Nowadays, the person who would be the first to commit an act similar to the flight of Yu.A. Gagarin into space, the next morning he woke up a rich man. But, this is today, and in Soviet times, the rewards that the USSR government forked out for it turned out to be more than modest.
The most interesting thing is that the material gratitude to Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin allocated by the authorities was not called a prize or a reward, but passed through the column "gifts". A month after the famous flight on April 18, 1961, the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the Gifts of Yu.A. Gagarin. " The document clearly spelled out how the Soviet authorities planned to reward the first cosmonaut of the planet.
According to the text of the document Yu.A. Gagarin was allocated a Volga car, an apartment building for his parents, furniture and equipment. In addition, the astronaut was provided with a four-room apartment at the duty station. Moreover, the furniture stood out for the bedroom, dining room, nursery and office. For a comfortable life, household appliances were also included: a Rubin TV, a Lux radio, a washing machine, a vacuum cleaner and a refrigerator. All! The cost of these gifts should have been paid from the reserve fund of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The list of “equipment” that was to be provided to the first astronaut on the planet looks interesting enough. Translated from the official language into Russian by Yu.A. Gagarin and his family should have been allocated things that were scarce in the USSR. The astronaut himself was supposed to: a light overcoat, a light summer coat, a raincoat, two suits, two pairs of shoes, six shirts, two hats, six pairs of socks, six pairs of silk underwear, six pairs of sets of underpants and shirts, six ties, one pair of gloves, one electric razor, two suitcases and two sets of military uniforms.
It is noteworthy that the government did not “outfit” the wife and two daughters of Yuri Gagarin. His wife Valentina was given: a light overcoat, a light summer coat, a raincoat, three dresses, a black suit, two hats, six pairs of stockings, three pairs of shoes, two handbags, two pairs of gloves, two pairs of scarves, two blouses and one jacket. The astronaut’s daughters were supposed to have: a crib, a pram, four woolen dresses, two coats, two hats, four pairs of shoes, six pairs of linen, dolls, and a dowry. Moreover, almost the entire list of children's things was intended for Elena, the eldest daughter of the astronaut. For the youngest daughter Galina, who was just born in the spring of 1961, only the so-called “children's dowry” stood out. Under this intriguing name was understood the things necessary for a newborn child.
The most interesting thing is that, showing miracles of unprecedented care, the Soviet government did not forget about anyone from the cosmonaut's family. Parents, as mentioned above, were allocated a prefabricated house consisting of three rooms, as well as a TV, radio and furniture for three rooms. Of the things of mother Yu.A. Gagarin was given two coats, a cloak, two dresses, a down scarf, two pairs of shoes, six pairs of linen, six pairs of stockings and a sweater. The father of Yuri Alekseevich, in turn, was supposed to: two coats, a cap, two suits, two pairs of boots, four ties, six shirts and six pairs of socks. The sister and two brothers of the astronaut were given a thousand rubles each.
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