Editing Yuri Gagarin (section)

=== Selection and training ===
{{See also|Vostok programme}}
[[File:Gagarin Capsule.jpg|thumb|Gagarin's [[Vostok (spacecraft)#Vostok 3KA|Vostok 3KA capsule]] and an effigy of him on display at the [[RKK Energiya museum]] in 2010]]
[[File:Gagarin-skafander.jpg|thumb|Gagarin's Vostok 1 spacesuit]]
Gagarin's selection for the [[Vostok programme]] was overseen by the Central Flight Medical Commission led by Major General Konstantin Fyodorovich Borodin of the Soviet Army Medical Service. He underwent physical and psychological testing conducted at Central Aviation Scientific-Research Hospital, in Moscow, commanded by Colonel A.S. Usanov, a member of the commission. The commission also included Colonel Yevgeniy Anatoliyevich Karpov, who later commanded the training centre, Colonel Vladimir Ivanovich Yazdovskiy, the head physician for Gagarin's flight, and Major-General Aleksandr Nikolayevich Babiychuk, a physician [[flag officer]] on the Soviet Air Force General Staff to the [[Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force#Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Force|Commander in Chief of the Air Force]].<ref name="Hall, Shayler & Vis p. 120" /> The commission limited their selection to pilots between 25 and 30 years old. The chief engineer of the programme [[Sergei Korolev]] also specified that candidates, to fit in the limited space in the [[Vostok (spacecraft)|Vostok capsule]], should weigh less than {{convert|72|kg|lbs|abbr=on}} and be no taller than {{convert|1.70|m|ftin}};<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=244}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Norberg|2013|p=16}}</ref> Gagarin was {{Convert|1.57|m|ftin}} tall.<ref>{{Harvnb|Impey|2015|p=51}}</ref>

From a pool of 154 qualified pilots short-listed by their Air Force units, the military physicians chose 29 cosmonaut candidates, of whom 20 were approved by the Credential Committee of the [[Government of the Soviet Union|Soviet government]]. The first twelve, including Gagarin, were approved on 7 March 1960 and eight more were added in a series of subsequent orders issued until June.<ref name="Hall, Shayler & Vis p. 120">{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=120}}</ref>{{efn|The first twelve announced on 7 March 1960 were Lieutenant [[Alexei Leonov]], Senior Lieutenants [[Ivan Anikeyev]], [[Valery Bykovsky]], Yuri Gagarin, [[Viktor Gorbatko]], [[Grigori Nelyubov]], [[Andriyan Nikolayev]], [[German Titov]], [[Boris Volynov]], and [[Georgy Shonin]], Captain [[Pavel Popovich]] and Engineer Captain [[Vladimir Komarov]]. On 9 March 1960, Senior Lieutenant [[Yevgeny Khrunov]] was added. Senior Lieutenants [[Dmitri Zaikin]] and [[Valentin Filatyev]] joined the group on 25 March. They were followed by Major [[Pavel Belyayev]] and Senior Lieutenants [[Valentin Bondarenko]], [[Valentin Varlamov]] and [[Mars Rafikov]], who joined on 28 April 1960. Captain [[Anatoly Kartashov (cosmonaut)|Anatoly Kartashov]] was the last to join in June 1960.<ref name="Hall, Shayler & Vis p. 120" />}}

Gagarin began training at the [[Khodynka Aerodrome|Khodynka Airfield]] in central Moscow on 15 March 1960. The training regimen involved vigorous and repetitive physical exercises which [[Alexei Leonov]], a member of the initial group of twelve, described as akin to training for the [[Olympic Games]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=121}}</ref> In April 1960, they began parachute training in [[Saratov Oblast]] and each man completed about 40 to 50 jumps from both low and high altitude, over both land and water.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 248">{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=248}}</ref>

