Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev ( Chuvash and russian: Андриян Григорьевич Николаев; 5 September 1929 – 3 July 2004) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally ...

. In 1962, aboard

Vostok 3 Vostok 3 (russian: Восток-3, lit=Orient 3' or 'East 3) and Vostok 4 (, 'Orient 4' or 'East 4') were Soviet space program flights in August 1962, intended to determine the ability of the human body to function in conditions of weightlessne ...

, he became the third Soviet cosmonaut to fly into space. Nikolayev was an ethnic Chuvash and is considered as the first Turkic person who flew into space.

Early life

Andrian Grigoryevich Nikolayev was born on September 5, 1929, in Sorseli, a village in the Chuvash region of the

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchm ...

valley, and spent his time growing up on a collective farm.

Education and career

Nikolayev supported his family following the death of his father in 1944, however this was not preferred by his mother, who preferred that he earn an education. Nikolayev later entered medical school before he joined the Soviet army. During his training Nikolayev was able to maintain a very calm state during stressful situations. Nikolayev's calm made him a fair candidate for becoming a cosmonaut. His future colleagues Yuri Gagarin, Gherman Titov, and seventeen others joined him in March 1960. Nikolayev's future wife was cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, and he reportedly kissed her goodbye before boarding Vostok 3.

History

Nikolayev flew on two space flights:

(becoming the third Soviet cosmonaut) and

Soyuz 9 Soyuz 9 (russian: Союз 9, ''Union 9'') was a June, 1970, Soviet crewed space flight. The two-man crew of Andriyan Nikolayev and Vitaly Sevastyanov broke the five-year-old space endurance record held by Gemini 7, with their nearly 18-day f ...

. His call sign in these flights was Falcon (russian: Со́кол). On both, he set new endurance records for the longest time a human being had remained in orbit. He also served as backup for the Vostok 2 and

Soyuz 8 Soyuz 8 (russian: Союз 8, ''Union 8'') was part of an October, 1969, joint mission with Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 7 that saw three Soyuz spacecraft in orbit together at the same time, carrying a total of seven cosmonauts. The crew consisted of co ...

missions. On 22 January 1969, Nikolayev survived an

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

attempt on Leonid Brezhnev, undertaken by a Soviet Army deserter,

Viktor Ilyin Viktor Ivanovich Ilyin (Russian: Ви́ктор Ива́нович Ильи́н; born 26 December 1947) is a Soviet Army deserter who, at the rank of second lieutenant, attempted to assassinate the Soviet leader, Leonid Brezhnev on 22 Janua ...

. He left the cosmonaut corps on 26 January 1982. Nikolayev was also the first person to make a television broadcast from space, in August 1962. Vostok 3 was part the first dual space flight, with

Pavel Popovich Pavel Romanovich Popovich (russian: Па́вел Рома́нович Попо́вич, uk, Павло Романович Попович, Pavlo Romanovych Popovych) (5 October 1930 – 29 September 2009) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Popovich was the ...

Vostok 4 Vostok 3 (russian: Восток-3, lit=Orient 3' or 'East 3) and Vostok 4 (, 'Orient 4' or 'East 4') were Soviet space program flights in August 1962, intended to determine the ability of the human body to function in conditions of weightlessn ...

. In the early days of space travel, it was usual to place trainee astronauts into isolation chambers to see how long they could last alone. They sat in silence unable to gauge time. Many men cracked but Nikolayev lasted the longest – four days – and became known as the Iron Man. On 3 November 1963, he married Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space (see Vostok 6). They had one daughter, Elena Andriyanovna (now a doctor of medicine), before their marriage collapsed. However, it was not until 1982 that they divorced. In 2004, Nikolayev died of a heart attack in

Cheboksary Cheboksary (; russian: Чебокса́ры, r=Cheboksáry, p=tɕɪbɐˈksarɨ; cv, Шупашкар, ''Şupaşkar'') is the capital city of Chuvashia, Russia and a port on the Volga River. Geography The city is located in the Volga Upland re ...

