History UsefulNotes / YuriGagarin

Gagarin immediately became a celebrity, and toured around the world (except America unfortunately, as President UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy issued an executive order barring Gagarin from entry into the United States) promoting space and science. One city where he was fondly remembered is Manchester, England. On the day he was scheduled to lead a parade, it rained heavily. The authorities offered to close the hood on his car, but he decided he would stand up without hood or umbrella, saying "If all these people have turned out to welcome me and can stand in the rain, so can I."

Gagarin's ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow, and several statues of him were dedicated around the world. Millions mourned him as a good man, and a hero to many. They remembered his warm smile, which Soviet space program director Sergei Korolev said was "the smile that lit up the Cold War." In a recent poll, Gagarin was tied at sixth place with [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Captain Kirk]] on the list of greatest space heroes. To this day, the 12th of April is a major holiday in Russia, and is celebrated as Cosmonautics Day, ensuring Gagarin's legacy will live on. Yuri's Night is a more recent international version, celebrating both Vostok 1 and the first flight of the Space Shuttle exactly twenty years later.

* ''Literature/IrinaTheVampireCosmonaut'': Some of the characters and their journey are inspired by real-life figures of the Russian space program. Lev is based by no other than Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.
* In an episode of ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'', Gourry uses ''Gagarin'' as an alias.
* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies'': The administrator of the GYAXA Space Program, Uchuu Oogawara is given the name Yuri Cosmos in the English localization, his first name being a reference to Yuri Gagarin.

* ''[[Creator/CharlesStross Missile Gap]]'': One of the main characters in it. He's the only human that ever went to space, before things went... weird. Eventually the Politburo allows him to become a pioneer in the new frontier of the uncharted Alderson disk humanity is stuck on, commanding an [[Franchise/StarTrek Enterprise-style mission]].

* Likewise, ''VideoGame/EliteDangerous'' has 18 space stations throughout the galaxy named after him.
* Manga/{{Planetes}}: The character Yuri Mihairokov is named for him.

* Music/AFlockOfSeagulls' instrumental track "The Last Flight Of Yuri Gagarin".

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', Sokolov was the lead designer of the Vostok-K rocket assembly that carried Gagarin into space. Later, it's revealed that [[spoiler: The Boss]] was sent into space by the United States in an attempt to beat the Soviets, but the records of that flight had been buried. ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' expands on this, revealing that [[spoiler: The Boss had been involved in spying on the Soviet space program, and her flight had been covered up because it had gone off-course and the craft broke up on landing, leaving her in a coma for six months]].
* ''VideoGame/WarThunder'' has his portrait available as a profile picture, awarded to players who were logged in during a space-themed event celebrating both the anniversary of Yuri's Night and the high number of concurrent players that month. A Soviet cosmonaut helmet based on Gagarin's is also an available cosmetic item to place on your vehicles.

* General Vadim Kozlov in ''VideoGame/CivilizationBeyondEarth'' is heavily modeled after Yuri Gagarin, a fact that is lampshaded in the game itself. The achievement for winning a game as Kozlov is called "Gagarin's Legacy".
* The track "Yuri-G" on ''Music/RidOfMe'' by Music/PJHarvey is a reference to the kosmonaut.
* ''WesternAnimation/MilesFromTomorrowland'': The episode "Yuri's Night" is about the characters celebrating the holiday dedicated to Gagarin.

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "Dark Matters", there is a ship called the U.N.S. ''Gagarin''.
* ''Film/TopGunMaverick'' has an early scene reminiscent of Gagarin's return to Earth, in which Soviet villagers mistook him for an alien. After his prototype hypersonic aircraft explodes midair, Maverick finds himself in a rural part of the country while wearing an advanced flight suit. When he asks where he is, a boy says he's on Earth.
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}''. Before John Crichton launches in Farscape One, his father gives him a puzzle ring given to him by Yuri Gagarin as a good luck charm. It might not have given John luck but it does save his ass in that same episode.
* In the ParodyFic ''Farce Contact'', the crew of Enterprise see the TitleSequence of ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' and realise that Gagarin has been erased from history.

On the 12th of April 1961, Gagarin boarded Vostok 1, which took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and began to orbit the Earth, making Gagarin [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome the first man in space]]. After finishing his orbit, he ejected from his capsule (as planned) and landed in Russia near a village. The first thing he did was ask the villagers for a telephone. But as he was wearing his orange spacesuit and trailing his parachute, [[MistakenForAliens the villagers first thought he was an alien that had just landed]].

