Yuri Gagarin

19 hrs. 36 min.

Language Russian

Author Lev Danilkin

Narrator Sergey Kirsanov

Description

Surveys show that Yuri Gagarin is the main hero of Russian history of the 20th century. How surprising, then, that for many years in Russia no adequate—honest, objective, relevant to the present day—biography of the first cosmonaut was created.

“Yuri Gagarin” by Lev Danilkin is an attempt at a “final,” if such a thing is possible, biography that closes all the gaps in the story of “the Red Icarus.” The most complete chronicle of Gagarin’s life to date—and an examination of what the Gagarin myth is and what lies behind the idea of “Gagarin.” Interviews with witnesses and a thorough revision of Russian and foreign sources helped the author answer the basic questions:

Is Gagarin merely an embodiment of Soviet design—or did he truly possess some unique qualities?
What really happened on April 12, 1961?
How did the first cosmonaut deal with “Gagarinmania,” the status of the planet’s most famous person?
What is Gagarin: a product of the regime and the era—or their mirror and justification?
Was there a conflict between him and the political leadership of the USSR?
What is the real cause of his death?
Was his success just luck— the result of conscious building of his life—or was it the realization of some higher plan?
What would have become of Gagarin and the USSR—if “the first citizen of the Universe” had not died in March 1968 and had lived to this day?