The future cosmonaut was born on March 9, 1934 in the Gzhatsk region, the village of Klushino, into a simple peasant family.
Childhood and youth
In 1941 he went to first grade, but the war stopped his studies for 3 years. In 1949, after graduating from the sixth grade, he entered a vocational school in Lyubertsy. Received the specialty of a molder-caster. In 1954 he began to study at the Saratov flying club, where he completed 196 flights. At the same time, he graduated from the Saratov Industrial College with honors.
Military service and studies
In 1955, the young man was called to serve in the army. At this time, he graduated with honors from the first military aviation school for pilots. Served near Murmansk for two years. He flew 265 hours on the MiG-15 bis.
Preparing for the first flight
In 1959 in the Soviet Union Air Force actively engaged in the selection of applicants for the first flight into space. There were 20 candidates in total. Cosmonaut training took place in Zvezdny. The best fighter pilots had to have absolute health, professionalism, and stress resistance. The State Commission approved Gagarin's candidacy for a flight on the Vostok spacecraft. German Titov was appointed as a reserve cosmonaut.
Space flight
On April 12, 1961, the Vostok spacecraft was launched at the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Pilot-cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was on board. "Vostok" completed the flight at 108 minutes, completing one revolution around the Earth. Despite emergency situations, Gagarin ejected and parachuted down two kilometers from the banks of the Volga.
The task of the flight - to test human capabilities in space, technical equipment in flight and the connection of the ship with the earth, was completed.
Life after the flight
The first pilot-cosmonaut became famous all over the world. By invitation, he visited 30 countries, did a lot of public work.
In 1968, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin graduated from the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy with the rank of colonel.
In 1966, preparations began for a new space flight under the Soyuz program. Komarov flew on the new ship, and Gagarin was an understudy. Komarov died due to a malfunction of the parachute system.
The death of an astronaut
As the head of the Cosmonaut Training Center, Yuri Alekseevich had the opportunity not to train and not to fly. But he won the right to fly, confirming the qualifications of a fighter pilot.
On March 27, 1968, a plane crash occurred in which Yu.A. Gagarin and V.S. Seregin. The MiG-15 UTN aircraft was performing a training flight near the village of Novoselovo, Vladimir Region. Hitting a flat spin, it crashed.
The memory of the pilot-cosmonaut
The name of the first cosmonaut has been immortalized with many orders, medals and diplomas.
Awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union.
The city of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin. Air Force Academy, Saratov Technical University, Orenburg airport, aircraft, cosmonaut training center bear the name of the first cosmonaut.
We will remember this forever courageous man with a beautiful and kind smile.
If this message was useful to you, I would be glad to see you
Yuri Gagarin made a report on the flight to the State Commission on the morning of April 13, 1961 in the city of Kuibyshev (now Samara) in a spacious room of the obkom dacha. The dacha was located on the high bank of the Volga, from the balcony of the third floor there was a beautiful view of the river ...
The report followed by answers to the questions of the members of the State Commission took a total of two and a half hours. Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin's speech was transcribed and recorded on tape.
Since that day, the transcript of the report and the recording of Yuri Gagarin's voice have been kept for three decades under the heading "Top Secret". The transcript was first published in 1991 in the journal Izvestia of the Central Committee of the CPSU, and two fragments of the recording of the cosmonaut's voice were published in the same year on a gramophone record of the audio magazine Krugozor ...
“The last pre-launch preparation was carried out in the morning. It began with checking my health and determining the reliability of the sensors for recording physiological functions, which were pasted the night before. Then physiological functions were recorded on medical equipment and a medical examination was made. All this went well. According to the doctors who examined and recorded the data of the body, my condition was good. I myself felt good, because before that I had a good rest and sleep.
After that, the regular team of the combat crew put on the spacesuit. The suit was put on correctly, adjusted, and pressed. Then they put me in a technological chair, tried how the suspension system lay on the spacesuit, the ventilation of the spacesuit, checked the connection. Everything worked well.
Then there was a departure to the starting position in the bus. Together with my fellow cosmonauts (my deputy was German Stepanovich Titov) and the chiefs, we went to the start. At the start, I was taken by elevator to the cabin of the ship. Landing in a chair was carried out by regular calculation, which was led by Oleg Genrikhovich Ivanovsky. All connections and connections were made well. The equipment check also went well. Communication was two-way, stable. Good connection.
