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Nikolaev Andriyan Grigorievich. Russian cosmonaut. Born on September 5, 1929 in the village of Shorshely in the Mariinsko-Posad region of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (now the Chuvash Republic).
In 1947 he graduated from the Mariinsko-Posad Forestry Technical School and was assigned to work as a foreman for the Yuzhkarelles trust in logging in Karelia. He worked in Karelia until 1950, when he was drafted into the Soviet Army. Initially he attended air gunner courses, and in August 1951 he was admitted to the Frunze Military Aviation School of Pilots.
After graduating from college in 1954, he served in aviation units in the Moscow region. In 1960, he was enlisted in the Soviet cosmonaut corps (1960 Air Force Group No. 1). Completed a full training course for flights on Vostok-class ships. He was a backup for German Stepanovich Titov during the flight of the Vostok-2 spacecraft (August 1961). On August 11–15, 1962, he made his first space flight on the Vostok-3 spacecraft. For the first time in the world, a group space flight of two (Vostok-3 and Vostok-4) was carried out. The flight lasted 3 days 22 hours 22 minutes. After the flight, he continued training in the cosmonaut corps, from 1963 to 1968 he was the commander of the cosmonaut corps.
In 1963, he married the world's first female cosmonaut, Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova. Without interruption from his main job, he graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy named after N. E. Zhukovsky in 1968. In 1968 - 1974 - Deputy Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu. A. Gagarin. He underwent training for the flight under the “lunar” program, and was the commander of one of the crews. After the closure of the Soviet “lunar” program, he prepared for flights on Soyuz-type spacecraft. He was the commander of the backup crew during the flight (October 1969).
On June 1–19, 1970, he made his second space flight as commander of the Soyuz-9 spacecraft. At that time it was the longest space flight. After landing, due to the fact that the astronauts did little physical exercise during the flight, problems arose with adapting the body to earthly conditions. The astronauts felt unwell and could not walk. This condition is called the “Nikolaev effect” in the medical literature. The flight lasted 17 days 16 hours 58 minutes 55 seconds. During two flights into space he flew 21 days, 15 hours, 20 minutes and 55 seconds.
In 1974, he was appointed first deputy head of the Cosmonaut Training Center and served in this position until his retirement. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Awarded two Orders of Lenin, Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, Red Star, and medals. Awarded the K. E. Tsiolkovsky gold medal, the Cosmos, de Lavaux and Yu. A. Gagarin gold medals (FAI). Hero of Socialist Labor of the People's Republic of Belarus. Hero of Labor DRV. Hero of the MPR. Awarded the Order of Georgiy Dimitrov, Cyril and Methodius (Bulgaria), Banner of the 1st class with diamonds (Hungary), Sukhbaatar (Mongolia), Star of the 2nd class (Indonesia), Necklace of the Nile (Egypt). Recipient of the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Awards. Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR 6th – 11th convocations. People's Deputy of the RSFSR from 1990 to 1993. Honorary member of the International Academy of Astronautics. Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1981). Honorary citizen of the cities of Kaluga, Smolensk, Rzhev, Makhachkala, Nalchik, Kaspiysk (Russia), Karaganda (Kazakhstan), Darkhan (Mongolia), Sofia, Petrich, Stara Zagora, Varna, Pleven (Bulgaria), Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic), Bouira (Algeria). A crater is named after Nikolaev
The world's first female cosmonaut, Valentina Tereshkova, never told anyone about her marriage. Exactly thirty-eight years ago she became the wife of a cosmonaut no less legendary than herself, Andrian Nikolaev. They lived together not so long - eighteen years. Their marriage is shrouded in secrecy to this day. So what are the ex-spouses silent about? We have put together everything that is known about this.
"FROM THERE" SHE RETURNED A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSON
It was not Valentina Tereshkova who was supposed to fly into space, but her friend from the flying club Tatyana Morozycheva, who had many more parachute jumps. But during the medical examination it unexpectedly turned out that Tanya was expecting a child. They say that soon, never having recovered from the shock, this woman drank herself to death.
