The first human to orbit the earth grew up on one of the collective farms created by the new soviet state. After learning a trade he entered the Soviet Air Force cadet school at Orenburg and graduated in 1957. 

Following his space flight the Soviet government awarded him the Order of Lenin. Gagarin also received the laudatory titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and Pilot Cosmonaut of the Soviet Union. After his death in 1968, his ashes were placed in a niche in the Kremlin wall and the town of Gzhatsk was renamed Gagarin.