The mood at that time was good, feeling good. He reported on checking the equipment, on readiness for the launch, on his health. There was constant communication all the time.
Then hatch number 1 was closed. I heard how it was being closed, how keys were knocking. Then they begin to open the hatch again. Look, the sunroof has been removed. Realized something was wrong. Sergey Pavlovich says to me: “Don't worry, for some reason one contact is not pressed. Everything will be okay". The calculation soon rearranged the boards on which the limit switches were installed. Everything was fixed and the manhole cover was closed. Everything was fine.
An hour readiness was announced, half an hour, physiological functions were recorded. In general, everything went well. Feeling good. The mood is also good.
Then they announced a fifteen-minute readiness. He put on protective gloves. Closed the helmet. Five minute readiness. Minute readiness and start. Before that, you could hear how farms were bred. It turns out some kind of soft blows to the design of the rocket. The rocket seemed to wobble a little.
Then the blowing started. Heard how the valves worked. Then the launch was made. Engines have reached the preliminary stage. There was a slight noise. Then the noise increased in the intermediate stage. As the engines entered the main, main stage, the noise increased, but was not too harsh to drown out or interfere with operation. The noise is about the same as in an airplane. I was ready for much more noise. Then the rocket smoothly, gently lifted from its place. I didn't even notice when she left. Then I felt a small shiver go through the design of the rocket. The nature of the vibration: the frequency is large, the amplitude is small.
I prepared to eject. I sit, I watch the process of lifting. I hear Sergei Pavlovich report that 70 seconds are coming. In the region of 70 seconds, the nature of the vibration changes smoothly. The frequency of vibration falls, and the amplitude grows. There seems to be a jolt. Then gradually this shaking subsides, and by the end of the first stage the vibration becomes the same as at the beginning of its work. G-load increases smoothly, but it is quite tolerable, as on conventional aircraft. Approximately 5 years. With this overload, I was reporting all the time and communicating with the launch. It was somewhat difficult to talk, as it tightened all the muscles of the face. Tightened up a bit. Further, the overload began to grow, reached its peak and began to gradually decrease. Then I felt a sharp decline in overload. The sensation was as if something immediately detached from the rocket. Felt something like cotton. At the same time, the noise dropped sharply. As if a state of weightlessness has arisen, although at this time the overload is approximately equal to 1. Then the overload appears again and begins to grow. Begins to press against the chair, the noise level is much less. At 150 seconds, the head fairing separated. The process is very bright. There was a push, a bang. One half of the fairing was just against the "look". My “gaze” light filter was closed, and the shutter was open. The fairing slowly went down from the "look", behind the rocket.
At this time, he maintained a stable good connection with Kolpashev - "Dawn 2".
During the flight of Yelizovo, the connection was normal. I repeated my reports and reports several times. As soon as the separation occurred, cycle number 1 immediately turned on, the descent mode control device went on, the moving index went on, the clock started. The entire descent system worked. Made a report. Communication with Elizov ceased approximately when the globe was 30 ° north latitude. Immediately after the report on VHF, he made a report on HF. But at that time I did not receive any confirmation of reports and commands from KB. There was no connection. About 30 degrees north latitude I heard the "Amur Waves" broadcast by Khabarovsk. Against this background, I heard the telegraph call signs "VSN" - "Spring". At this time, I again began to communicate with the "Spring", but no one answered. Produced records of observations in the logbook.
When flying over the sea, its surface seemed gray, not blue. The surface is uneven, as if in the form of sand dunes in the photograph. It seems to me that it will be quite possible to navigate over the sea. It is possible to conduct orientation, become attached to the terrain, orient the ship to turn on the braking system.
The reports were carried out in accordance with the task in the telegraph and telephone modes. He took food and water. He took water and food normally, you can take it. I didn't experience any physical problems. The feeling of weightlessness is somewhat unusual compared to terrestrial conditions. Here there is a feeling as if you are hanging in a horizontal position on the belts, as if you are in a suspended state. Apparently, a tightly fitted suspension system puts pressure on the chest, and therefore it seems that you are hanging. Then you get used to it, you adapt to it. There were no bad feelings.
