date=3 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403051240/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30209726/the_times_record/|archive-date=3 April 2019|url-status=live |agency=UPI |location=Troy, New York |page=22 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Gagarin had also been awarded four [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the Soviet Union#Commemorative medals|Soviet commemorative medals]] over the course of his career.<ref name="rosbio" />

He was honoured as a Hero of Socialist Labour from Czechoslovakia on 29 April 1961,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30201172/daily_news/ |title=Czechs honor Yuri |date=30 April 1961 |newspaper=Daily News|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402233429/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30201172/daily_news/|archive-date=2 April 2019|url-status=live |agency=Reuters |location=New York |page=35 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.prazskyhradarchiv.cz/file/edee/vyznamenani/hsp.pdf |title=Čestný titul Hrdina socialistické práce s právem nosit zlatou hvězdu Hrdiny socialistické práce |website=Archiv Kanceláře Prezidenta Republiky |language=cs|trans-title=Honorary title, Hero of socialist work with the right to wear golden star, Heroes of Socialist Labor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412031421/https://www.prazskyhradarchiv.cz/file/edee/vyznamenani/hsp.pdf|archive-date=12 April 2019|url-status=live|access-date=11 April 2019}}</ref> and Hero of Socialist Labour (Bulgaria, including the [[Order of Georgi Dimitrov]]) the same year<!-- most likely on 24 May.{{Chronology citation needed|date=June 2019}} -->.<ref name="rosbio" /> On the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the [[Cuban Revolution]] (26 July), President [[Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado|Osvaldo Dorticos]] of Cuba presented him with the first [[Order of Playa Girón]], a newly created medal.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30196406/the_morning_news/ |title=Castro to unify his gains |last=Ryan |first=William L. |date=27 July 1961 |newspaper=The Morning News|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402222742/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30196406/the_morning_news/|archive-date=2 April 2019|url-status=live |agency=Associated Press |location=Wilmington, Delaware |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Gagarin was also awarded the 1960 Gold Air Medal and the 1961 [[De la Vaulx Medal]] from the {{lang|fr|Fédération Aéronautique Internationale}} in Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fai.org/awards?receiver=Yuri+Gagarin |title=FAI Awards |website=Fédération Aéronautique Internationale |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090150/https://www.fai.org/awards?receiver=Yuri+Gagarin|archive-date=27 March 2019|url-status=live|access-date=26 March 2019 |date=10 October 2017}}</ref> He received numerous awards from other nations that year, including the [[Star of the Republic of Indonesia]] (2nd Class), the [[Order of the Cross of Grunwald]] (1st Degree) in [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]],<ref name="rosbio" /> the [[Order of the Flag of the People's Republic of Hungary]] (1st Class with diamonds),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Külkapcsolat - Jurij Gagarin a világ első űrhajósa Budapesten |work=MTVA Archívum |access-date=11 June 2023 |url=https://archivum.mtva.hu/photobank/item/MTI-FOTO-NU1xaGRrcWVIK0R4dHRpbzZsVk4xZz09 |language=hu |archive-date=11 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230611101304/https://archivum.mtva.hu/photobank/item/MTI-FOTO-NU1xaGRrcWVIK0R4dHRpbzZsVk4xZz09 |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Hero of Labor (Vietnam)|Hero of Labour]] award from the [[Democratic Republic of Vietnam]],<ref name="rosbio" /> the Italian Columbus Day Medal,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30144645/the_austin_american/ |title=Cosmonaut Gagarin ill in hospital |date=13 October 1961 |newspaper=The Austin American|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401081833/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30144645/the_austin_american/|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live |agency=Associated Press |location=Austin, Texas |page=31 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and a Gold Medal from the [[British Interplanetary Society]] along with another medal from the British [[Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers|Union of Foundry Workers]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30144579/deadwood_pioneertimes/ |title=British queen rolls out red carpet for Yuri |date=11 July 1961 |newspaper=Deadwood Pioneer-Times|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401105232/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30144579/deadwood_pioneertimes/|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live |agency=UPI |location=Deadwood, South Dakota |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/the-british-interplanetary-society/awards |title=Honours and Awards |journal=Weather |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=133 |access-date=15 June 2019 |bibcode=1955Wthr...10..133. |year=1955 |doi=10.1002/j.1477-8696.1955.tb00173.x |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809110723/https://www.bis-space.com/what-we-do/the-british-interplanetary-society/awards |archive-date=9 August 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[President of Brazil|President]] [[Jânio Quadros]] of Brazil decorated Gagarin on 2 August 1961 with the [[Order of Aeronautical Merit (Brazil)|Order of Aeronautical Merit]], Commander grade.