, the capital of

Chuvashia Chuvashia (russian: Чувашия; cv, Чӑваш Ен), officially the Chuvash Republic — Chuvasia,; cv, Чӑваш Республики — Чӑваш Ен is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is the homeland of the Chuv ...

in Russia. A scandal ensued. His daughter, who lives in Moscow, desired that he be interred in the cemetery at Star City. The president of Chuvashia had other ideas. After a farewell ceremony in

, Nikolayev was buried in his native village of Shorshely. He has no family living in the republic. Plans are in the works to move the body to Star City. Nikolayev was also a keen skier:

Service in the Air Force made us strong, both physically and morally. All of us cosmonauts took up sports and PT seriously when we served in the Air Force. I know that
Yuri Gagarin Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
was fond of ice hockey. He liked to play goal keeper. Gherman Titov was a gymnastics enthusiast, Andriyan Nikolayev liked skiing,
Pavel Popovich Pavel Romanovich Popovich (russian: Па́вел Рома́нович Попо́вич, uk, Павло Романович Попович, Pavlo Romanovych Popovych) (5 October 1930 – 29 September 2009) was a Soviet cosmonaut. Popovich was the ...
went in for weight lifting. I don't think I am wrong when I say that sports became a fixture in the life of the cosmonauts.Bykovsky quoted in Gavrilin, Vyacheslav ''Sportsmen of the Soviet Union''. pp. 26–7

Awards

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

, twice (18 August 1962, 3 July 1970) *

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

(18 August 1962) *

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

(15 January 1976) * Order of the Red Star (1961) * Order for Service to the Homeland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd class (30 May 1988) *

Medal "For Strengthening Military Cooperation" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

(18 February 1991) * USSR State Prize (1981) * Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR * Hero of Mongolia *

Hero of Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...

(1965, Mongolia) * Order of Sukhbaatar (1965, Mongolia) * Hero of Socialist Labour (Bulgaria) *

Order of Georgi Dimitrov The Order of Georgi Dimitrov (or Order of Georgy Dimitrov, bg, Орден Георги Димитров) was the highest award of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It was instituted on 17 June 1950 and awarded to Bulgarians and foreigners for out ...

(Bulgaria) * Order of Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria) * Hero of Socialist Labour (Vietnam, 1962) *Order "State Banner IRR" (Hungary, 1964) *National Order of Nepal (1963) *

Star of the Republic of Indonesia The Star of the Republic of Indonesia ( id, Bintang Republik Indonesia) is Indonesia's highest order awarded to both civilians and the military for their merits to the republic and the people. It was officially instituted in 1959. It is awarded t ...

, 2nd class (1963) * Order of the Nile (Egypt) *Honorary Citizen of the

Chuvash Republic Chuvashia (russian: Чувашия; cv, Чӑваш Ен), officially the Chuvash Republic — Chuvasia,; cv, Чӑваш Республики — Чӑваш Ен is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is the homeland of the Chuv ...

Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...

(1980), Karaganda and Smolensk *Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR (1962) RIAN archive 611957 Valentina Tereshkova and Andrian Nikolaev.jpg, Wedding of Tereshkova and Nikolayev in 1963 RIAN archive 68289 Nikolayev, Tereshkova and Sato.jpg, Tereshkova and Nikolayev with Japanese prime minister

Eisaku Satō was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1972. He is the third-longest serving Prime Minister, and ranks second in longest uninterrupted service as Prime Minister. Satō entered the National Diet in 1949 as a membe ...

in 1965 Cheboksary. Monument to Andriyan Nikolayev, Soviet cosmonaut.jpg, Monument to Andriyan Nikolayev in

Бронзовый бюст космонавта Николаева (Шоршелы).JPG, Nikolayev Monument in Shorshely

References

External links

Биография на сайте Люди
* ttp://pda.lenta.ru/russia/2004/07/04/nikolaev/ Умер третий космонавт Андриян Николаевbr>Шоршелы и А. Г. НиколаевСтихотворение Андрияну Николаеву летчику-космонавту посвящается (автор Елена Светлая, г. Чебоксары)Стихотворение про А. Г. Николаева «Чувашский космонавт»The official website of the city administration Baikonur – Honorary citizens of Baikonur