He made entries in the logbook, reports, worked as a telegraph key. When he ate, drank water, put the tablet in, and he “floated” in front of me with a pencil. Then I had to record another report. I took the tablet, but the pencil was not in place. Flew off somewhere. The eyelet was screwed to the pencil, but apparently it had to be either put on glue or wrapped tighter. This screw came loose and the pencil flew off. He folded the logbook and put it in his pocket. Still not useful, there is nothing to write.
At that time, I was in the shadow of the Earth, and even before entering the shadow of the Earth, I was constantly recording on a tape recorder. Before entering the Earth's shadow, the tape recorder ran out of tape. The tape recorder didn't work.
I made the decision to rewind the tape to make further recordings. Switched it to manual control and rewound. I don't think I rewound it all the way through. And then, when I made reports, I recorded on the tape recorder manually, since when the tape recorder is working automatically, it works almost all the time and, naturally, a lot of tape is consumed. It's called high level noise in the cab.
Before that, I entered the shadow of the Earth. The entrance to the Earth's shadow is very sharp. Before that, at times I observed strong lighting through the windows. I had to turn away from him or hide behind him so that the light would not get into his eyes. Then he looked out one porthole - nothing was visible on the horizon. Dark. The other (“gaze”) is also dark. I think what is it? I noticed from time to time that this is connected with entering the shadow.
At this time, the ship rotated, 2 - 3 degrees per second. The horizon and the Earth were not visible. The stars are also invisible. But then I realized that, obviously, the porthole hit the Earth. When the "gaze" and the porthole went out to the sky, then the stars are visible against its black background. Sometimes 2 - 3 stars of some constellations fell into the porthole. But it was difficult to determine the constellations, because not all the constellations fall into the window. Turned on solar system orientation, about which I reported by KB and by telegraph.
Air began to flow. During operation of solar orientation, air was consumed from both systems simultaneously. By the moment of leaving the shadow, the pressure in the orientation systems was approximately 150 - 152 atmospheres. I felt that when the attitude control was activated, the ship's angular movement changed and became very slow, almost imperceptible. At this time, he made a report on KB and through the Signal system in telegraph mode.
When approaching about 40 degrees south latitude, I did not hear the Earth. Degrees around 40 - 45 south latitude on the globe, music and call signs began to be faintly heard. They called me by phone: “Cedar, I am Spring,” and they said something else, but I could not make out the rest of the words. Callsigns were repeated three times. I immediately switched on the transmission, began to transmit: “How can you hear me? Answer the link." The closer I flew to the apogee, the more audibility improved, and, approximately, when Cape Horn passed, (at apogee) I received another message. I was told that they understood me, and I understood it very well. I was informed that the spacecraft was proceeding correctly, the orbit was calculated, and all systems were working well. I continued my reports accordingly.
Before leaving the shadows, I carefully looked through the "look" porthole, which was at an angle to the horizon. The horizon was very visible. Along the very horizon I observed an iridescent orange stripe, reminiscent of the color of a spacesuit in its color. Further, the color darkens a little and the colors of the rainbow turn into blue, and blue turns into black. Completely black. At this time, the pressure in the orientation systems began to gradually decrease. I felt a more ordered movement of the object, in pitch. Then the ship began to roar. I realized that the solar orientation system "drives" the Sun into the central sensor. Soon the ship acquired a stable starting position for descent. The braking propulsion system was directed at the Sun and quite steadily. At this time, there was a very good orientation in the "look". In the outer ring, the entire horizon was inscribed perfectly evenly. The objects I saw moved strictly along the arrows of the “look”, that is, as it was necessary when orienting manually, then the Earth gradually began to move to the left corner, forward (away from the legs).
During this time he produced reports. In the orientation system, the pressure gradually dropped and by the time the brake propulsion system was launched, it was approximately 110 atmospheres. He made recordings on a tape recorder, reports by telegraph and telephone, by HF. At this time, the HF connection was good. Obviously, the radio stations of Moscow worked with me.