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30195922/tampa_bay_times/ |title=Brazilian President pins medal on Yuri, praises space flight |date=3 August 1961 |newspaper=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402204720/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30195922/tampa_bay_times/|archive-date=2 April 2019|url-status=live |agency=Associated Press |location=St. Petersburg, Florida |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> During a tour of Egypt in late January 1962, Gagarin received the [[Order of the Nile]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30200209/lincoln_journal_star/ |title=Gagarin honored |date=1 February 1962 |newspaper=Lincoln Journal Star|access-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402223327/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30200209/lincoln_journal_star/|archive-date=2 April 2019|url-status=live |agency=UPI |location=Lincoln, NE |page=20 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and the golden keys to the gates of [[Cairo]].<ref name=":1" /> On 22 October 1963, Gagarin and [[Valentina Tereshkova]] were honoured with the [[Order of Karl Marx]] from the [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30144005/daily_news/ |title=Rednauts Get Top Marx |date=22 October 1963 |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York |page=210 |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401070105/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30144005/daily_news/|archive-date=1 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Tributes ===
The date of Gagarin's space flight, 12 April, has been commemorated. Since 1962, it has been celebrated first in the USSR and since 1991 in Russia and some other former Soviet republics as [[Cosmonautics Day]].<ref>[http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2014_04_12/Russia-marks-Cosmonautics-Day/ Russia marks Cosmonautics Day] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20150125180654/http://indian.ruvr.ru/news/2014_04_12/Russia-marks-Cosmonautics-Day/ |date=25 January 2015 }}. Russian Radio, 12 April 2014</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portel.pl/artykul.php3?i=29156|title=Międzynarodowy Dzień Lotnictwa i Kosmonautyki|publisher=Elbląska Gazeta Internetowa|date=12 April 2008|access-date=12 April 2016|archive-date=25 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425043300/http://www.portel.pl/artykul.php3?i=29156|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2000, [[Yuri's Night]], an international celebration, is held annually to commemorate milestones in space exploration.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/20/festive-science-dates |title=Darwin's Day to Yuri's Night: Some science dates to remember |newspaper=The Guardian |date=20 September 2014 |access-date=20 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321025653/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/20/festive-science-dates |archive-date=21 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2011, it was declared the [[International Day of Human Space Flight]] by the United Nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/en/events/humanspaceflightday/ |title=Celebrating the beginning of the space era for mankind |work=International Day of Human Space Flight: 12 April |publisher= United Nations |date=7 April 2011 |access-date=19 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121061037/http://www.un.org/en/events/humanspaceflightday/ |archive-date=21 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Statue of Yuri Gagarin at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich.jpg|right|upright|thumb|[[Statue of Yuri Gagarin, Greenwich|Yuri Gagarin statue]] at the [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich|Royal Greenwich Observatory]] in London, England]]

A number of buildings and locations have been named for Gagarin, mostly in Russia but also in other Soviet republics. The [[Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center]] in Star City was named on 30 April 1968.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://gctc.su/main.php?id=242 |title=Stages of the GCTC development |website=Yu.A. Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Center |access-date=10 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610134549/http://gctc.su/main.php?id=242 |archive-date=10 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The launch pad at Baikonur Cosmodrome from which [[Sputnik 1]] and Vostok 1 were launched is now known as [[Gagarin's Start]]. [[Gagarin Raion]] in [[Sevastopol]] was named after him during the period of the Soviet Union. The Russian Air Force Academy was renamed the [[Gagarin Air Force Academy]] in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.prlib.ru/history/619128 |title=Создана Военно-воздушная академия им. Ю. А. Гагарина |trans-title=Established Air Force Academy. Yu. A. Gagarin |website=Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library |access-date=21 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322020134/https://www.prlib.ru/history/619128 |archive-date=22 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The town of Gzhatsk where he lived in Smolensk Oblast was renamed [[Gagarin, Smolensk Oblast|Gagarin]] after his death in 1968, and has since become home to numerous museums and monuments to him.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Russian Town That's Now a Shrine to Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin |url=https://www.wired.com/story/russian-town-yuri-gagarin-photo-gallery/ |access-date=2 May 2022 |magazine=Wired |archive-date=11 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611011705/https://www.wired.com/story/russian-town-yuri-gagarin-photo-gallery/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A street in Warsaw, Poland, is called [[Yuri Gagarin Street, Warsaw|Yuri Gagarin Street]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.srodmiescie.warszawa.pl/ulica-104.html |title=Ulica Jurija Gagarina – Ulice |website=Downtown of the Capital City of Warsaw|trans-title=Yuri Gagarin Street |access-date=14 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175254/http://www.srodmiescie.warszawa.pl/ulica-104.html|archive-date=18 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The town of [[Gagarin, Armenia]] was renamed in his honour in 1961.