Gagarin was first man in space 60 years ago

Russians are commemorating the achievements of Yuri Gagarin, the cosmonaut who became the first person in space 60 years ago.

Gagarin’s 108-minute mission on April 12 1961 took the Space Age to a new level and marked a historic achievement for the then-Soviet Union, which beat the United States in a tight race to launch a man beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.

For the Soviet people, Gagarin’s spaceflight was a triumph comparable to the victory over the Germans in the Second World War.

It has remained a source of national pride in Russia ever since, a symbol of the country’s bravery and technological prowess.

Gagarin died just seven years after he orbited the planet, but the first monuments glorifying him and his pioneering achievement were erected while he still was alive.

There are dozens of monuments and memorials dedicated to the cosmonaut across Russia, from a giant statue towering over Moscow to a more modest monument on the Sakhalin Island in the Pacific Ocean.

After Gagarin died in a training jet crash in March 1968, he was buried near the Kremlin Wall alongside former Soviet leaders.

The field near Moscow where his plane crashed also has a memorial.

Yuri Gagarin.