I am surprised nobody mentioned why it crashed. Technical flaws could be expected on prototype aircraft. And Soyuz mostly worked fine without major redesign for several years.<p>Sojuz program was postponed, while soviets worked on Voschod. In result Soyuz 1 was put into storage for several months. Parachutes were rolled into capsules all that time, and nobody repackaged them before start. Parachutes failed to open on landing.<p>My source is Karel Pacner. Well known  Czechoslovak journalist who writes mostly about space exporation. He was only journalist from soviet block who covered Apollo 11 launch onsite from Florida. After soviets opened archives he studied their records and wrote several books.