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://yerevan.usembassy.gov/armenia.pdf |title=Rediscovering Armenia: An Archaeological / Touristic Gazetteer and Map Set for the Historical Monuments of Armenia |last=Kiesling |first=Brady |date=June 2000 |publisher=[[Embassy of the United States, Yerevan]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626205330/http://yerevan.usembassy.gov/armenia.pdf|archive-date=26 June 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Gagarin has been honoured on the Moon by astronauts and astronomers. During the American space programme's [[Apollo 11]] mission in 1969, astronauts [[Neil Armstrong]] and [[Buzz Aldrin]] left a memorial satchel containing medals commemorating Gagarin and Komarov on the Moon's surface.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/29967920/chicago_tribune/ |title=U.S. taking Russian medal to the Moon |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |location=Chicago, IL |date=18 July 1969 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com|access-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327063117/https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/clip/29967920/chicago_tribune/|archive-date=27 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Aldrin|McConnell|1989|p=227}}</ref> In 1971, [[Apollo 15]] astronauts [[David Scott]] and [[James Irwin]] left the small ''[[Fallen Astronaut]]'' sculpture at their landing site as a memorial to the American astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who died in the [[Space Race]]; the names on its plaque included Yuri Gagarin and 14 others.<ref>{{harvnb|Pocock|2012|pp=335–36}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/12/sculpture_on_the_moon_paul_van_hoeydonck_s_fallen_astronaut.html |title=The sculpture on the Moon |magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |first1=Corey S. |last1=Powell |first2=Laurie Gwen |last2=Shapiro |name-list-style=amp |date=16 December 2013 |access-date=3 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305182141/http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/12/sculpture_on_the_moon_paul_van_hoeydonck_s_fallen_astronaut.html |archive-date=5 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1970, a {{Convert|262|km|miles|abbr=on|adj=on}} wide [[Gagarin (crater)|crater on the far side]] was named after him.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2054?__fsk=1161336942 |title=Gagarin |publisher=USGS Astrogeology Science Center|access-date=25 March 2019 |work=Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090614/https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2054?__fsk=1161336942|archive-date=27 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Gagarin was inducted as a member of the 1976 inaugural class of the [[International Space Hall of Fame]] in [[New Mexico]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29967024/las_vegas_optic/ |title=Space Pioneers Enshrined |last=Locke |first=Robert |date=6 October 1976 |newspaper=Las Vegas Optic|access-date=27 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091118/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29967024/las_vegas_optic/|archive-date=27 March 2019|url-status=live |agency=Associated Press |location=Las Vegas, New Mexico |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Gagarin is memorialised in music; a [[song cycle|cycle]] of Soviet patriotic songs titled ''The Constellation Gagarin'' ({{Langx|ru|Созвездье Гагарина|translit=Sozvezdie Gagarina|label=none}}) was written by [[Aleksandra Pakhmutova]] and [[Nikolai Dobronravov]] in 1970–1971.<ref name="Pakhmutova">[http://www.pakhmutova.ru/songs/sozv.shtml Созвездье Гагарина] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222155112/http://pakhmutova.ru/songs/sozv.shtml |date=22 February 2015}}. Alexandra Pakhmutova's website</ref> The most famous of these songs refers to Gagarin's ''poyekhali!'': in the lyrics, "He said 'let's go!' He waved his hand".<ref name="Dushenko" /><ref name="Pakhmutova" /> He was the inspiration for the pieces "Hey Gagarin" by [[Jean-Michel Jarre]] on ''[[Métamorphoses (album)|Métamorphoses]]'', "Gagarin" by [[Public Service Broadcasting (band)|Public Service Broadcasting]], and "Gagarin, I loved you" by [[Undervud]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.smol.aif.ru/culture/art/1442435 |title=В роке, джазе и ска-панке. 9 песен, посвященных Юрию Гагарину |last=Matveyeva |first=Ksenia |date=10 February 2015 |website=Аргументы и факты [Arguments and Facts]|trans-title=In rock, jazz and ska-punk. 9 songs dedicated to Yuri Gagarin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618041007/http://www.smol.aif.ru/culture/art/1442435|archive-date=18 June 2018|url-status=live|access-date=15 June 2019}}</ref>

[[File:RR5514-0005R 40-летие космического полета Ю. А. Гагарина.png|right|thumb|upright|Russian ten-rouble coin commemorating Gagarin in 2001]]

