TASS DOSSIER. April 12, 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the first human flight into space. It was accomplished by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on the Vostok satellite. TASS prepared his biography.
Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in the village of Klushino, Gzhatsky district, Western region (now Gagarinsky district, Smolensk region) into a peasant family. Father, Alexey Ivanovich (1902-1973), was a carpenter. Mother, Anna Timofeevna (1903-1984), worked as a milkmaid. Yuri Gagarin was the fourth child; brothers - Valentin, Boris, sister Zoya. During the Great Patriotic War, the Gagarin family was in the occupied territory, and after its end they moved to the city of Gzhatsk (now Gagarin).
Education
In 1949, Yuri Gagarin entered vocational school No. 10 in Lyubertsy near Moscow (now Lyubertsy College named after Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot-cosmonaut Yu. A. Gagarin). At the same time he studied at the Lyubertsy evening school for working youth. In June 1951 he graduated from college with honors, receiving the specialty of a molder-foundry worker, and the 7th grade of evening school.
In August 1951, in the direction of the Moscow Regional Department of Labor Reserves, he was enrolled in the Saratov Industrial College (now the Vocational Pedagogical College of the Saratov State Technical University named after Yu. A. Gagarin). He graduated in 1955 with honors with a degree in foundry production.
In 1954-1955, while studying, he studied at the Saratov Regional Aero Club and flew the Yak-18. On March 14, 1955, he made his first parachute jump from a height of 800 m.
In 1957 he graduated with honors from the 1st Chkalov Military Aviation School named after. K.E. Voroshilov (in 1958 the school was renamed Orenburg in connection with the return of the city to its former name), having received the qualification of a fighter pilot. During his studies, he flew on Yak-18 and MiG-15bis aircraft.
From September 1961 to March 1968, he was a student at the Faculty of Engineering of the Air Force Engineering Academy. N. E. Zhukovsky in the town of Monino near Moscow. He graduated from the Academy with honors in the specialty “manned air and space aircraft and engines for them” (qualification - pilot-cosmonaut-engineer).
Childhood
Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in the village of Klushino, in the Western region of the USSR, into a family of wealthy peasants. The boy was the third of four children. Yura's childhood was calm and joyful, his father and mother paid him a lot of attention. Alexey Ivanovich, the head of the family, did a lot of wood crafts and was happy to introduce children to this.
At the age of 6, Yura went to school, but managed to finish only the first grade before the Great Patriotic War began. German troops captured part of the territory of the USSR, they even reached Klushino, so the work of many government institutions, including schools, ceased. Having become a famous person, Yuri preferred never to remember the dark times of the occupation. It is known that German soldiers kicked the Gagarin family out of their home and, retreating, took the youth with them as prisoners of war. This is how his brother and sister were taken away.
In 1943, Klushino was released, and soon after the end of the war, the Gagarins moved to Gzhatsk, where the boy continued his studies. Yuri was a very capable and inquisitive young man, engaged in many activities, ranging from music to photography.
After Gagarin finished 6th grade, he decided to move to Moscow, as he felt too cramped in a small city. His parents tried to dissuade the ambitious young man, but were unable to do so. So, in 1949, 15-year-old Yuri Gagarin moved to the capital.
Yuri Gagarin (center) - a student at the Saratov Industrial College with friends. 1953
The teenager lived with relatives, studied at a vocational school, while simultaneously completing the seventh grade program at a school for working youth. At the same time, young Gagarin became interested in basketball and soon became the captain of the team. In 1951, the young man moved to Saratov, where he began studying at an industrial technical school. During his studies, Yuri's first acquaintance with the sky took place.
In 1954, Gagarin joined the aviation enthusiasts' club, where reports were read from the founding fathers of astronautics. After listening to Tsiolkovsky’s calculations, the young man simply fell in love with the idea of flying beyond the Earth, although he could hardly imagine then how his passion would turn out. The following year, Gagarin graduated from college; at the same time, the young man continued to be a member of the aviation enthusiasts club and had already managed to independently perform several flights on a small training aircraft.
Yuri Gagarin wipes down his plane at the DOSAAF flying club in Saratov. 1954
A few months after the future cosmonaut completed his studies, he was called up for military service at the military aviation school in Chkalov. There, Gagarin had a serious conflict that almost cost the young man his life. Gagarin, appointed assistant platoon commander, was extremely strict in terms of discipline, which, of course, did not suit his fellow students. One night he was caught and severely beaten, after which the young man spent a month in the hospital before he was able to return to duty. It is noteworthy that this incident did not break the fighting spirit at all; it did not change the attitude towards the wards.
