Cosmonauts Collection

Soyuz docking mission, news reports, 1969
Front-page Western news reports on the Soviet Soyuz docking mission of January 1969, the first time two manned spacecraft had docked

Soyuz 11 crew before launch, 1971
Soyuz 11 crew before launch. Soviet cosmonauts (left to right) Georgy Dobrovolsky, Viktor Patsayev and Vladislav Volkov at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Mir space station cosmonauts, 1987
Mir space station cosmonauts. Soviet cosmonauts Yuri Romanenko and Aleksandr Laveykin assembling an electrical power pack on the Mir space station, in 1987

Lt. Col Valery Bykovsky, Soviet cosmonaut at London Heathrow Airport, Thursday 19th October 1967. Valery Bykovsky set a space endurance record when he spent five days in orbit aboard Vostok 5 in

Yuri Gagarin, Soviet Cosmonaut, the first human to journey into outer space when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth (12th April 1961), visits Britain, Tuesday 11th July 1961

Soviet Russian cosmonauts Tereshkova and Bykovsky
The Soviet Russian cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova (b 1937) and Lieutenant Colonel Valery Bykovsky (b 1934). They had each undertaken a space mission in June 1963, Bykovsky in the Vostok 5

Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolayeva and Yuri Gagarin were heartily welcomed when they visited the frontier guards in Berlin
3638431 Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolayeva and Yuri Gagarin were heartily welcomed when they visited the frontier guards in Berlin on 20 October 1963 (b/w photo) by German Photographer (20th Century)

Lt. Col Valery Bykovsky, Soviet cosmonaut enjoys a cup of tea with Lord Mayor Alderman Mrs Elizabeth Yarwood, during a tour of the city, Manchester, 24th October 1967

Yuri Gagarin, Soviet Cosmonaut, the first human to journey into outer space when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth (12th April 1961), visits Britain, Tuesday 11th July 1961

Crew of the Voskhod 1 spacecraft, 1964
Crew of the Voskhod 1 spacecraft. Soviet cosmonauts Konstantin Feoktistov (left, 1926-2009), Boris Yegorov (centre, 1937-1994) and Vladimir Komarov (right, 1927-1967)

Model of Mir space station interior
Museum model of the Mir space station interior. Mir was launched by the USSR in February 1986 and spent 15 years in orbit around the Earth, being used to carry out numerous scientific experiments

Voskhod 2 crew training, 1965
Voskhod 2 crew training in March 1965, before their launch into Earth orbit later that month. Soviet cosmonauts Pavel Belyayev (1925-1970, centre) and Alexei Leonov (born 1934)

First Soviet cosmonaut squad, 1961
First Soviet cosmonaut squad, in Sochi, Russia, in May 1961. This photograph was taken soon after the worlds first successful orbital flight, by Yuri Gagarin

Portrait of Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, the first man in space. Citizen of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Hero of the Soviet Union, Flyer-Spaceman of the USSR

Two men in astronaut suits upside down being watched by two men in orange suits, inside vacuum chamber

Astronauts protective suit and life support system

Soviet cosmonaut alexei leonov doing the worlds first space walk (e, v, a) during the voskhod 2 mission in 1965

Soviet cosmonauts during television show broadcast from the central tv station in moscow, ussr, june 1963

The orlan-dma semi-hard spacesuit with the umk device, 1990

The crews of the soyuz 6, soyuz 7 and soyuz 8 space missions arrive at vnukovo airport in moscow on october 22, 1969, they reporting to the heads of the ussr government

Soviet cosmonaut alexander viktorenko training in the hydro-laboratory of the gagarin training center for the soyuz tm-8 mission, 1988

Alexei yeliseev and vitaly sevastianov in discussion prior to the soyuz 10 mission, 1971

A soviet cosmonaut training in the hydro-laboratory of the gagarin training center, 1989

Cosmonaut nikolayev aboard soyuz-9, 1970

Soviet cosmonaut pavel belyayev, voskhod 2 mission, 1965

Voskhod 2 mission, soviet cosmonaut alexei leonov during worlds first space walk (eva) in 1965

Valery kubasov in the capsule during the soyuz 6 mission, 1970

Soviet cosmonauts andrian nikolayev and vitali sevastyanov during the soyuz 9 mission, 1970

The crew of the soviet space mission soyuz 14 (l to r) commander pavel popovich and engineer yuri artyukhin during traing at the gagarin cosmonaut training center, july 1974

Soviet cosmonauts alexey leonov (right) and pavel belyayev in the cabin of the voskhod 2 spacecraft prior to take-off, 1965

Soviet cosmonaut viktor afanasyev about to start an eva simulation at the gagarin training center in preparation for the soyuz tm-11 mission, 1989