Vessels have been named for Gagarin; Soviet tracking ship ''[[Soviet ship Kosmonavt Yuriy Gagarin|Kosmonavt Yuriy Gagarin]]'' was built in 1971<ref>{{harvnb|Polmar|Breyer|1984|p=309}}</ref> and the Armenian airline [[Armavia]] named their first [[Sukhoi Superjet 100]] in his honour in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/01/15/351904/picture-first-armavia-superjet-awaits-delivery.html |title=Picture: first Armavia Superjet awaits delivery |website=FlightGlobal.com |first=David |last=Kaminski-Morrow |date=15 January 2011 |access-date=17 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110119012500/http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/01/15/351904/picture-first-armavia-superjet-awaits-delivery.html |archive-date=19 January 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Two [[List of commemorative coins of the Soviet Union|commemorative coins]] were issued in the Soviet Union to honour the 20th and 30th anniversaries of his flight: a one-rouble coin in copper-nickel (1981) and a three-rouble coin in silver (1991). In 2001, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, a series of four coins bearing his likeness was issued in Russia; it consisted of a two-rouble coin in copper-nickel, a three-rouble coin in silver, a ten-rouble coin in brass-copper and nickel, and a 100-rouble coin in silver.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cbr.ru/bank-notes_coins/base_of_memorable_coins/main.asp?IsDetal=0&Year=9&s_cat=1 |title=База данных по памятным и инвестиционным монетам |trans-title=Database of commemorative and investment coins |website=CBR.ru |access-date=30 March 2008 |language=ru |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219070358/http://www.cbr.ru/bank-notes_coins/base_of_memorable_coins/main.asp?IsDetal=0&Year=9&s_cat=1 |archive-date=19 December 2008}}</ref> In 2011, Russia issued a 1,000-rouble coin in gold and a three-rouble coin in silver to mark the 50th anniversary of his flight.<ref name="Alexander">{{cite web |url=http://news.coinupdate.com/yuri-gagarin-featured-on-russian-gold-and-silver-coins-0772/ |title=Yuri Gagarin Featured on Russian Gold and Silver Coins |last=Alexander |first=Michael |website=Coin Update|access-date=22 March 2019 |date=14 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331023215/http://news.coinupdate.com/yuri-gagarin-featured-on-russian-gold-and-silver-coins-0772/|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2008, the Russia-based [[Kontinental Hockey League]] named their championship trophy the [[Gagarin Cup]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/ufa_sports_to_market_kontinental_hockey_league/ |title=UFA Sports to market Kontinental Hockey League |website=SportsPro Media |first=Adam |last=Fraser |date=19 May 2010 |access-date=19 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101215182027/http://www.sportspromedia.com/news/ufa_sports_to_market_kontinental_hockey_league/ |archive-date=15 December 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> In a 2010 [[Space Foundation]] survey, Gagarin was ranked as the sixth-most-popular space hero, tied with the fictional character [[James T. Kirk]] from ''[[Star Trek]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spacefoundation.org/news/story.php?id=1038 |title=Space Foundation Survey Reveals Broad Range of Space Heroes |website=Space Foundation |date=27 October 2010 |access-date=17 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723031011/http://www.spacefoundation.org/media/press-releases/space-foundation-survey-reveals-broad-range-space-heroes-early-astronauts-still?id=1038 |archive-date=23 July 2012}}</ref> A Russian [[docudrama]] titled ''[[Gagarin: First in Space]]'' was released in 2013. Previous attempts at portraying Gagarin were disallowed; his family took legal action over his portrayal in a fictional drama and vetoed a musical.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/10129255/Yuri-Gagarin-movie-attracts-criticism.html |title=Yuri Gagarin movie attracts criticism |newspaper=The Telegraph |first=Martin |last=Chilton |date=19 June 2013 |access-date=20 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331022816/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-news/10129255/Yuri-Gagarin-movie-attracts-criticism.html |archive-date=31 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Statues, monuments and murals ===
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| image1    = Yuri Gagarin Kolkata crop.jpg
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| caption1  = Bust of Gagarin at [[Birla Planetarium, Kolkata|Birla Planetarium]] in [[Kolkata]], India
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| image2    = Yuri Gagarin by Jorit.jpg
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| caption2  = Mural of Gagarin by [[Jorit]] in  [[Odintsovo]], Russia
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There are statues of Gagarin and monuments to him located in the town named after him as well as in [[Orenburg]], [[Cheboksary]], [[Irkutsk]], [[Izhevsk]], [[Komsomolsk-on-Amur]], and [[Yoshkar-Ola]] in Russia, as well as in [[Nicosia]], Cyprus, [[Druzhkivka]], Ukraine, [[Karaganda]], Kazakhstan, and [[Tiraspol]], Moldova. On 4 June 1980, [[Monument to Yuri Gagarin]] in Gagarin Square, [[Leninsky Avenue, Moscow]], was opened.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29916581/daily_press/ |title=Cosmonaut honored |newspaper=Daily Press |location=Newport News, Virginia |date=6 July 1980 |page=19 |agency=UPI|access-date=25 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331034643/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29916581/daily_press/|archive-date=31 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The monument is mounted to a {{convert|38|m|ft|abbr=on|adj=on}} tall pedestal and is constructed of titanium. Beside the column is a replica of the descent module used during his spaceflight.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-half-century-on-yuri-gagarin-stands-tall/2011/04/11/AFkdfhKD_story.html |title=A half-century on, Russian space flight pioneer Yuri Gagarin stands tall |newspaper=The Washington Post |last=Englund |first=Will |date=11 April 2011 |access-date=19 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330230724/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-half-century-on-yuri-gagarin-stands-tall/2011/04/11/AFkdfhKD_story.html |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2011, a [[Statue of Yuri Gagarin, Greenwich|statue of Gagarin]] was unveiled at [[Admiralty Arch]] in [[The Mall, London|The Mall]] in London, opposite the permanent sculpture of [[James Cook]]. It is a copy of the statue outside Gagarin's former school in Lyubertsy.