Cadet Gagarin easily coped with any task except landing the plane. The device was constantly nodding off, and due to the fact that the requirements for students were extremely strict, it was decided to expel Gagarin.
Yuri Gagarin with his parents
The young man, who could not imagine his life without heaven, was preparing to give up his career, but at that moment the head of the school, who was haunted by the mysterious failures of the best student, drew attention to the guy’s small stature and suggested that it was because of this that he has problems with the viewing angle during landing. Gagarin was given one more chance, and before the flight they put a pad on the seat that increased the height of the seat. The assumption turned out to be correct.
In 1957, Yuri Gagarin graduated from college and began serving in the Murmansk region.
In the cosmonaut corps
In 1959, Yuri Gagarin, having learned about the recruitment of candidates for testing new flight technology (future spacecraft), wrote a report asking to be included in the test group. In the fall of the same year, he was called to Moscow to undergo a comprehensive examination at the Central Research Aviation Hospital.
On March 7, 1960, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the USSR Air Force, Konstantin Vershinin, Yuri Gagarin was enrolled as a cosmonaut student in the cosmonaut corps of the Cosmonaut Training Center (CPC, now the Yu. A. Gagarin Research Testing Center for Cosmonaut Training). On October 11 of the same year, as part of a group of six pilots (in addition to Gagarin, it included Valery Bykovsky, Grigory Nelyubov, Andriyan Nikolaev, Pavel Popovich and German Titov) began preparations for the first manned flight on the Vostok spacecraft.
On January 25, 1961, he was appointed to the position of cosmonaut of the Cosmonaut Center with the qualification of “Air Force cosmonaut”.
On April 8, 1961, the state commission approved Air Force senior lieutenant Yuri Gagarin as the pilot of the Vostok ship. German Titov became his understudy.
Memorable places
1. The city of Gagarin (formerly Gzhatsk), where Gagarin was born. 2. Lyubertsy Polytechnic College named after. Yu. Gagarin (formerly Lyubertsy vocational school No. 10), from which Gagarin graduated. 3. Monument to Yuri Gagarin in Lyubertsy next to the school where he studied. 4. Saratov State Vocational Pedagogical College named after Yu. A. Gagarin (former Saratov Industrial College), from which Gagarin graduated. 5. Orenburg Higher Military Aviation Red Banner Pilot School named after I. S. Polbin, where Gagarin studied. 6. Baikonur Cosmodrome, from where the Vostok spacecraft launched with Gagarin on board. 7. Air Force Academy named after Yu. A. Gagarin and Professor N. E. Zhukovsky, which Gagarin graduated from. 8. Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City (now the Scientific Research Testing Center for Cosmonaut Training named after Yu. A. Gagarin), where Gagarin served as deputy head. 9. Museum-apartment of Yuri and Valentina Gagarin in Orenburg, the house of Valentina Gagarina, where she lived with her parents and where her wedding with Yuri took place. 10. Necropolis near the Kremlin wall, where Gagarin is buried.
A space flight
On April 12, 1961, at 09:07 Moscow time, the 8K72K launch vehicle (later called “Vostok”) launched from the 5th Research Test Site of the USSR Ministry of Defense (as the Baikonur Cosmodrome was then called) and launched a satellite ship into Earth orbit. Vostok" with Yuri Gagarin on board. However, TASS did not transmit the message immediately, but 50 minutes after the launch. The news came out late, since the signing of a decree on awarding Gagarin the extraordinary rank of “major” was expected (the First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev insisted on this).
The Vostok ship made one revolution around the Earth, and on the same day Yuri Gagarin returned to Earth. He ejected from the ship's descent module and landed with a parachute on a collective farm field near the village of Smelovka, Saratov region.
Until 1971, the fact of Gagarin's parachute landing was kept secret. This was due to the record registration procedure established by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI). At that time, the rules required that the pilot claiming the world record land inside the aircraft. In 1971, the FAI revised its requirements, deciding that landing techniques for astronautics may differ from those for aviation.
After the flight
At the end of April 1961, Yuri Gagarin went abroad on a “peace mission.” In total, over three years, the planet's first cosmonaut visited about 30 countries, including Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Finland, Great Britain, Poland, Cuba, Brazil, Canada, Hungary, India, Egypt, Austria, Japan, France, Mexico, East Germany, Sweden , Norway and others.