When 26-year-old Valentina landed safely after the flight, many felt resentment and envy gave way to pity. Tereshkova did not survive the space journey well. These seventy hours became a real hell for her. Almost all the time, Valentina was constantly sick and vomiting. But she tried to hold on - reports were coming to Earth: “I am the Seagull. The flight is going well.” And during the ejection, Tereshkova hit her head on her helmet - she landed with a huge bruise on her cheek and temple. Valentina was almost unconscious. She was urgently transported to a hospital in Moscow. Only in the evening did the luminaries of domestic medicine report that Tereshkova’s life and health were out of danger. The next day, they urgently staged filming for a newsreel: they put Tereshkova in a camera and filmed the extras running towards him. Then one of them opened the lid of the device. Tereshkova was sitting inside, cheerful and smiling. These shots spread all over the world.
The Seagull returned from space as a symbolic woman. People are starting to imitate her - ladies are asking hairdressers to get a haircut like Tereshkova’s. The “Seagull” wristwatch appears on the shelves. They invite her to the Kremlin and kiss her hand. Public organizations around the world want her as an honorary member. Her jacket, in addition to the Hero's star, is decorated with two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Red Banner of Labor and the Friendship of Peoples. She is the hero of the republics of Bulgaria and Mongolia. Tereshkova becomes a woman legend. She is awarded the rank of general (she is still the only female general in the Russian army). One of the craters on the Moon is named after her.
Everyone who knew her said that “from there” Tereshkova returned as a completely different person. Her fellow countrymen were especially amazed at the “star fever”. She arrived in her native Yaroslavl a month after the flight. A rally was organized at the plant. The townspeople waited at the gate for the famous cosmonaut to come out to them after meeting the weavers. And Tereshkova was taken out the back door to the pier to the boat. The people were left with their noses. Afterwards there was to be a meeting with fellow countrymen at the stadium. And again people were waiting for the heroine, getting ready, dressing up. But they came and saw nothing.
“Then we met with her,” says Romanov, chief power engineer at the Krasny Perekop textile mill. “But she could no longer be herself.” Maintained a different image. All the time with her retinue, who did not let her go for a minute. Secretaries of regional committees, city committees... She seemed to ask, as before, “How are you?”, but the tone was different. More and more high phrases. We learned about her life only from newspapers.
DID KHRUSHCHEV HIMSELF GET THEM AWAY?
Five months after the flight - November 3, 1963 - Tereshkova, unexpectedly for many, married cosmonaut Andrian Nikolaev. No one could understand why this particular man became her husband. It was rumored that she was in love with Gagarin, but he was already married. The residents of Yaroslavl recalled that she seemed to have some kind of fiancé, but who was he, where and what happened to him? One newspaper named the name of Robert Silin, with whom Valentina studied at the flying club and whom she allegedly planned to marry. However, journalists were unable to find this person.
“Close relationships, as is customary today, were rare then,” says Romanov. - Although, of course, they looked after her. She was friends with Valentin Aristov. We went to the cinema, to the theater, walked in the evenings, probably kissed. And they didn’t hide their relationship.
For many, the only explanation for this unexpected marriage was that Khrushchev himself had betrothed them. He was pushed to this by medical scientists who wanted to continue the research on the human body that had begun in space during and after the flight. In addition, the head of state wanted to show the whole world what “correct” Soviet people are - they do what they need to do and marry who they need to. Indeed, there was no such star couple anywhere in the world. Nikolaev at that time was the only one who spent the longest time in space - four days. He is the first who was allowed to get rid of his chair and go “free swimming”. In addition, he was the only single man on the astronaut team.
True, there were those who completely denied the version of the marriage according to Khrushchev’s convenience. The third female cosmonaut, Elena Kondakova, said: “The members of the first detachment were such privileged people that Nikita Sergeevich himself listened to them. And if Valentina Vladimirovna had said “no,” no CPSU Central Committee could have forced them.”
- Yes, Khrushchev was zero, he didn’t decide anything! – Andrian Nikolaev himself said in one interview. “On the contrary, he ruined our wedding.” I wanted to hold it in the House of Officers of the Moscow Garrison, ordered a table for 300 seats, and Khrushchev said that the wedding would be in the Government Reception House. And there could only accommodate 200 people. We asked a hundred friends and relatives to wait for us in Star City. And as soon as Khrushchev and his wife left the wedding, we immediately fled to Zvezdny.
A year later, Valentina and Andrian had a daughter. There is an opinion that the girl was born premature and deaf. However, apart from strabismus, in childhood no one noticed any other external factors indicating her illness. Elena graduated from high school and medical school with honors. Now she is married, she has a son, Alyosha, who tells everyone that his grandparents flew on a rocket. The daughter says nothing about the marriage of her mother and father, nor about the subsequent divorce. It is possible that Tereshkova has not yet revealed all the nuances to her.
