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NEWS ABOUT: Yuri Gagarin

More About:  space race • defection • Rudolf Nureyev • space flight • Cold War • USSR • ballet • KGB • Soviet Union • Russia

Soviets Lied About Flawed '61 Space Flight

Yuri Gagarin's flight did not go perfectly, new book claims

(Newser) - When Yuri Gagarin took the first manned flight into space in 1961, the Soviet Union touted it as a major Cold War triumph for Communist ideology. But the flight wasn’t as perfect as Soviet officials claimed, a new book asserts. In truth, due to two miscalculations by scientists, Gagarin... More »

KGB Doggedly Stalked Nureyev

Russians wanted to break defector dancer’s legs

(Newser) - He was never interested in politics, but Rudolf Nureyev was a KGB scourge for decades after his 1961 defection. The famed ballet dancer’s colleagues were glad to see him go—‘Rudik’ was a prima donna to management and competition for fellow performers—but the state was incensed, the... More »

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