Since May 1961, he worked at the Cosmonaut Training Center as a commander of a cosmonaut corps and a senior cosmonaut instructor.
In June 1962, he was prematurely awarded the rank of lieutenant colonel, and in November 1963, colonel.
Since December 1963, Gagarin was deputy head of the Central Training Center and at the same time head of the flight and space training department. In March 1964, while maintaining his previous positions, he was again appointed senior cosmonaut instructor.
Since March 1966, he was deputy head of the training center for flight and space training, senior cosmonaut instructor.
In September 1965 - April 1967, Yuri Gagarin was preparing to fly on the first manned Soyuz spacecraft as part of the second crew, and was Vladimir Komarov's backup. After the death of Komarov on April 24, 1967, during his return to Soyuz 1, Gagarin was no longer considered for further space flights.
In 1968, he obtained permission to resume flying practice in the Air Force.
The first cosmonaut was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of the VI and VII convocations (1962, 1966), and was president of the Soviet-Cuban Friendship Society.
Episodes and interesting facts of life
After Gagarin’s successful flight, everyone now knew Gagarin’s catchphrase “Let’s go!” , with which he went into space. But for a long time almost no one mentioned another quote from Gagarin: “I am burning, goodbye, comrades!” . He said it while the ship was passing through the dense layers of the atmosphere during descent, being sure that the ship was on fire and he would soon die.
Shortly before his death, on March 12, Gagarin wrote in his diary: “I have no stronger desire than the desire to fly. The pilot must fly. Always fly .
Yuri Gagarin with his beloved daughters
Death
Yuri Gagarin died on March 27, 1968 while flying a MiG-15UTI fighter trainer. Together with him, pilot-instructor Hero of the Soviet Union Vladimir Seregin crashed. The plane crashed near the village of Novoselovo, Kirzhach district, Vladimir region. The exact cause of the plane crash has not been established. In 1975, a memorial was opened at the site of the pilots' deaths.
Urns containing the ashes of Gagarin and Seregin were buried on March 30, 1968 at the Kremlin wall on Red Square in Moscow with military honors accompanied by artillery salutes.
On April 15, 1968, Yuri Gagarin was excluded from the lists of officers of the USSR Armed Forces as killed in the line of duty.
Biography of Yuri Gagarin
He was chosen to play the role of the world's first cosmonaut not only because of his excellent physical fitness and knowledge of technology, but also because of his sociable, open character and wide smile. Indeed, if successful, this man was destined to represent his country throughout the world. Gagarin not only fulfilled the mission entrusted to him , but also became a real hero for the inhabitants of the entire planet, a symbol of a purposeful, honest person with a broad soul. The story of Yuri Gagarin is the success story of a real hero .
The biography of Yuri Gagarin began as the story of an ordinary boy. He was born in Gzhatsk, into a simple village family. After the war, having survived the German occupation, he returned to school, graduated from a vocational school, and then entered a technical school in Saratov. At the same time, he began studying at the Saratov flying club - the young man did not even know then that this hobby would radically change Gagarin’s biography. While serving in the army, he already qualified as a 1st class military pilot.
In 1957, the future cosmonaut got married; Yuri Gagarin's wife, Valentina Goryacheva , has always been her husband's close friend and ally. In this marriage, the children of Yuri Gagarin were born - daughters Elena and Galina . Gagarin’s eldest daughter Elena today works as the director of the Moscow Kremlin State Museum-Reserve; she recalls that her father was always interested in their studies, and also took the children outside every morning in any weather to do exercises. Yuri Gagarin always devoted a lot of time and love to his family , despite how much energy it took him first to prepare for a flight into space, and then to numerous responsibilities as the world’s first cosmonaut .
Yuri Gagarin - the world's first cosmonaut
On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin spent 108 minutes in space . As it became known later, the USSR government had prepared three official messages - in the event of the death of a cosmonaut, in the event of a failed flight and in the event of a successful one. The flight was successful, albeit with some minor problems, which the astronaut endured steadfastly.
After the flight, Yuri Gagarin became a global personality . Endless diplomatic missions and visits became an integral part of Gagarin’s life, taking up time and energy. At some point, Gagarin even began to get better, as he almost stopped training, but soon began to prepare for the next flight, this time to the Moon, and returned to shape. But, alas, Yuri Gagarin's next flights into space were not destined to happen.
