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This year marks 65 years since the first space flight in human history, performed by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin on April 12, 1961. Since then, April 12, in commemoration of this great event, first in the USSR and later in the post‑Soviet countries, Cosmonautics Day is celebrated – a holiday symbolizing humanity's technical achievements, its boldest dreams and aspirations. On this day, people all over the world remember the first human flight into space and the advanced achievements in space exploration. At the initiative of the UN General Assembly, April 12 was proclaimed the International Day of Human Space Flight.

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin made the first flight into space in history. The Vostok‑1 spacecraft with the 27‑year‑old cosmonaut on board took off from the Baikonur launch pad and spent 108 minutes in Earth's orbit.

Yuri Gagarin's flight caused great excitement and admiration not only in the USSR but all over the world. He became a symbol of the technical and scientific superiority of the Soviet space program, and Gagarin himself became a national hero. After the first cosmonaut's flight, many countries began to develop their own space programs. The first human flight opened the way for further space exploration and inspired many young people around the world to seek to understand the secrets of the Universe.

After returning from space, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin wrote a short note that became a touching message to posterity: "Having flown around the Earth in a satellite ship, I saw how beautiful our planet is. People, let us preserve and increase this beauty, not destroy it."