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/apr/06/yuri-gagarin-orbital-flight-1961 |title=How Yuri Gagarin's historic flight was nearly grounded |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Tom |last=Parfitt |date=6 April 2011 |access-date=7 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130930041830/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/apr/06/yuri-gagarin-orbital-flight-1961 |archive-date=30 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, the statue was moved to a permanent location outside the [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Yuri Gagarin Statue|url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory/attractions/yuri-gagarin-statue|access-date=14 October 2021|website=Royal Museums Greenwich|archive-date=21 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021065842/https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory/attractions/yuri-gagarin-statue|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2012, a statue was unveiled at the site of NASA's original spaceflight headquarters on South Wayside Drive in [[Houston]]. The sculpture was completed in 2011 by Leonov, who is also an artist, and was a gift to Houston commissioned by various Russian organisations. Houston Mayor [[Annise Parker]], NASA Administrator [[Charles Bolden]], and Russian Ambassador [[Sergey Kislyak]] were present for the dedication.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.houstontx.gov/municipalart/glenngagarin.html |title=Houston mayor, NASA administrator & Russian ambassador dedicate gifts of artworks honoring Russian and US space pioneers |website=City of Houston |date=15 October 2012 |access-date=6 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813080100/http://www.houstontx.gov/municipalart/glenngagarin.html |archive-date=13 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.rbth.com/articles/2012/10/24/houston_unveils_monument_to_first_cosmonaut_yuri_gagarin_19229.html |title=Houston unveils monument to first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin |last=Aristov |first=Mikhail |date=24 October 2012 |website=Russia Beyond |access-date=11 June 2019 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521225047/https://www.rbth.com/articles/2012/10/24/houston_unveils_monument_to_first_cosmonaut_yuri_gagarin_19229.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Russian Federation presented a bust of Gagarin to several cities in India including one that was unveiled at the [[Birla Planetarium, Kolkata|Birla Planetarium]] in [[Kolkata]] in February 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Gagarin-bust-unveiled-at-planetarium/articleshow/11933402.cms |title=Gagarin bust unveiled at planetarium |last=TNN |date=17 February 2012 |newspaper=The Times of India |access-date=14 June 2019 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521225130/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Gagarin-bust-unveiled-at-planetarium/articleshow/11933402.cms |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2018, a bust of Gagarin erected on the street in [[Belgrade]], Serbia, that bears his name was removed, after less than a week. A new work was commissioned following the outcry over the disproportionately small size of its head which locals said was an "insult" to Gagarin.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tiny head Gagarin tribute is removed |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-43737372 |website=BBC News |date=12 April 2018 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707174545/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-43737372 |archive-date=7 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-43701570 |title=Tiny head Gagarin statue causes dismay |date=9 April 2018 |website=BBC News |access-date=11 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125102916/https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-43701570 |archive-date=25 January 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Belgrade City Manager Goran Vesic stated that neither the city, the [[Ministry of Culture and Information (Serbia)|Serbian Ministry of Culture]], nor the foundation that financed it had prior knowledge of the design.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.b92.net/eng/news/society.php?yyyy=2018&mm=04&dd=10&nav_id=103905 |title=Controversial Gagarin monument to be removed, new one built |website=B92 |date=10 April 2018 |access-date=12 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413185526/https://www.b92.net/eng/news/society.php?yyyy=2018&mm=04&dd=10&nav_id=103905 |archive-date=13 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In August 2019, the Italian artist [[Jorit]] painted Gagarin's face on the facade of a twenty-story building in the district of [[Odintsovo]], Russia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://it.rbth.com/cultura/83218-jorit-il-bansky-italiano-approda|title=Jorit, il Bansky italiano approda in Russia: a Mosca un suo murales gigante dedicato a Gagarin|website=it.rbth.com|date=30 August 2019|access-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901233025/https://it.rbth.com/cultura/83218-jorit-il-bansky-italiano-approda|archive-date=1 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bonculture.it/news-comunicati/la-nuova-opera-di-jorit-e-in-russia-un-murale-dedicato-a-yuri-gagarin/|website=bonculture.it|title=La nuova opera di Jorit è in Russia: un murale dedicato a Yuri Gagarin|date=20 August 2019|access-date=2 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901233008/https://www.bonculture.it/news-comunicati/la-nuova-opera-di-jorit-e-in-russia-un-murale-dedicato-a-yuri-gagarin/|archive-date=1 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The mural is the largest portrait of Gagarin in the world.