The Cosmonaut Training Centre was established on January 11, 1960, by order of Soviet Air Force commander Chief Marshal Konstantin Vershinin.
Notes on verification
Confirmed by official GCTC website, Russian Presidential Library, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, and multiple independent sources agreeing on date, order-giver, and his rank at the time.
Sources
- How Yuri Gagarin Was Picked to Be First in Space (smithsonianmag.com)
- http://www.gctc.su/main.php?id=242 (gctc.su)
- https://www.prlib.ru/en/history/618933 (prlib.ru)
- https://www.gctc.ru/main.php?id=242 (gctc.ru)
- https://rg.ru/2020/01/11/centru-podgotovki-kosmonavtov-ispolnilos-60-let.html (rg.ru)
- https://www.calend.ru/events/254/ (calend.ru)