At the 56th minute, the first team passed. I reported it right away. The orientation was good, the ship had a roll for some time, but very little. During the time the ship left the shadows and before turning on the braking propulsion system, it turned about 30 degrees. Maybe even a little less. Then came the second team. At the same time, I again made a report by telephone and telegraph. I noticed the pressure in the cylinder of the brake propulsion system, the pressure in the orientation system, the readings of all instruments, the time it took for the command to pass, and recorded everything on a tape recorder. Prepared for the descent. Closed the right porthole. I pulled on the straps, closed the pressure helmet and switched the lighting to working. Then, at exactly the right time, the third team passed. As soon as the window went out during the passage of the third command, I began to observe the pressure in the brake propulsion system and in the orientation system. It began to fall sharply from 320 atmospheres. The arrow of the device clearly went to reduce the pressure. I felt how the brake propulsion system began to work. A slight itching and noise was felt through the design. I timed the activation of the brake propulsion system. Before that, the stopwatch was set to zero. The brake propulsion system worked well. Her engagement was abrupt. The g-force increased a little, and then weightlessness suddenly reappeared. The arrows at that moment in the automatic orientation system and in the cylinder of the brake propulsion system immediately jumped to zero. The operating time of the brake propulsion system was exactly 40 seconds.
Three minutes later, a ZIL-151 car approached. Major artilleryman comrade Galimov arrived on it from the division. We introduced ourselves to each other. I asked to inform Moscow as soon as possible. They posted a sentry at the parachutes, and went with him to the unit.
We arrived at the unit. He called the command post of the division. Then the district commander was called. Everything was reported to Moscow through the commander of the district. The command was given to linger at the landing site. I took photos there a couple of times. By this time I had already taken off the spacesuit shell. I was wearing only blue thermal clothes, and I did not take pictures in an orange and gray shell and in a pressure helmet. We put the suit in the car. When we were leaving, I saw a helicopter flying from the city of Engels. By this time, I had already asked and knew for sure that the city of Engels was nearby. We drove to the landing site. I knew it was the search party that had arrived by helicopter. We drive along the highway and see that the helicopter has risen and is going to the military garrison. We jumped out of the car, started waving to him. The helicopter has landed. The lieutenant general and colonel who were on it took me on board the helicopter. I said that now General Kamanin and General Agaltsov should fly here, and that I should be near the landing site. We sit down near the place where my parachutes are. I was given a command to fly to the city of Engels. We immediately got up and flew there.
As soon as I got out of the helicopter, General Evgrafov immediately handed me a telegram from Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev. congratulatory telegram. I slipped up here. An influx of feelings. Then they immediately contacted the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force by phone. I reported to Comrade Vershinin, Chief Marshal of Aviation, that the assignment had been completed. He congratulated me on completing the task, thanked me, congratulated me on the assignment military rank"major". I answered properly. Wish me all the best. The commander-in-chief said that they would now connect me by telephone with Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev and Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev. Connected with Comrade Brezhnev. I reported on the completion of the mission, that all systems worked well, that the landing took place in a given area, that I feel good. He congratulated me and wished me all the best. I thanked. He said that Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev would call us soon. We went with General Agaltsov to the "HF". Soon Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev called us. I reported on the assignment. About the good work of all systems, about your well-being. He thanked me for completing the task, congratulated me on the end of the flight, and asked about my family and parents. I sincerely thanked Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev for his attention, for his paternal care. He told me: "See you soon in Moscow."
Then there was a congratulation from the correspondent of Pravda, the correspondent of Izvestia and the main agitator-propagandist Comrade Ilyichev. I thanked them for the friendly, warm words they expressed to me. They asked me to say a few words to the readers of Pravda. To their congratulations on the feat, I replied that the actual feat was not so much mine, but of the entire Soviet people, all engineers, technicians, representatives of Soviet science. After that, Colonel-General Agaltsov decided to fly to Kuibyshev. Boarded the plane. With difficulty they made their way through the crowd that had formed there. Everyone wants to see. We got to the car. Arrived. OK it's all over Now."
Then followed questions from members of the State Commission to Yuri Gagarin. The text of questions and answers in a typewritten version amounted to 10 sheets ... Asked clarifying questions to the first cosmonaut and made comments during his report and the chief designer of the spacecraft, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. His handwritten comments are kept today in the funds of the Moscow Memorial House-Museum of Academician S.P. Korolev.
On the evening of April 13, Korolev and members of the State Commission flew to Moscow. Yuri Gagarin - the next day at 10:40...
