After his trailblazing flight into space, Yury Gagarin did not belong to himself any more. He became a citizen of the world.
After his trailblazing flight into space, Yury Gagarin did not belong to himself any more. He became a citizen of the world. His first trip abroad after the historical flight was to Czechoslovakia, which took place 50 years ago, on April 28, 1961. Gagarin’s tour around the world included 30 countries. Photo: Yury Gagarin meets with Soviet models. (London, July 1961)
In July 1961, Gagarin was invited to the United Kingdom by a foundry workers union. During that visit the world’s first cosmonaut met with Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen broke with tradition and posed for a photograph with Gagarin. She said he was not an ordinary person, but a heavenly man; therefore, there was no breach in protocol. Photo: Yury Gagarin at the Tower of London. (London, July 1961)
In 1961 alone, Gagarin visited Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Finland, Great Britain, Poland, Cuba, Brazil, with a short stop in Curacao, Canada, Iceland, Hungary, India, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and Afghanistan. Photo (from left): Yury Gagarin, Cuban President Osvaldo Dorticos and Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro in the stands of a stadium during a national holiday in Cuba. (Havana, July 26, 1961)
Yury Gagarin visits Canada. August 5, 1961.
Yury Gagarin meets with glider pilots in Delhi. November, 1961.
Yury Gagarin, Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union, in Greece. February 12, 1962.
Yury Gagarin, Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, Hero of the Soviet Union, in Greece. February 12, 1962.
June 1, 1962: Soviet pilot and cosmonaut Yury Gagarin and Soviet Ambassador to Japan Nikolai Fedorenko, center, with Japanese friends.
August 6, 1962: Cosmonaut Yury Gagarin at the 8th World Festival of Youth and Students in Helsinki.
September 18, 1963: Yury Gagarin visits France.