Gagarin remained an instructor at Star City, and also began to fly airplanes again to re-certify his pilot's license. On the 27th of March 1968, he and flight instructor Seryogin were flying in an old [=MiG-15UTI=] (a two-seat trainer variant of the obsolete [=MiG-15=] fighter) over Vladimir Oblast when their jet began to plummet. The exact cause of this catastrophe is not known, but may have been unexpected weather, turbulence from another airplane, or a sudden swerve to avoid a collision. At any rate, Gagarin and Seryogin realized that they faced a choice. They could eject from the jet and save themselves, but the jet would then crash into a nearby town. Or they could stay with the airplane and guide it into a crash, sacrificing themselves but protecting the village. [[HeroicSacrifice They chose to save the village, and both pilots perished in the crash.]]

Gagarin remained an instructor at Star City, and also began to fly airplanes again to re-certify his pilot's license. On 27 March 1968, he and flight instructor Seryogin were flying in an old [=MiG-15UTI=] (a two-seat trainer variant of the obsolete [=MiG-15=] fighter) over Vladimir Oblast when their jet began to plummet. The exact cause of this catastrophe is not known, but may have been unexpected weather, turbulence from another airplane, or a sudden swerve to avoid a collision. At any rate, Gagarin and Seryogin realized that they faced a choice. They could eject from the jet and save themselves, but the jet would then crash into a nearby town. Or they could stay with the airplane and guide it into a crash, sacrificing themselves but protecting the village. [[HeroicSacrifice They chose to save the village, and both pilots perished in the crash.]]

On 12 April 1961, Gagarin boarded Vostok 1, which took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome and began to orbit the Earth, making Gagarin [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome the first man in space]]. After finishing his orbit, he ejected from his capsule (as planned) and landed in Russia near a village. The first thing he did was ask the villagers for a telephone. But as he was wearing his orange spacesuit and trailing his parachute, [[MistakenForAliens the villagers first thought he was an alien that had just landed]].

[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin]] (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, and became the first man to fly into space on 12 April 1961, orbiting the Earth and returning to Russia. His flight made him an instant celebrity, and he spent the rest of his life promoting progress and continuing to participate in [[UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace the Soviet space program]].

Gagarin immediately became a celebrity, and toured around the world (except America—President UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy issued an executive order barring Gagarin from entry into the United States) promoting space and science. One city where he was fondly remembered is Manchester, England. On the day he was scheduled to lead a parade, it rained heavily. The authorities offered to close the hood on his car, but he decided he would stand up without hood or umbrella, saying "If all these people have turned out to welcome me and can stand in the rain, so can I."

Gagarin's ashes were buried in the Kremlin Wall Necropolis in Moscow, and several statues of him were dedicated around the world. Millions mourned him as a good man, and a hero to many. They remembered his warm smile, which Soviet space program director Sergei Korolev said was "the smile that lit up the Cold War." In a recent poll, Gagarin was tied at sixth place with [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Captain Kirk]] on the list of greatest space heroes. To this day, 12 April is a major holiday in Russia, and is celebrated as Cosmonautics Day, ensuring Gagarin's legacy will live on. Yuri's Night is a more recent international version, celebrating both Vostok 1 and the first flight of the Space Shuttle exactly twenty years later.

* There is an UrbanLegend that Gagarin, has said something along the lines of "I've been in space, and I've seen no God," playing on the HeavenAbove trope. Most of the reliable sources agree that if something like that was ever said, it was UsefulNotes/NikitaKhrushchev claiming Gagarin had been in space and saw no God. On the contrary Gagarin actually supported the restoration of some of Russia's Orthodox churches, which he believed had value as secular patriotic symbols. According to friend and fellow Cosmonaut Valentin Petrov, Gagarin was also a practicing Russian Orthodox Christian who had his children baptized at Star City.

* In an episode of ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'', Gourry uses Gagarin as an alias.

Gagarin remained an instructor at Star City, and also began to fly airplanes again to re-certify his pilot's license. On 27 March 1968, he and flight instructor Seryogin were flying over Vladimir Oblast when their jet began to plummet. The exact cause of this catastrophe is not known, but may have been unexpected weather, turbulence from another airplane, or a sudden swerve to avoid a collision. At any rate, Gagarin and Seryogin realized that they faced a choice. They could eject from the jet and save themselves, but the jet would then crash into a nearby town. Or they could stay with the airplane and guide it into a crash, sacrificing themselves but protecting the village. [[HeroicSacrifice They chose to save the village, and both pilots perished in the crash.]]

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, and became the first man to fly into space on 12 April 1961, orbiting the Earth and returning to Russia. His flight made him an instant celebrity, and he spent the rest of his life promoting progress and continuing to participate in [[UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace the Soviet space program]].

->''Can it be that you have come from outer space?''
->''As a matter of fact... yes.''
-->-- '''Soviet villager''' and '''Yuri Gagarin''', on his return from space and being mistaken for an alien.