Gagarin's death occurred on March 27, 1968 in a plane crash during a training flight. Gagarin's death came instantly and became a huge loss for the astronaut's family and the whole country. A special commission was created to study the cause of Gagarin's death in the disaster; the details of the report, which amounted to 29 volumes, were classified for a long time until the 50th anniversary of Gagarin's flight. The crash occurred as a result of a sharp maneuver of the aircraft, which in bad weather conditions led to the aircraft getting into a spiral and crashing. Yuri Gagarin's death was instantaneous.
National mourning was declared throughout the country - for the first time in the history of the USSR in connection with the death of a non-head of state. The funeral of Yuri Gagarin and Vladimir Seregin , the cosmonaut instructor who died with him, took place on March 28. Gagarin's grave is located near the Kremlin wall - urns containing the ashes of the cremated remains of Gagarin and Seryogin were buried there. Many awards, books, works, paintings, even song cycles were dedicated to Gagarin’s memory. Cenotaph monuments to Yuri Gagarin are installed throughout the country.
Yuri Gagarin with his wife Valentina
Titles, awards
For his flight into space on April 14, 1961, Yuri Gagarin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (1961) and the Order of Lenin (1961). On the same day, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued on the establishment of the honorary title “Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR” and awarding it to Gagarin.
In addition, the planet's first cosmonaut was awarded many foreign honorary titles and awards. Among them are the Hero of Socialist Labor of Bulgaria (1961), Hero of Socialist Labor of Czechoslovakia (1961), Hero of Labor of Vietnam (1962), as well as the Order of the Cross of Grunwald, 1st degree (1961, Poland), “Playa Giron” (1961, Cuba), State Banner of Hungary (1961), Georgiy Dimitrov (1961, Bulgaria), Karl Marx (1963, GDR), etc.
In addition, he was awarded a gold medal. K. E. Tsiolkovsky of the USSR Academy of Sciences, the FAI de Lavaux medal and others.
He had the title “Honorary Radio Operator of the USSR” (1962). He was an Honored Master of Sports in running (1961), an honorary member of the International Academy of Astronautics (1966).
Yuri Gagarin is an honorary citizen of many Russian cities, incl. Kaluga (1961), Smolensk (1966), Sevastopol (1967), Saratov (1967), Lyubertsy (1987), as well as a number of foreign ones, including Baikonur (1977, Kazakhstan) and others.
Cosmonautics
In 1959, Gagarin rose to the rank of senior lieutenant, receiving the rank of military pilot 1st class. At the same time, a resolution was enshrined at the state level on the search and selection of candidates for flights beyond the Earth. Having heard about this, the pilot wrote a report to management, in which he asked to be included as a candidate.
Lieutenant Yuri Gagarin on an airplane during his service in the Arctic. 1958
The selection was not based on skills or merit; the checks were led by Korolev and, first of all, he looked at the physical characteristics of the applicants. The first rockets were limited in size and carrying capacity. Growth, which almost cost the pilot his career, this time became Yuri’s lucky ticket. The young man was 165 cm tall (according to some sources, 157 cm), and the weight of the future cosmonaut was 68 kg - if Gagarin had been larger, he might not have fit in the spaceship.
After numerous checks, Gagarin was approved as one of 20 proposed future cosmonauts. In March 1960, the pilot began training.
Yuri Gagarin at a doctor's appointment
Despite the fierce competition, Gagarin managed to win the sympathy of even his rivals. A reliable, strong and benevolent young man did not envy anyone, did not consider anyone better or worse than himself, and this was evident from his behavior and manner of speech. The astronaut easily took the initiative, worked hard and with pleasure.
Smile of Yuri Gagarin
Gagarin adored the sky and devoted himself entirely to his studies; he simply did not have time for anything else. As a result, according to an anonymous question conducted among cosmonaut candidates, the majority named Gagarin as the person most suitable for the first flight into space. Despite the fact that the pilot was not a leader in any field of training, based on his combination of skills, character traits and psychological stability, he was recognized as ideally suited for traveling into space.
Personal information
He was married to Valentina Ivanovna Gagarina (1935-2020, nee Goryacheva), a graduate of the Orenburg Medical School. The marriage produced two daughters.
Elena (born in 1959) graduated from the Faculty of History of Moscow State University (MSU). M.V. Lomonosov, is an honorary professor at Moscow State University (2017), and since 2001 has been working as the general director of the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Moscow Kremlin".
Galina (born in 1961) is a graduate of the Moscow Institute of National Economy (now Russian Economic University, REU) named after. G. V. Plekhanova, Doctor of Economics, Head of the Department of National and Regional Economics of the Russian University of Economics. G. V. Plekhanov.