Gagarin was a candidate favoured by his peers; when they were asked to vote anonymously for a candidate besides themselves they would like to be the first to fly, all but three chose Gagarin.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 262" /> One of these candidates, [[Yevgeny Khrunov]], believed that Gagarin was very focused and was demanding of himself and others when necessary.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 261" /> On 30 May 1960, Gagarin was further selected for an accelerated training group, known as the [[Vanguard Six]] or Sochi Six,<ref>{{harvnb|Cavallaro|2018|p=96}}</ref>{{efn|The group was also nicknamed the "Lilies" by their fellow cosmonauts, a reference to "Lilies of the Valley", a song by composer [[Oscar Feltsman]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QFMEAAAAMBAJ&q=Lilies&pg=PA124 |title=How bright it is – how incredibly beautiful! |last1=Belyayev |first1=Pavel |date=14 May 1965 |magazine=Life |last2=Leonov |first2=Alexei |name-list-style=amp |page=124 |access-date=23 October 2020 |archive-date=11 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210311053441/https://books.google.com/books?id=QFMEAAAAMBAJ&q=Lilies&pg=PA124 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="HallShaylerVis p. 122">{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=122}}</ref>}} from which the first cosmonauts of the Vostok programme would be chosen. The other members of the group were [[Anatoly Kartashov (cosmonaut)|Anatoly Kartashov]], [[Andriyan Nikolayev]], [[Pavel Popovich]], [[Gherman Titov]], and [[Valentin Varlamov]]. However, Kartashov and Varlamov were injured and replaced by Khrunov and [[Grigory Nelyubov]].<ref name="HallShaylerVis p. 122" />

As several of the candidates selected for the programme including Gagarin did not have [[higher education]] degrees, they were enrolled in a correspondence course programme at the [[Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy]]. Gagarin enrolled in September 1960 and did not earn his [[specialist diploma]] until early 1968.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=135}}</ref><ref name="Lebedev2011-8">{{cite journal |last=Lebedev |first=Vitaliy |date=August 2011 |title=Диплом гагарина |trans-title=Gagarin's diploma |url=https://dfnc.ru/images/magazines/PDF/august_2011.pdf#page=119 |journal=New Defence Order Strategy |language=ru |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=117–18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170122145958/http://dfnc.ru/images/magazines/PDF/august_2011.pdf#page=119 |archive-date=22 January 2017 |access-date=13 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Gagarin was also subjected to experiments that were designed to test physical and psychological endurance, including [[Hypoxia (medical)|oxygen starvation]] tests in which the cosmonauts were locked in an isolation chamber and the air slowly pumped out. He also trained for the upcoming flight by experiencing [[g-force]]s in a centrifuge.<ref name="HallShaylerVis p. 122" /><ref>{{harvnb|Doran|Bizony|2011|pp=34–38}}</ref> Psychological tests included placing the candidates in an [[anechoic chamber]] in complete isolation; Gagarin was in the chamber from 26 July to 5 August.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hall|Shayler|Vis|2007|p=77}}</ref><ref name="Siddiqi p. 248" /> In August 1960, a Soviet Air Force doctor evaluated his personality as follows:

{{blockquote|text=Modest; gets embarrassed when his humour gets a little too racy; high degree of intellectual development evident in Yuriy; fantastic memory; distinguishes himself from his colleagues by his sharp and far-ranging sense of attention to his surroundings; a well-developed imagination; quick reactions; persevering, prepares himself painstakingly for his activities and training exercises, handles celestial mechanics and mathematical formulae with ease as well as excels in higher mathematics; does not feel constrained when he has to defend his point of view if he considers himself right; appears that he understands life better than a lot of his friends.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 262">{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=262}}</ref>}}

The Vanguard Six were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961<ref name="HallShaylerVis p. 122" /> and underwent a two-day examination conducted by a special interdepartmental commission led by Lieutenant-General [[Nikolai Kamanin]], the overseer of the Vostok programme. The commission was tasked with ranking the candidates based on their mission readiness for the first human Vostok mission. On 17 January, they were tested in a simulator at the M. M. Gromov Flight-Research Institute on a full-size mockup of the Vostok capsule. Gagarin, Nikolayev, Popovich, and Titov all received excellent marks on the first day of testing, in which they were required to describe the various phases of the mission followed by questions from the commission.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 261">{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|p=261}}</ref> On the second day, they were given a written examination, following which the special commission ranked Gagarin as the best candidate. He and the next two highest-ranked cosmonauts, Titov and Nelyubov, were sent to [[Tyuratam]] for final preparations.<ref name="Siddiqi p. 261" /> Gagarin and Titov were selected to train in the flight-ready spacecraft on 7 April. Historian [[Asif Azam Siddiqi]] writes of the final selection:<ref>{{Harvnb|Siddiqi|2000|pp=271–72}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|In the end, at the State Commission meeting on April 8, Kamanin stood up and formally nominated Gagarin as the primary pilot and Titov as his backup. Without much discussion, the commission approved the proposal and moved on to other last-minute logistical issues. It was assumed that in the event Gagarin developed health problems prior to liftoff, Titov would take his place, with Nelyubov acting as {{em|his}} backup.}}