“Having stepped onto firm ground, I saw a woman and a girl who were standing near a spotted calf and who were watching me with bewilderment. When they saw me in my space suit and the parachute dragging alongside as I walked, they started to back away in fear. I told them, don’t be afraid, I am a Soviet like you, who has descended from space and I must find a telephone to call Moscow!”
Diary — Yuri Gagarin (April 12 1961)
April 12 2021 — On April 12 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first person to venture in outer space. His spacecraft — Vostok 1 — orbited for 108 minutes before returning to Earth in Kazakhstan. At about 7,000 metres (23,000 ft), Gagarin ejected from the descending capsule and landed using a parachute. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
RELATED POST: On This Day — Soviet Union Launches SPUTNIK (October 4 1957) [2020]
“Today is the International Day of Human Flight into Space. On this day we celebrate the 60th anniversary of human space stay, along with technical progress and international cooperation facilitated by space exploration.”
US State Dept. (April 12 2021)
UPDATE (April 18 2021) — April 12 should have been a Happy Day! Once in a while we should be allowed to enjoy a day that commemorates one of the proudest moments of the human specie. But that is just too much to ask…
I knew that President Kennedy had barred Gagarin from visiting the United States, but obviously the first man in outer space is still persona non grata in the United States.
In its Facebook statement released on the occasion of International Day of Human Space Flight on Monday, the US State Department made no mention at all of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
And to make things worse, they posted a picture of a US astronaut instead.
Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin did not mince his words…
“Assholes. Superpowers do not behave that way,” Rogozin wrote in response on Twitter late Monday.
We, the People, deserve better than this Kindergarten Diplomacy. Gagarin was a real-life hero and a very lovable person. Everyone likes him very much.
In the United States, you can find the bust of the space pioneer at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Sculptures of Yuri Gagarin also were erected in Cleveland, Colorado Springs, New York City, Houston and Chicago.
PS — On Sundays, I like to post a joke but today I felt that this faux-pas needed a quick comment. Do not worry… I promise you to post a bunch of old CIA jokes next week.
Stay tuned!
END of UPDATE
“Regrettably, the US State Department has again demonstrated memory loss regarding the history of space exploration. We wish to remind that the UN General Assembly declared April 12 the International Day of Human Space Flight in memory of the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.”
Russian Embassy in Washington
On April 14 1961, Gagarin was honoured with a 12-mile (19 km) 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, Order of Lenin, Merited Master of Sports of the Soviet Union and the first Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR.
Gagarin toured widely abroad, accepting the invitation of about 30 countries in the years following his flight.
Because of his popularity, US president John F. Kennedy barred Gagarin from visiting the United States.
Less than a year later, the CIA produced the following document which is still fascinating reading.
On March 27 1968, while on a routine training flight from 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 walls of the Kremlin.
The cause of the crash that killed Gagarin is uncertain and became the subject of several theories.
Yuri Gagarin: Still a hero after 60 years
“He loved people very much. He tried to help everybody when he was able to do it. He perfectly understood his importance, because in fact, after the flight, he was very respected. He understood he was able to get to any ministry, to any minister, with any request.”
Tamara Filitova — Niece of Yuri Gagarin
REFERENCES
Yuri Gagarin, 12 April 1961: “I come from outer space!” by Théo Pirard
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60 Years Ago — “I come from outer space!” [Yuri Gagarin – April 12 1961]
60 Years Ago — Yuri Gagarin : “I come from outer space!” (April 12 1961) [UPDATE : Kindergarten Diplomacy]
Intel Today 
This was lovely to rread
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