Lines from the diary of Nikolai Kamanin, dated April 13: “...we were tortured by phone calls and correspondents who made their way to the dacha. They are ready to continuously film, photograph and ask endless questions. We only managed to walk a little and play billiards.
In the afternoon, Yura began to prepare for the meeting in Moscow. He mastered the report to Khrushchev in half an hour, but at first he was in too much of a hurry. Two or three workouts eliminated this shortcoming. The speech on Red Square was also prepared quite quickly. I already knew from Yura's speeches even before the flight that he had the makings of a good speaker.
In the evening, Brezhnev called twice and Vershinin called several times. Both were worried about tomorrow's weather (the forecast was bad) and the procedure for getting off the plane at the Vnukovo airfield. We agreed with Brezhnev that Gagarin was the first to get off the plane, walk along the path to the government podium and report to Khrushchev, and we would go out after Gagarin and stop at the foot of the podium.
Before going to bed, Yura tried on a new uniform and overcoat. Once or twice I portrayed Khrushchev, and he came up to me with a report ... "
P.S. In the Izvestia newspaper of December 14, 1993, Mikhail Kolesnichenko said: "... Yuri Gagarin's report on the first flight, in which he, in particular, describes the appearance of the Earth and talks about his feelings caused by weightlessness, was ultimately estimated at 354,500 US dollars." This information is in the catalog of the December (1993) Sotheby auction ...
Surely, in the entire post-Soviet space today there is no such person who does not know who Yuri Gagarin is. First flight to space, perfect man in 1961, became significant event not only in the Soviet Union, but all over the world. But how did all this happen - preparation, the process of flight, and what happened after a person was finally able to get into space for the first time? And of course, a little about what kind of person Yuri Gagarin himself was.
Short biography
Yuri Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934 in the village of Klushino (now Smolensk region), located near the city of Gzhatsk, which, after a space flight, was named after him. Yuri's parents were simple peasants who worked for the good of the country, and his father was also known as a good carpenter. Early childhood the first astronaut passed in his native village.
In 1945, the Gagarins moved to Gzhatsk, where Yuri, starting in 1949, combined his studies at school with classes at a vocational school. In 1951, Gagarin entered an industrial technical school, and in 1954 he went to an flying club, where he made his first solo flight in an airplane.
In 1955, Yuri Gagarin began serving in the army, where he happened to get into the military aviation school. Then he served in a fighter aviation regiment, where by 1959 he had flown 265 hours and received the rank of senior lieutenant. Gagarin married in 1957 and raised two daughters in marriage.
Training
Before Gagarin's first flight into space was completed, Yuri had to sign up for the list of applicants for astronauts. Subsequently, he had to go through several medical examinations before he was recognized as fit for space flights and enrolled in a group of candidates. In March 1960, Gagarin and his family moved to a new place of residence in Moscow, where he began intensive preparation for space flights. It was not only physical training, he also had to study many sciences from a wide variety of fields.
In parallel with the training of cosmonauts, the Vostok-1 satellite ship, designed by Sergei Korolev, the founder of practical astronautics, was also being prepared. On it, a year later, Gagarin flew into space. Yuri saw it already in the summer of 1960, then the future cosmonauts were shown the aircraft. At that time, it was a rather complicated device, because in addition to the fact that the ship was supposed to fly into space, its task was also to provide the pilot with the necessary conditions both during the flight and after it.
Spaceship-satellite "Vostok-1"
The satellite ship from the Vostok series deserves special attention, on which Gagarin's first flight into space was made. The device itself is launched by a multi-stage launch vehicle, from which it must separate when it reaches the desired height. The ship consists of two parts: the cabin, which houses the life support systems and the control panel, and the second compartment with the brake engine and other devices.
In the cockpit there is a chair in which a catapult is built in, separating it from the ship. In addition, the chair is equipped with a supply of provisions and medicines, a walkie-talkie and even a rescue boat in case of an emergency landing on the water. As you know, the shell of a ship in dense layers of the atmosphere heats up to an incredible temperature, so special thermal protection is provided for this, and the windows are made of heat-resistant glass. We can say that Gagarin's flight into space was thoroughly prepared.
