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[[File:Sputnik.jpg|thumb|400px|The Sputnik in 1957 was the greatest triumph of Soviet technology]]

[[File:Sputnik.jpg|thumb|400px|The Sputnik in 1957 was the greatest triumph of Soviet technology]]

Sputnik--the first earth satellite--was a propagandist's dream come true when it astonished the world in October 1957. There followed a series of firsts, demonstrating the superiority of the big Soviet launching missiles, which could also be used to launch nuclear weapons.  The image of [[Yuri Gagarin]], who became in 1961 the first man to orbit the earth, was made a central theme in Soviet propaganda, used to encourage the young to contribute to the building of communism as well as to enhance Khrushchev's legitimacy as he sought to distance himself from the legacy of the Stalinist past.

Sputnik—the first earth satellite—was a propagandist's dream come true when it astonished the world in October 1957. There followed a series of firsts, demonstrating the superiority of the big Soviet launching missiles, which could also be used to launch nuclear weapons.  The image of [[Yuri Gagarin]], who became in 1961 the first man to orbit the earth, was made a central theme in Soviet propaganda, used to encourage the young to contribute to the building of communism as well as to enhance Khrushchev's legitimacy as he sought to distance himself from the legacy of the Stalinist past.

== Key Events ==

== Key Events ==