(3)
Gagarin in a spacesuitGagarin’s death was the subject of international speculation and theorizing for decades. The initial story was that Gagarin and the instructor, Vladimir Seryogin, moved quickly to avoid a bird and crashed. Rumors popped up that they had been drunk, or possibly shooting at deer from the jet, which have to be some of the most Russian rumors I’ve ever heard, or even that the plane could have been sabotaged when the Soviet leadership had a conflict with Gagarin.