<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (Russian: Ю́рий Алексе́евич Гага́рин, IPA: (ˈjʉrjɪj ɐljɪˈksjejɪvjɪtɕ ɡɐˈɡarjɪn); 9 March 1934--27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut . He was the first human to journey into outer space when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12 April 1961 . </P> <P> Gagarin became an international celebrity and was awarded many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, the nation's highest honour . Vostok 1 marked his only spaceflight, but he served as backup crew to the Soyuz 1 mission (which ended in a fatal crash). Gagarin later became deputy training director of the Cosmonaut Training Centre outside Moscow, which was later named after him . Gagarin died in 1968 when the MiG - 15 training jet he was piloting crashed . The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale awards the Yuri A. Gagarin Gold Medal in his honor . </P>

Who was the first russian to orbit the earth