SHE IS FIRE, HE IS WATER
The divorce of the star couple shocked many as much as the wedding. It must be said that it was not easy for them themselves - family quarrels in the cosmonaut corps were then sorted out by numerous commissions. However, the divorce was not a surprise to everyone. When the Tereshkova and Nikolaev family first appeared, there were those who understood: this would not last long. General Nikolai Kamanin, who was well versed in people, wrote in his diary on November 10, 1963: “Yesterday at the airfield Valya and Andrian smiled and outwardly were quite pleased with each other.... For politics and science, their marriage may be useful, but I I’m not at all sure that Valya really loves Andrian. They are too different: she is fire, and he is water. Both are strong, strong-willed people, neither of them will voluntarily submit to the other... Nikolaev will benefit more from this marriage, and Tereshkova. can only lose."
Andrian Grigorievich himself, in his first book, “Meet Me in Orbit,” published in 1966, writes tenderly and warmly about his wife: “We are happy. We found each other as the most cherished thing in life. We were united by common views on life, a common work, common goals and, as Valya said, one river. We are both from the Volga...” And already in his second book, “Space - a road without end,” published in 1979, about Tereshkova - briefly and dryly.
LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HER CURRENT LIFE
In the early 80s, Valentina Tereshkova met Yuli Germanovich Shaposhnikov, head of the Central Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics. They said that he abandoned his previous family because of her. A few years ago he died of cancer. “A modest man and a hard worker,” that’s how he was characterized. And Valentina Vladimirovna spoke warmly about her second husband.
Unfortunately, the first female cosmonaut had almost no truly close people left. Her dearly beloved younger brother Volodya, who worked as a cameraman in Zvezdny, died several years ago. My mother has also been dead for a long time. Valentina Vladimirovna searched for a very long time for the grave of her father, who died on the Karelian Isthmus. Thanks to one of the marshals of the Ministry of Defense, who allocated funds to fly over the area, I found a mass grave overgrown with forest. She erected a monument and visits there regularly.
They say that Tereshkova now has a much smaller retinue. She is always modestly dressed and equally hardworking. Once, school teachers visited her. They said: she got up at six in the morning, cooked millet porridge, fed everyone... Tereshkova did a lot for Yaroslavl, helps people. In 1996, the director of the school where Valentina Vladimirovna studied became seriously ill. An operation was needed. Thanks to Tereshkova, they did it in Moscow for free.
The governments of the USSR and Russia never ignored the first female cosmonaut. She was always involved in government and public work. Tereshkova has enormous connections, thanks to which, they say, she became a general at the last moment before retiring. Although, to be honest, very little is known about this side of her life.
HE IS STILL BEAUTIFUL AND SINGLE
Zvezdny is a small town. Here everyone knows about everyone. Especially about celebrities. The women of Zvezdny speak of Nikolaev as an exemplary owner - thorough, managerial and “correct,” and they usually add “too correct.” One of his neighbors told with admiration that Andrian Grigorievich’s house was perfectly clean, not a speck of dust. And then she added in surprise: “And this despite the fact that I have never seen a woman help him with housework!”
Since the early 60s, Nikolaev regularly receives letters from women who would like to connect their lives with him. Such messages began to arrive especially often after the first notes were published in the press that she and Tereshkova were living apart. Letters are still coming. But what about - he is still handsome, smart, although he has already overcome the seventy-year mark, and besides, he is a general, twice a Hero...
“In order to get married, you need to find a good friend,” says Andrian Grigorievich. “Where can you find a woman friend now?!” I never found it! I understood that many were interested not in me, but in my position - I am an experienced person, I see people.
He completely denies rumors that after the divorce he started drinking alcohol: “I never drank! It was one newspaper that wrote that cosmonaut Nikolaev was a completely drunk man. I sued her and won. Now I have to receive money for moral damage."
AFTERWORD
On the official website of the Center for International Scientific and Cultural Cooperation under the Government of the Russian Federation, headed by Valentina Tereshkova, it is written: “We are open to interaction and cooperation.” Unfortunately, this does not apply to the personal life of the first female cosmonaut.
Nikolaev himself is silent about his marriage with Tereshkova. It seems that the former spouses entered into a non-disclosure agreement about the facts of their family life. And if this is so, then we should respect a man who did not stoop to describing “kitchen” scenes. Although, without a doubt, he would have made decent money from his memoirs.