Leonid brezhnev speaking at a meeting in the kremlin palace in honor of all those who participated in the success of the soyuz 6, soyuz 7, and soyuz 8 space missions, october 22, 1969

Vladimir komarov undergoing training as back-up for cosmonaut pavel popovich in1962

Cuban researcher-cosmonaut lieutenant-colonel arnaldo tamayo mendez in a simulator at the gagarin cosmonauts training center preparing for the soyuz-38 space mission to the salyut 6 space station

Leonov and Kubasov inside Soyuz-19
Soyuz-19 crew. Soviet cosmonauts Alexei Leonov (born 1934) and Valeri Kubasov (born 1935) onboard the Soyuz-19 spacecraft

Salyut 7 space station in orbit, 1980s C016 / 6372
Salyut 7 space station in orbit. This Soviet space station was in orbit for nearly nine years from its launch on 19 April 1982

Soyuz spacecraft in Earth orbit, artwork
Soyuz spacecraft in Earth orbit. Artwork of a Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft at sunset over the Atlantic Ocean at an orbital altitude of 320 kilometres

Soyuz spacecraft at the Moon, artwork
Soyuz spacecraft at the Moon. Artwork of a Soyuz TMA-M spacecraft (right) connected to an extended stay module (centre, labelled Future in Cyrillic), both with a crew capacity of three

ISS Expedition 32 crew, August 2012 C016 / 4208
ISS Expedition 32 crew. Astronauts and cosmonauts inside the Kibo laboratory module of the International Space Station (ISS)

Cosmonauts in training C014 / 0154
Cosmonauts in training. Cuban cosmonaut Arnaldo Mendez (right, born 1942) and Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko (centre, born 1944) during water landing training for the Soyuz 38 mission

Mural depicting Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, first human in space, and Mongolian people with white doves, signifing peace and friendship between two countries, built in 1970s Communist era

Soyuz TM-7 mission cosmonauts
Soyuz cosmonauts being interviewed after a successful landing. The cosmonauts are, from left to right, Valery Polyakov, Alexander Volkov and Sergei Krikalev

Cosmonaut training

Cosmonauts in training tank at Star City, Russia
Cosmonaut training. Cosmonauts undergoing training in a water tank at Star City, Russia. The large water tank is used to allow training for extravehicular activity (EVA)

Belyayev and Leonov, Soviet cosmonauts
Belyayev and Leonov (right), Soviet cosmonauts, in military uniform. Alexei A. Leonov (born 1934) performed the first ever spacewalk (extravehicular activity, EVA)

Soviet-French space crew, 1981
French-Soviet space mission training. Clockwise from right are French astronaut Patrick Baudry, and Soviet cosmonauts Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov

Apollo-Soyuz Project crew, 1975
Apollo-Soyuz Project crew in July 1975. This was a joint project between the USA and the USSR (flags at left and right). The Soviet cosmonauts (green suits), commander Alexei Leonov (born 1934)

Third Salyut 7 space station crew, 1984
Third Salyut 7 space station crew, after landing near Arkalyk in Kazakhstan, USSR, on 2nd October 1984. From left to right they are: Leonid Kizim, spacecraft commander; Vladimir Solovyov

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"Cosmonauts: Pioneers of Space Exploration" In the vast expanse of the cosmos, brave souls embarked on extraordinary missions that captivated the world. From the historic Soyuz docking mission in 1969 to the valiant efforts of Soviet Russian cosmonauts Tereshkova and Bykovsky, these intrepid explorers pushed boundaries and expanded our understanding of outer space. News reports echoed with excitement as they chronicled each milestone achieved by these fearless individuals. In 1971, a snapshot captured the determined faces of the Soyuz 11 crew before their launch, showcasing their unwavering commitment to scientific progress. The year 1987 witnessed another remarkable feat when Mir space station cosmonauts ventured into uncharted territory. Their presence aboard this orbiting laboratory symbolized mankind's relentless pursuit of knowledge beyond Earth's confines. Among them stood Lt. Col Valery Bykovsky, a distinguished Soviet cosmonaut whose achievements resonated far beyond his homeland. His visit to London Heathrow Airport was met with admiration and curiosity from those who recognized his contributions to humanity's quest for exploration. However, it was Yuri Gagarin who etched his name indelibly in history as he became the first human to journey into outer space in 1961. This momentous event forever changed our perception of what lay beyond our planet's atmosphere. Gagarin's legacy continued as he joined forces with Valentina Tereshkova-Nikolayeva during a visit to Berlin in October 1963. The black-and-white photograph captures their warm reception by frontier guards, highlighting their status as global icons representing courage and scientific advancement. A portrait immortalizes Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin—a man whose smile radiates both humility and pride for his groundbreaking achievement. His image serves as a reminder that dreams can indeed become reality through determination and audacity.