Yuri Gagarin

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I bet Neil Armstrong never got that many medals.
Поехали!
—Gagarin on take-off

Yuri Gagarin (Russian: Юрий Гагарин; 1934–1968) was a Soviet cosmonaut, the first human to fly in space and orbit the Earth. His flight was the second major achievement in a row for the Soviet space program, after the launch of the first satellite two years earlier. Thus, it was a huge publicity coup for the Soviet Union, both at home and abroad. Gagarin himself was nearly deified by Soviet propaganda, which got even worse after his sudden demise. Both his flight and his death became fodder for conspiracy theories and other fringe claims.

Gagarin, like all good Soviets, was a vocal atheist, although some doubt that he really was, and have even painted him as a kind of Russian saint.[1] Gagarin's feat was also the subject of at least one piece of Socialist Realist, anti-religious art.[2] The Orthodox Church continues a policy of claiming him as their own, and some have disputed that he ever made the widely quoted statement, "I see no God" on reaching orbit.[3] Such statements rely on second hand testimony and rumour as well.

Gagarin was a charismatic figure, often smiling, and accommodating to his fans and audiences across the world. For example, when visiting Manchester in England, he was asked if he would put the roof back on his limousine, during his parade. He replied, "If all those people are getting wet to welcome me, surely the least I can do is get wet too!"

This made the very lacklustre leaders of the Soviet Union extremely envious, as charisma was a rare feature amongst them, and he basically showed them up.[citation needed] This has led to conspiracy theories about his death in a plane crash.

Other people have claimed, through second or third hand sources, that Gagarin didn't see God up there, but aliens,[4] and others claim that he was abducted by them. There are also claims that his flight record was falsified.[5]

[edit] Quotes

  • "Orbiting Earth in the spaceship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it!"
  • "Поехали!" (on take off; variously translated as "Let's go", "Let's drive" etc)

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. Gagarin as Christ
  2. A Priest Contemplates Gagarin's Feat
  3. Yuri Gagarin: the first Orthodox in Space by Rev. Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos Vlachos
  4. UFO enthusiasts peddling rumours about Gagarin
  5. Gagarin's Falsified Flight Record
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