14 vivid photos of the Soviet 1960s, when the USSR beat the U.S. in space

1. U-2 incident

On May 1, 1960, Soviet Air Defense Forces shot down the U.S. U-2 reconnaissance plane over the Urals. Pilot Gary Powers was taken prisoner, and was sentenced for spying, but he was soon released after a prisoner exchange with the Soviet intelligence officer, Rudolf Abel.

2. First man in space

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, riding on the Vostok space capsule, became the first human to cross into outer space. His flight lasted 108 minutes, from launch to landing.

3. Berlin wall construction

To keep Western “fascists” from entering East Germany, the German Democratic Republic, with Moscow’s blessing, began construction of the famous (infamous) Berlin Wall. The first stone was laid on August 13, 1961, and for 28 years it physically and ideologically divided the city.

4. KVN show

In 1961, one of the most popular Soviet TV shows - the student humour competition, KVN (“Club of the Funny and Inventive People") - was launched. Today, it’s an extremely profitable commercial project, and successfully continues to entertain audiences in Russia.

5. Novocherkassk massacre

Over 5,000 people, mainly workers at the local electric locomotive plant, gathered in the southern city of Novocherkassk on June 1, 1962, in order to protest a significant deterioration in labor conditions. Failing to stop the crowd heading towards the city administration with two warning volleys, the police opened direct fire on the crowd, killing 26 and injuring 87.

6. Cuban Missile Crisis

When the U.S. placed Jupiter ballistic missiles in Turkey, the Soviets saw this as a major threat, and as a response they sent a contingent of over 50,000 soldiers and nuclear weapons to Cuba, their new communist ally. Only close and intense last-minute cooperation between Nikita Khrushchev and John Kennedy in October 1962 averted a nuclear conflict. 

7. First woman in space

On June 16, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to go into outer space. She spent almost three days in orbit, going around the Earth 48 times in her Vostok 6 space capsule.

8. Counter-culture

A new generation of Soviet Intelligentsia ("Sixtiers") entered the country’s cultural and political life during the so-called Khrushchev’s Thaw, a period of partial liberalization. Mostly believing in communist ideals, they nevertheless actively promoted liberal and anti-totalitarian views. 

9. Fall of Khruschev 

On October 14, 1964, a group of high-ranking officials organized the removal of Nikita Khruschev from power for reasons of "advanced age and ill health". This happened while he was on vacation in Georgia, and Khruschev decided not to put up a fight. Leonid Brezhnev became the new General Secretary of the Communist Party. 

10. Druzhba pipeline

On October 15, 1964, the world's longest oil pipeline was launched. Almost 6,000 km long, the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline started in the eastern part of European Russia and ended in Poland and the German Democratic Republic. The network was improved and enlarged in the years to follow, and remains in use today. 

11. First spacewalk

On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Alexey Leonov became the first human in history to conduct a spacewalk. He exited the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission, and spent 12 minutes in outer space.

12. Samotlor Field 

In 1965, the Samotlor oil field was discovered in Siberia. With an area of 1,752 square kilometres, it became the largest in the Soviet Union and entered the top-10 largest in the world. 

13. Operation Danube

The so-called Prague Spring, the period in 1968 of widespread liberalization and democratization in Czechoslovakia, scared the Soviet leadership, which subsequently organized an invasion with  Warsaw Pact troops to pacify the country. Over half a million troops took part in Operation Danube, which ended with a regime change that more suited Moscow’s interests.  

14. Sino-Soviet border conflict

In 1969, the USSR and China fought the largest conflict in their history. During an undeclared war for the Soviet-controlled Damansky (Zhenbao) Island on the Ussuri River, and which was claimed by the Chinese, both sides lost several hundred soldiers. After hostilities ceased, the island remained a disputed territory until 1991 when it was officially given to China.