Gagarin was escorted in a long motorcade of high-ranking officials through the streets of Moscow to the Kremlin where, in a lavish ceremony, he was awarded the highest Soviet honour, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, by the Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Gagarin dikawal dalam iring-iringan panjang pejabat tinggi melalui jalan-jalan Moskow ke Kremlin di mana, dalam sebuah upacara mewah, ia dianugerahi kehormatan tertinggi Soviet, gelar Pahlawan Uni Soviet, oleh pemimpin Soviet Nikita Khrushchev.