Candidate selection
In total, there were exactly twenty candidates for the first flight into space - they were not the best aces aviation and were selected according to specific characteristics. The Queen needed a man under the age of 30, weighing 72 kg and 170 cm tall, in good physical and mental health. Space flights are a rather serious thing, and the cabin of the Vostok-1 spacecraft was designed in such a way that a person with certain physical characteristics could fit in it.
In addition, it was required that the candidate for the first cosmonauts be a communist, and Gagarin had just recently joined the CPSU. Sergei Korolev was in a hurry to send the first man into space, because there were rumors that the Americans intended to do the same already on April 20, 1961. At first, six out of twenty candidates were selected, and the final decision was made at a meeting of the Civil Code almost at the last moment. So, Yuri Gagarin's flight into space was scheduled for April 12, and German Titov was supposed to be his understudy.
Flight
On April 12, 1961, at the beginning of the tenth hour of the morning, the command “To the start!” Was given, and for the first time spaceship with a man on board, propelled by a launch vehicle, set off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on his relatively short journey. During the flight, Yuri Gagarin experimented a bit: he tried to eat and drink, make notes with a pencil, being in a state of weightlessness.
When Vostok-1 passed through the dense layers of the atmosphere, the first cosmonaut was able to see the Earth. According to him, he was most impressed by the view of the horizon, only this time its line separated the planet from the unimaginably black sky. In general, the flight proceeded normally, and during it there were no failures and unforeseen circumstances. Gagarin's flight into space lasted only 108 minutes, during which he managed to make one revolution around our planet.
Return to Earth
At the very end of the journey, during landing, something went wrong in the braking system, so the ship deviated somewhat from the planned course. Despite this, the astronaut made a successful landing. Controlling the parachute lines, he avoided falling into the cold waters of the Volga. This is how Yuri Gagarin's flight into space ended.
The hero was first met by the wife of a local forester and her six-year-old granddaughter, who happened to be near the place of his landing. Then the military arrived there - they delivered the first cosmonaut to the location of the nearby unit, where he was able to contact the leadership and report on the successful completion of the task. The helicopter, looking for Gagarin, picked him up on the way to the city of Engels and delivered him to the base, where he was handed a telegram of congratulations from the Soviet government.
Honors
Initially, grandiose celebrations were not planned on the occasion of Gagarin's arrival in Moscow, but at the last moment the plans changed, and the first cosmonaut was met very worthily. Yuri flew to the capital on an Il-18 plane, accompanied by an escort of fighters. Having circled over the city center, over Red Square, the plane delivered Gagarin to Vnukovo airport, where a lot of jubilant people, journalists and the country's leadership were waiting for him. Then Yuri was driven through the streets of Moscow in an open ZIL-111V, and people congratulated him and gave him flowers. On Red Square, it was announced that Gagarin had been awarded the titles "Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR" and "Hero of the Soviet Union". In the future, he made many trips abroad, and everywhere he was received with great joy and respect.
Gagarin in history
The year of Gagarin's flight into space marked the beginning of the era of human exploration of new, previously unexplored spaces. From now on, April 12 has become Cosmonautics Day, and this holiday is celebrated all over the world. And our hero will forever remain the first person to visit space.
As Yuri Gagarin said, the first flight into space is not only his personal responsibility, it is a responsibility to all the people of the world. However, many kind words were said by this wonderful person. Talking about his impressions of what he saw during the flight, he called for preserving our planet and increasing its beauty.
On April 12, 1961, in the early spring morning, a powerful launch vehicle launched the Vostok spacecraft into orbit with the first cosmonaut of the Earth, a citizen of the Soviet Union, Yuri Gagarin, on board. This day has entered the history of mankind forever. What this day was like and what it gave the Soviet people - in the memoirs of contemporaries, which are shared today by participants in the project "You are a reporter" and bloggers.
The first post-war joy
“My mother was 12 then - and today she burst into tears when she told me about April 12, 1961. And in the memoirs of Yuri Levitan, I read that he could hardly hold back tears 2 times in his life - when he announced unconditional surrender Germans on May 9, 45, and when Gagarin flew into space," says anichchka.
