Yuri Gagarin (1934-1968)

Keywords: portrait Russia-America space exploration USSR Поехали

A Russian Hall of Fame can take off only one way: by launching it, with none other than Yuri Gagarin. On April 12, 1961, at the age of 27, this humble young man stepped into the Vostok 1, rose into orbit, and returned under two hours later as a global icon.

The First Forever

There are doubts about whether Gagarin was really the first person in space. Some claim others went before him but didn’t survive. A few hard-line critics even claim he did not didn’t deserve the honor since he didn’t land according to the rules – by parachute instead of in his Vostok 1 capsule.

Check Did Anyone Actually Fly Into Space Before Yuri Gagarin? (Today I Found Out, 2024, 43 m), Was Yuri Gagarin Really the First Man in Space? (Grapevine Documentaries, 2024, 50 m) and Yuri Gagarin is NOT the First Person to Fly into Space (Hero Media, 2025, 10 m). Read Was Gagarin really the first man in space? (Russia Beyond, 2020) and Why Yuri Gagarin Remains the First Man in Space, Even Though He Did Not Land Inside His Spacecraft (Smithsonian, 2010). Debate aside, Gagarin is – and always will be – the first human to venture into space and return to tell the tale.

USSR vs. USA

More important than who the first person in space was, was the fact that he came from the Soviet Union rather than the United States. USSR 1 – USA 0. The first human on the moon, eight years after Gagarin’s flight, was a significant achievement. But by then, the USSR had already claimed the first prize – and quite firmly so. In spite of that, most earthlings nowadays know Neil Armstrong and can even quote him, while outside of Russia, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin is often unknown or forgotten. Not by the Russians though – they won the space race with Gagarin and that’s how it will remain.

Why Russian Domination in Space Was a Worry for the U.S. (Smithsonian Channel, 2020, 3 min)
Why the Soviets Beat America To Space (Athenaism, 2019, 10 min)
Who Won the Space Race – USA or USSR? (Popular Science, 2017, 4 min)
Why Russia Did Not Put a Man on the Moon (Curious Droid, 2016, 14 min)

On That Day: April 12, 1961

Before the launch, Yuri Gagarin, from Klushino, addressed all of humanity with the words дорогие друзья, близкие и незнакомые, соотечественники, люди всех стран и континентов – dear friends, both near and far, fellow countrymen, people of all nations and continents. See Russian Speech: Yuri Gagarin (Boost Your Russian, 2020, 2 min).

When the moment finally arrived, and Gagarin took off, he did not cry for help or for his mother, and he did not shout Aaaah or Oh my God. Instead, he said Поехали! – Let’s go!

Он сказал «Поехали!»: история фразы (Тотальный диктант, 2020, 2 min)
Yuri Gagarin Launches as First Human in Space – Footage And Radio (2017, 2 min)

Back on Earth

Many things went wrong that day, but none with fatal consequences. Just under two hours later, Gagarin was back on solid ground. Life would never be the same for him again.

Yuri Gagarin Became The First Human In Space, 57 Years Ago Today
(NBC News, 2018, 2 min)

Gagarins World Tour (1961)

Two days after his flight, he was greeted in Moscow as a hero. This was the start of a world tour, which took him to countries like Brazil, Canada, Cuba, England, and Japan.

Yuri Gagarin parade after returning from space
Also see Встреча Гагарина в Москве 14 апреля 1961 года (History Lab, 2020, 4 min).

Gagarin at the BBC (1961)

On July 11, 1961, Gagarin went to London for an interview (with a translator) with the BBC. He was asked if he really was the first in space. Gagarin kept his calm and his good mood, as he always seemed to do.

1968: Early Death

On March 27, 1968, less than seven years after his return, Yuri Gagarin died in a plane crash at the age of 34. Once again, theories and conspiracies abound.

Юрий Гагарин. Циничная рас права. Что на самом произошло в небе над Киржачом (Наблюдатель реальности, 2020, 47 min)
The First Human in Space – A Mysterious Death (ColdFusion, 2019, 13 min)

Also read The mysterious death of Yuri Gagarin (Russia Beyond, 2019). Footage from his funeral in Gagarin Funeral (1968) (British Pathé, 2014, 1 min).