The first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin portrayed at the Presidential Library's video lecture

On March 11, 2024 the Presidential Library, as part of the video lecture Knowledge of Russia, hosted a lecture entitled “Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin - a citizen and a person”, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the birth of the cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union.

In 2024, on March 9, Yuri Gagarin would have turned 90 years old. Turning to the biography of any person, it is very difficult to choose from a variety of events those from which one can get a true idea of his character, worldview and personal qualities.

A corresponding member of the Interregional public organization “Tsiolkovsky Russian Academy of Cosmonautics”, author of books and publications on the history of astronautics Valery Kupriyanov, talked about Yuri Gagarin’s childhood and adolescence. He cited some little-known facts about Gagarin's qualification as a fighter pilot, explained how the selection and training of the cosmonaut corps was carried out, and told how Gagarin's space flight took place. 

Listeners learned about the life of the first cosmonaut after his flight into space, his social activities and trips abroad. They also talked about Yuri Gagarin’s studies at the N. E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy, work in the cosmonaut corps and the hero’s last flight.

In addition, some legends and myths spread about the first man in space were discussed. At the video lecture, viewers were able to see rare photographs of Yuri Gagarin.

The video lecture is available on the institution's Rutube-channel. 

The Presidential Library’s portal features the Outer Space collection, which includes fragments of newsreels, periodicals, books, postcards, commemorative medals and badges reflecting various milestones in the development of astronautics. Unique newsreels captured Yuri Gagarin before the start of his flight. Writer and journalist Anton Pervushin talks about how this historic flight took place in the video lecture 106 minutes of Yuri Gagarin: declassified details of the first space flight (2016).

The Presidential Library's collections contain declassified and digitized materials from Yuri Gagarin's personal record. Among them are a questionnaire, a detailed table on active military service in the Soviet Army, a list of positions in the cosmonaut corps, from student to pilot-engineer-cosmonaut, information about marital status, characteristics from the place of study and other documents.