A few of the many "first" of the Russian Space Industry:

First space ship:
"Vostok" – April 12, 1961.

First man in space:
Yuri Gagarin made his historic flight on April 12, 1961.

First simultaneous flight if two space ships:
A.G. Nikolaev, P.R. Popovich, "Vostok-3," "Vostok-4" – August, 1962.

First to Mars:
"Mars-1" – November 1, 1962.

First woman in space:
V.V. Tereshkova, "Vostok-6" – June 16-19, 1963.