Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev

Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev – the 3rd Soviet cosmonaut (5th in the world). Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Major General of Aviation. Andriyan Nikolayev was born on 5 September 1929 in the Chuvash village of Shorshely. Until finishing school he bore his father's surname, Grigoryev. Nikolayev graduated from the Mariinsko-Posad Forestry Technical College, the Chernigov Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots, and the N. E. Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy.

 

Nikolayev made two spaceflights: aboard the Vostok-3 spacecraft from 11 to 15 August 1962 he completed 64 orbits around the Earth. He served as commander of the Soyuz-9 spacecraft from 1 to 19 June 1970 together with V. I. Sevastyanov. From 1968 Nikolayev worked as deputy head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. He was elected a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR for several convocations. From 1994 he worked in the office of the Mandate Commission of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Nikolayev wrote several books on space topics, including "Earth's Attraction". He was awarded numerous state honors. Andriyan Nikolayev died on 3 July 2004 as a result of a massive heart attack. He was buried in his native village of Shorshely. His name is commemorated in the name of the Moscow Planetarium and in the names of streets and schools in various cities across Russia.