On April 12, 1961, at 9:07 a.m. Moscow time, a Soviet spacecraft named “Vostok 1” was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, carrying a human on board into near-Earth orbit.

The first human to fly in space was a military pilot, Senior Lieutenant Yuri Gagarin. The launch was supervised by Sergey Korolev, the chief designer of Soviet spacecraft.

Gagarin spent 108 minutes in orbit. After completing one orbit around the Earth, the spacecraft’s descent module landed in the Saratov region. The landing took place at 10:55 a.m. Moscow time.

On April 14, 1961, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Yuri Gagarin was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In April 1962, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, April 12 was declared as Cosmonautics Day.

On April 7, 2011, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight.

As of April 2025, a total of 138 Soviet and Russian cosmonauts have flown in space. This number includes individuals who participated in orbital missions and encompasses both the Soviet era and the Russian Federation. Since 1978, all records for the longest duration in space have been held by Soviet and Russian cosmonauts.