The 12th of april (mark) the anniversary of the first manned space flight in 1961. it (be) an important day for the soviet union, and for yuri gagarin, the first cosmonaut, a farmer's son and father of two. the world quickly (get) to know the face of the smiling russian in his space suit standing beside soviet leader nikita khrushchev, receiving flowers and honors. the soviet union (have) many official heroes, but gagarin (be) perhaps one of the most genuinely popular. a large number of boys (receive) the name yuri in his honor, and thousands of them (dream) of following in his footsteps. gagarin (be) young, courageous and appealing, the ordinary boy who (dazzle) the world with his exploit. he (become) an instant soviet celebrity, people (turn) to him for help and (flood) him with letters. his life (cut) short in a tragic plane crash in 1968. these days the russian space program survives by letting foreign cosmonauts spend time at the mir space station for a fat fee. being a cosmonaut these days (seem) like a lot of risk and hard work for little money and the conquest of space (be) hardly high on the russian government's list of priorities at this moment. and nonetheless, gagarin (remain) a twentieth century hero. more than any cold war era triumph in the rivalry between two systems, it was a symbol of human triumph.

The 12th of April marks the anniversary of the first manned space flight in 1961. It was an important day for the Soviet Union, and for Yuri Gagarin, the first cosmonaut, a farmer's son and father of two. The world quickly got to know the face of the smiling Russian in his space suit standing beside Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, receiving flowers and honors.
The Soviet Union had many official heroes, but Gagarin was perhaps one of the most genuinely popular. A large number of boys had received the name Yuri in his honor, and thousands of them dreamed of following in his footsteps. Gagarin was young, courageous and appealing, the ordinary boy who dazzled the world with his exploit. He became an instant Soviet celebrity, people turned to him for help and flooded him with letters.
His life cut short in a tragic plane crash in 1968.
These days the Russian space program survives by letting foreign cosmonauts spend time at the Mir space station for a fat fee. Being a cosmonaut these days seems like a lot of risk and hard work for little money and the conquest of space is hardly high on the Russian government's list of priorities at this moment.
And nonetheless, Gagarin remains a twentieth century hero. More than any cold war era triumph in the rivalry between two systems, it was a symbol of human triumph.