Famous Russian Astronauts

Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was the first from his country to fly into space twice. He died when his Soyuz 1 capsule crashed while re-entering the Earth, due to a parachute failure, on April 24, 1967, which made him the first human to die in a space flight.

Soviet and Russian mechanical-engineer and retired cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev who spent 803 days, 9 hours and 39 minutes in space over the span of six spaceflights held the record of spending most time in space before his record was surpassed by Gennady Padalka on June 28, 2015. At present Krikalev ranks third in the list after Padalka and Yuri Malenchenko.  

Valeri Polyakov is a Russian retired astronaut who holds the record for the longest single stay (437 days 18 hours) in space. He achieved this record when he stayed aboard the Mir space station for over 14 months during one of his trips. Over the course of his illustrious career, Valeri Polyakov was honored with several prestigious awards.

Russian Air Force officer and a Roscosmos cosmonaut Gennady Ivanovich Padalka is the current record holder for the most time spent in space. He achieved such feat spending 878 days in space over five missions (including one Mir Mission and four International Space Station Missions) and surpassing the earlier record of cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev on June 28, 2015.

In 1982 Russian former aviator and Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya flew to space aboard Soyuz T-7 becoming the second woman to fly to space. She again went to space during Soyuz T-12 mission and this time she not only achieved the feat of becoming the first woman to fly to space twice but also the first woman to perform spacewalk.

Soviet cosmonaut Vladislav Volkov flew to space aboard Soyuz 7 in 1969 and Soyuz 11 in 1971. The latter was the only crewed mission to board Salyut 1, the first space-station of the world. It however ended in disaster resulting in death of all three crew members including Volkov thus marking them as the only humans who died in space. 

Initially part of the Soviet army, Andrian Nikolayev later became a pilot and then joined the Communist Party, before stepping into cosmonaut training. He soon scripted history as the third Russian cosmonaut to make it to space. He was also the husband of pioneering female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

Greek-origin Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin is a trained mechanical engineer who initially worked for Energia. He has been on 5 spaceflights and has been named a Hero of the Russian Federation. He and 4 other Russian cosmonauts raised the Russian flag at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

Former Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko currently ranks second for the most time spent in space. He worked on missions of both Mir and International Space Station (ISS). While serving as Commander of Expedition 7 of the ISS, Malenchenko married Ekaterina Dmitrieva, who was in Texas at that time, and with this Malenchenko became the first person who married in space.  

Soviet cosmonaut Viktor Patsayev created history when he, along with 2 colleagues, Georgy T. Dobrovolsky and Vladislav N. Volkov, created the first manned orbital scientific station on their Soyuz 11 spacecraft. The crew were found dead in their capsule even after making a normal landing in Kazakhstan.

Before starting his career as a cosmonaut, Sergei Avdeyev was an engineer for NPO Energiya. He is also an amateur radio operator, with the call sign RV3DW. A Hero of the Russian Federation, he once held the world record for time dilation by a human being.

Soviet/Russian cosmonaut Valery Kubasov carried-out first wielding experiments in space with Georgy Shonin during his first space mission Soyuz 6. He served as flight engineer in the mission and also in Apollo–Soyuz mission, the first crewed international space mission undertaken jointly by the US and the Soviet Union. Kubasov later became commander of the Soyuz 36, his last spaceflight.

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Korniyenko was initially a flight engineer on the International Space Station. He and American astronaut Scott Kelly later spent 340 days in orbit, in what was a year-long mission, from March 2015 to March 2016. In 2016, he was seen playing himself in the Russian comedy film Yolki 5.

Part of a Soviet boy scout during World War II, cosmonaut Konstantin Feoktistov narrowly escaped death in the hands of Germans at 16. He later became part of the world’s first multi-manned spacecraft, Voskhod 1. As an engineer, he designed the Salyut and Mir space stations.

Boris Yegorov was not part of the world’s first multi-manned spaceflight, Voskhod, but also made history by becoming the first physician to go into space. He specialized in the inner-ear sense of balance mechanism of aerospace medicine. Of his many awards was the Hero of the Soviet Union.

Sergey Volkov, the son of legendary Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Volkov, became the first second-generation cosmonaut. He was part of 3 missions of the International Space Station and did 4 spacewalks during those missions. He was also a lieutenant colonel in the Russian air force and became a Hero of the Russian Federation.

Former Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov was in his teens when he resolved to become a cosmonaut, inspired by the accomplishment of Yuri Gagarin as the first man who flew to space. Volkov took three space flights during his career including two for the Mir space station. His son Sergey Volkov followed his footsteps and became the first second-generation cosmonaut.

Initially a coppersmith at the Russian aircraft manufacturer OKB-1, or RSC Energia, Gennady Strekalov later joined the company’s engineer cosmonaut group. He not only flew 5 times in space, but was also part of the first Russian-American collaborative flight to the Mir space station. He was made a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Known for his 3 space missions of the Soyuz program, Soviet cosmonaut and physicist Nikolai Rukavishnikov became the 50th human to travel into space. Post-retirement, he worked for Energia. He was also a 2-time Hero of the Soviet Union and was honored by Bulgaria and Mongolia, too.

Initially an engineer with aerospace manufacturer Energia, Russian cosmonaut Yelena Kondakova later scripted history as the world’s first female astronaut to make a long-duration spaceflight. She was made a Hero of the Russian Federation and later also served in the lower house of the Russian parliament.

Soviet cosmonaut Pyotr Klimuk made history when he became the first Belarusian to travel into space. He flew in space thrice and headed Moscow’s Yury Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. The 2-time Hero of the Soviet Union later also served as an advisor to the president of Belarus.