<ref>{{cite news |title=Russia's Street Art Festival Unveils Sky-High Spray-Painting |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/08/21/russias-street-art-festival-unveils-sky-high-spray-painting-a66958 |access-date=29 November 2020 |newspaper=The Moscow Times |archive-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205054612/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/08/21/russias-street-art-festival-unveils-sky-high-spray-painting-a66958 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2021, a statue of Gagarin was unveiled at Mataram Park (''Taman Mataram'') in [[Jakarta]], Indonesia in celebration of the 70th anniversary of [[Indonesia–Russia relations|Indonesia–Russia diplomatic relations]] as well as the 60th anniversary of the first human space flight. The statue, sculpted by Russian artist A.D. Leonov and presented by Russian embassy in Jakarta, is considered as "a sign of strengthening relations" between Moscow and Jakarta, which have been sister cities since 2006.<ref>{{cite web |year=2021 |title=Opening of Yury Gagarin's monument in Jakarta – News |url=https://indonesia.mid.ru/web/eng/-/opening-of-yury-gagarin-s-monument-in-jakarta?inheritRedirect=true&redirect=%2Fweb%2Feng%2Fmain |website=Embassy of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Indonesia |access-date=16 March 2021 |archive-date=1 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210501125822/https://indonesia.mid.ru/web/eng/-/opening-of-yury-gagarin-s-monument-in-jakarta?inheritRedirect=true&redirect=%2Fweb%2Feng%2Fmain |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Adilah |first1=Rifa Yusya |title=Anies Resmikan Patung Yuri Gagarin, Tandai 70 Tahun Hubungan RI-Rusia |url=https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/anies-resmikan-patung-yuri-gagarin-tandai-70-tahun-hubungan-ri-rusia.html |website=Merdeka.com |date=15 March 2021 |language=id-ID |access-date=16 March 2021 |archive-date=21 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210521225216/https://www.merdeka.com/peristiwa/anies-resmikan-patung-yuri-gagarin-tandai-70-tahun-hubungan-ri-rusia.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 50th anniversary ===
[[File:Stamp 2011 Gagarin (1).JPG|right|thumb|50th anniversary stamp of Ukraine, 2011]]

The 50th anniversary of Gagarin's journey into space was marked in 2011 by tributes around the world. A documentary film titled ''[[First Orbit]]'' was shot from the [[International Space Station]], combining sound recordings from the original flight with footage of the route taken by Gagarin.<ref>{{cite news |title=What Yuri Gagarin saw: ''First Orbit'' film to reveal the view from Vostok 1 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/apr/11/yuri-gagarin-first-orbit-vostok |newspaper=The Guardian |first=Christopher |last=Riley |date=11 April 2011 |access-date=12 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015121504/http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/apr/11/yuri-gagarin-first-orbit-vostok |archive-date=15 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Russian, American, and Italian crew of [[Expedition 27]] aboard the ISS sent a special video message to wish the people of the world a "Happy Yuri's Night", wearing shirts with an image of Gagarin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6BThA641Rg |title=Yuri's Night 2011 International Space Station crew: 50th anniversary of human spaceflight |website=YouTube |date=11 April 2011 |access-date=27 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727124016/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6BThA641Rg |archive-date=27 July 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Central Bank of the Russian Federation released gold and silver coins to commemorate the anniversary.<ref name="Alexander" /> The [[Soyuz TMA-21]] spacecraft was named ''Gagarin'' with the launch in April 2011 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his mission.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://space.kursknet.ru/cosmos/english/machines/stma21.sht |title=Spacecraft "Soyuz-TMA21" |website=Manned Aeronautics |first=Alexander |last=Anikeev |date=29 April 2011 |access-date=1 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313132659/http://space.kursknet.ru/cosmos/english/machines/stma21.sht |archive-date=13 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://en.cite-espace.com/space-news/soyuz-tma-21-gagarin-launch/ |title=Soyuz TMA-21 Gagarin launch |date=4 April 2011 |website=Cité de l'Espace |access-date=11 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611071230/https://en.cite-espace.com/space-news/soyuz-tma-21-gagarin-launch/ |archive-date=11 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
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* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BH7lCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT175 |title=Soviet Space Mythologies: Public Images, Private Memories, and the Making of a Cultural Identity |last=Gerovitch |first=Slava |date=24 July 2015 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |location=Pittsburgh, PA |isbn=978-0-8229-8096-4 }}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zndYLKa26wAC&pg=PA150 |title=The Rocket Men: Vostok & Voskhod. The First Soviet Manned Spaceflights |publisher=Praxis Publishing |location=Chichester, UK |last1=Hall |first1=Rex |last2=Shayler |first2=David |name-list-style=amp |date=May 2001 |lccn=2001018373 |isbn=978-1-85233-391-1 |access-date=12 June 2019 |archive-date=31 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200531035920/https://books.google.com/books?id=zndYLKa26wAC&pg=PA150 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zk_MkKERUokC&pg=332 |title=Russia's Cosmonauts: Inside the Yuri Gagarin Training Center |last1=Hall |first1=Rex D. |last2=Shayler |first2=David J. |last3=Vis |first3=Bert |name-list-style=amp |date=2007 |publisher=Praxis Publishing |location=Chichester, UK |isbn=978-0-387-73975-5 |access-date=19 April 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215150826/https://books.google.com/books?id=zk_MkKERUokC&pg=332#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DAedBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT51 |title=Beyond: Our Future in Space |last=Impey |first=Chris |date=13 April 2015 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |location=New York |oclc=946968696 |isbn=978-0-393-24664-3 |access-date=4 July 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215150827/https://books.google.com/books?id=DAedBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT51#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7oRuOZbb8IC&pg=PA112 |chapter=The sincere deceiver: Yuri Gagarin and the search for a higher truth |last=Jenks |first=Andrew |title=Into the Cosmos: Space Exploration and Soviet Culture |date=2011 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |location=Pittsburgh, PA |lccn=2011020849 |isbn=978-0-8229-7746-9 |editor-last=Andrews |editor-first=James T. |pages=107–132 |editor-last2=Siddiqi |editor-first2=Asif A. |name-list-style=amp |access-date=16 June 2019 |archive-date=15 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215150827/https://books.google.com/books?id=W7oRuOZbb8IC&pg=PA112#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2f4pSA4S8UwC&pg=PA140 |chapter=Conquering space: the cult of Yuri Gagarin |last=Jenks |first=Andrew |title=Soviet and Post-Soviet Identities |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |editor1-last=Bassin |editor1-first=Mark |editor2-last=Kelly |editor2-first=Catriona |pages=129–150 |year=2012a |isbn=978-1-107-01117-5 |access-date=27 October 2015 |archive-date=30 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430151404/https://books.google.com/books?id=2f4pSA4S8UwC&pg=PA140 |url-status=live }}
* {{Cite book |title=The Cosmonaut Who Couldn't Stop Smiling: The Life and Legend of Yuri Gagarin |publisher=Northern Illinois University Press |location=DeKalb, IL |first=Andrew L |last=Jenks |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-87580-699-0}}
* {{cite book |title=Two Sides of the Moon |url=https://archive.org/details/twosidesofmoon00scot |url-access=registration |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books |location=New York |first1=Alexei |last1=Leonov |first2=David |last2=Scott |name-list-style=amp |year=2004 |lccn=2004059381 |isbn=978-0-312-30866-7 |oclc=56587777 }}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDXTBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT57 |title=Tracking Apollo to the Moon |last=Lindsay |first=Hamish |date=11 November 2013 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-4471-0255-7 |location=London |access-date=10 June 2019 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106051659/https://books.google.com/books?id=BDXTBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT57 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |title=Sport in the Soviet Union |last1=Louis |first1=Victor E |last2=Louis |first2=Jennifer M. |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Pergamon |year=1980 |isbn=0-08-024506-4 |location=Oxford}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVLCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 |title=Human Spaceflight and Exploration |last=Norberg |first=Carol |date=18 November 2013 |publisher=Praxis Publishing |isbn=978-3-642-23725-6 |location=Chichester, UK }}
* {{cite book |script-title=ru:108 минут, изменившие мир: вся правда о полете Юрия Гагарина |last=Pervushin |first=Аnton |date=2011 |publisher=Eksmo |isbn=9785457022300 |language=ru|trans-title=108 minutes that changed the world: the whole truth about the flight of Yuri Gagarin |location=Moscow}}
* {{cite book |title=Imagining Outer Space: European Astroculture in the Twentieth Century |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |first=Philip |last=Pocock |editor-first=Alexander C. T. |chapter=Look up! Art in the age of orbitization |editor-last=Geppert |year=2012 |pages=319–341 |doi=10.1057/9780230361362_17 |isbn=978-0-230-23172-6 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230361362_17 |access-date=9 April 2023 |archive-date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409154447/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9780230361362_17 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |title=Guide to the Soviet Navy |last1=Polmar |first1=Norman |last2=Breyer |first2=Siegfried |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Naval Institute Press |isbn=978-0-87021-239-0 |date=1984 |oclc=317097201 |edition=3rd |location=Annapolis, MD}}
* {{cite book |title=Histories of the Soviet / Russian Space Program |volume=1 |collaboration=National Aeronautics and Space Administration, World Spaceflight News, and the United States Congress |last=Sheldon |first=Charles |publisher=Progressive Management Publications |date=18 May 2013 |isbn=978-1-5496-9658-9 |oclc=1019250543 |display-authors=etal}}
* {{cite book |title=Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945–1974 |publisher=NASA |first=Asif A |last=Siddiqi |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-78039-301-8 |location=Washington, DC |id=SP-2000-4408 |lccn=00038684 |oclc=48909645}} [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt1.pdf Part 1 (pages 1–499)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080916023444/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt1.pdf |date=16 September 2008 }}, [https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt2.pdf Part 2 (pages 500–1011)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714111614/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4408pt2.pdf |date=14 July 2019 }}.