People were filled with pride. Completely different worlds opened up. This was probably the first universal post-war joy. In Magnitogorsk, for example, at that time, the little girl Olga Khaenko was very afraid of the war: “I was very afraid of the war, but no one knew about my secret experiences. I didn't know!) ... Without waiting for the continuation, confident that now there would be a DECLARATION OF WAR, I jumped out into the courtyard and stood frozen with goggle eyes and a wildly beating heart. The courtyard began to fill with cheerful neighbors who jumped out, already knowing about Gagarin's flight. Here and I heard the news and was very happy."
General holiday
"Our neighbor, Evgenia Alekseevna Serebryakova, was also overwhelmed with high feelings. And she, a children's educator, under the impression of Gagarin's flight, decided to collect materials about space. We, the neighbors, affectionately called her "cosmonaut." She was not offended and boldly declared that if not years, she definitely competed with Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to have been in near-Earth orbit," Vladimir Bayatov from Rostov-on-Don shared his memories.
“My mother told me that people poured out into the street that day: completely unfamiliar friend to a friend - they hugged, cried)) They pulled out tables into the yards and carried whatever they could on them, celebrating SUCH an event together!
In Brest, as in many other cities, that day until night from main square people didn't leave. “When they learned about Gagarin’s flight, people rushed to the square. Mostly students of the Brest Pedagogical Institute. They shouted something joyfully, all excited, festive. Bengal lights flew into the air. Later, one of the adults said that one such the candle fell on the girl’s white coat and either set it on fire, or simply smeared it with soot. Toward evening, when it got dark enough, a film shift arrived on the square. time.
Big and small feats
Despite the fact that April 12 fell in the middle working week, people took to the streets, everyone was in a festive mood, everyone rejoiced, had fun. The holiday has begun in the country. According to the memoirs of Dmitry Yasenkov's grandmother, "the management of the Mosfilm film studio announced to all employees at the film studio that this beautiful day is a significant day for our country. And for the fulfillment and overfulfillment of the plan for April 12, 1961, even an increased bonus was due."
Georgy Andreev from Vologda also talks about the overfulfillment of plans in honor of this holiday: “On April 12, having heard the good news about Gagarin’s flight, senior engineer Mikhail Shmargunov, assistant engineer Sergei Vorobyov and fireman Yuri Tsvetkov decided to dedicate a heavy flight to this event. a train exceeding the norm by 400 tons, ahead of schedule ... mechanic Sergey Kurkov called the editorial office of Krasny Sever at 10.30. - Admired by the achievements of our science! Now I want to move mountains! ... A spontaneous rally also arose on the steps near the main building of the ship repair plant "Now we will overfulfill the tasks with tenfold strength! - the workers decided. - We will also fight for the development of our "river space"!"
"A student of a medical school, Yuri Sicilo, after an announcement on the radio, managed to record the frequencies of the satellite ship, turned on his receiver and transmitted the good news to the Stalingrad region, to a friend from Bulgaria, an acquaintance from Hungary and heard the word "Moon". We were congratulated by foreign radio amateurs, many said, that now not long before the landing of the USSR on the moon," writes Georgy Andreev.
"I was 6 years old, I lived in Kuibyshev. Mom came for me in Kindergarten joyful-joyful and said that Gagarin flew into space. On the way home, she told me that I should do something outstanding that day. Therefore, when I came home, for the first time I myself lit a comforter with a match, "recalls 4may.
The news of this event disrupted even lessons in schools, Vladimir Sokolov told how it was: "The message was transmitted, the broadcast immediately began from Red Square. People carried posters" Yuri is a hero "," All in space ". Of course, no classes in there was almost no school, the teachers only fought off our questions. We were allowed to go home somewhere for a lesson earlier. There was a feeling of absolute unreality of what was happening, like in a dream, when you wait to be woken up."
This event also caught the blogger jkl_jkl at school: "In the middle of the lessons, everyone was gathered on a ruler. They turned on the loudspeaker at full power, from which a fervent, almost boyish voice was heard:" Dear compatriots! "I liked the voice. Probably, he is very beautiful, this major Gagarin And then the principal of the school announces that all classes are canceled for today, and everyone can go home and watch TV.
"My mother and father got married on 12.4.61. Then there was such an impulse that they left the registry office and said at the same time that they would have an astronaut. But after 3 years I was born. :)" writes orang_m.