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Cole |first=Michael D. |url=https://archive.org/details/vostok1firsthuma0000cole |title=Vostok 1: First Human in Space |publisher=Enslow |year=1995 |isbn=0-89490-541-4 |location=Springfield, NJ |url-access=registration}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Yuri Gagarin}}
{{External media
|topic     = Memorial to Gagarin and Seregin at crash location
|image1    = [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=56.061303,39.032707&spn=0.047057,0.165997&t=h&z=13&iwloc=lyrftr:com.panoramio.all,767965484473153919,56.046541,39.027214&lci=com.panoramio.all Memorial obelisk photo]
|image2    = [https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=56.046493,39.027214&spn=0,0.165997&t=h&z=13&lci=com.panoramio.all&layer=c&cbll=56.046493,39.027214&cbp=12,0,0,5&photoid=po-12066999 Memorial obelisk closeup photo]
|image3    = Coordinates {{coord|56.04664|N|39.0265|E|}}
}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140304225134/https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0309.html Obituary] by [[Associated Press]], published on ''[[The New York Times]]'', 28 March 1968
* {{cite web|url=http://www.astronautix.com/g/gagarin.html |title=Gagarin, Yuri Alekseyevich|publisher=Astronautix.com|access-date=2 January 2023}}
* {{cite journal |last=Caterina |first=Gianfranco |date=9 March 2020 |title=Gagarin in Brazil: reassessing the terms of the Cold War domestic political debate in 1961 |journal=Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=16 |doi=10.1590/0034-7329202000104 |doi-access=free |ref=none}}

; Multimedia
* [https://www.net-film.ru/en/found-page-1/?search=qgagarin Newsreel footage of Yuri Gagarin] at [https://www.net-film.ru/en/ Net-Film Newsreels and Documentary Films Archive]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKs6ikmrLgg ''First Orbit''], 2011 feature film on YouTube by [[First Orbit]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0ktgWlN7SE ''First Man in Space: Yuri Gagarin''], short film on YouTube by [[Roscosmos]]
* {{Internet Archive film|id=gov.archives.arc.2049958|title=Soviet Man in Space (1961)}}
* {{Internet Archive film|id=1961-04-19_First_Pictures|title=Soviets Hail Space Hero (1961)}}
* [http://kp.ru/photo/gallery/1918/?showall=1 Photo gallery] by KP.ru

{{Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR|state=collapsed}}
{{Portal bar|Biography|Spaceflight|Space exploration|Soviet Union|Outer space||Astronomy|Russia|Countries}}
{{Authority control}}

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box
 | title  = Human altitude record
 | years  = 1961–1964
 | with   =
 | before = [[Joseph A. Walker]]
 | after  = [[Voskhod 1]] crew
}}
{{S-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gagarin, Yuri}}
[[Category:Yuri Gagarin| ]]
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:1961 in spaceflight]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents]]
[[Category:Burials at the Kremlin Wall Necropolis]]
[[Category:Foundrymen]]
[[Category:People from Gagarinsky District, Smolensk Oblast]]
[[Category:Heroes of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Lenin]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st class]]
[[Category:Sixth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Seventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Russian aviators]]
[[Category:20th-century Russian explorers]]
[[Category:Russian cosmonauts]]
[[Category:Soviet Air Force officers]]
[[Category:Soviet cosmonauts]]
[[Category:Soviet space program personnel]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1968]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Vostok program cosmonauts]]