BY THE WAY
The second “orbital couple” was Valery Ryumin, Deputy General Designer of RSC Energia, who has now flown into space four times, and cosmonaut Elena Kondakova, who has been in orbit twice. For Ryumin, marriage with Kondakova is the second. He has a son and a daughter from his first marriage, and a daughter from his second. In the American astronaut corps today there is only one married couple - Margaret Seddon and Robert Gibson. They have been together for several years. But another couple, Ronald Sega and Bonnie Dunbar, divorced last year. They had no children. There was another space family at NASA - Judith Resnick and Richard Mullane. In 1984, the couple even flew together on the shuttle. Moreover, Judith was the second American woman to go into space. But two years later, in 1986, during the second flight, Reznik died - the shuttle exploded a few seconds after the rocket took off from the Earth.
> > Nikolaev Andriyan Grigorievich
Nikolaev Andriyan Grigorievich (1929-2004)
Short biography:
USSR cosmonaut:№3;
World cosmonaut:№5;
Number of flights: 2;
Duration: 21 days 15 hours 20 minutes 55 seconds;
Andriyan Nikolaev– 3rd Soviet cosmonaut, twice Hero of the USSR: biography, photo, space, personal life, significant dates, East, Union, Valentina Tereshkova.
3 cosmonauts of the USSR and 5 cosmonauts of the world.
He has 2 flights into space, where he spent almost 22 days. He received the status of pilot-cosmonaut, being included in the first recruit of the Air Force.
Andriyan Nikolaev was born in the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, in the village of Shorshely, in the Mariinsky, Posad district, on September 5, 1929. After graduating from the 7th grade of the local school, he enters the forestry technical school, which is located in the regional center. Three years later, a successful graduate with a specialty in forestry technician received a distribution and went to work as a foreman at the Yuzhkarelles trust, which was engaged in logging in Karelia. This was in 1947, and already in 1950 he was called up to serve in the army. Here he became interested in air gunner courses, and, as the best cadet, he was accepted into the Frunze Military Aviation School of Pilots.
Space
After working for several years in military air units in the Moscow region, having received the best characteristics, in 1960 Andriyan Nikolaev was accepted as a student into the detachment of Soviet cosmonauts of the first group of the Air Force. For almost a year of training from March 1960 to January 1961, I underwent general space training and prepared for flights on Vostok. After successfully passing the exams, he took the position of cosmonaut at the Air Force Cosmonaut Center.
From September to November 1961, he prepared for the flight on Vostok-3, practicing a three-day solo flight in a group of cosmonauts. However, the flight did not take place. The next planned joint flight of the two ships “Vostok” and “Vostok-3” also failed due to the unavailability of the devices.
First flight
Andriyan Nikolaev made his first flight with the call sign “Falcon” in 1962 on August 11. It was a joint flight with the Vostok-4 spacecraft, piloted by Pavel Popovich, which lasted 3 days, 22 hours and 22 minutes.
After this, Andriyan Grigorievich continued to undergo training in the cosmonaut detachment, where for 5 years - from 63 to 68 - he was the commander of this detachment. At the same time, he married Valentina Tereshkova, the world's first female cosmonaut. In parallel with his main work, he studied at the Air Force Engineering Academy named after. Zhukovsky, from which he graduated in 1968. Immediately after this, he was appointed deputy head of the Cosmonaut Training Center. Gagarin. Here he began to prepare for a flight under the “lunar” program as a commander. However, this Soviet program was soon closed, and Nikolaev began to prepare for flights on Soyuz-type spacecraft.
Second flight
The second flight launched on June 1, 1970, where Andriyan Nikolaev was the commander of the Soyuz-9 spacecraft, whose crew included V. Sevastyanov. The flight lasted more than 17 days, which was a record at that time. However, due to the fact that the astronauts had little physical activity in space, they had problems with adaptation to earth. For some time, the cosmonauts could not walk; doctors called this condition the “Nikolaev effect.”
Personal life
Father - Zaitsev (Nikolaev) Grigory Nikolaevich, (1898 - 1944), collective farmer.
Mother - Nikolaeva (Zaitseva, Alekseeva) Anna Alekseevna, (1900 - 1985), collective farmer, housewife.
Ex-wife - Tereshkova (Nikolaeva-Tereshkova) Valentina Vladimirovna, b. 03/06/1937, pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, married from 1963 to 1982.
Daughter - Mayorova (Nikolaeva-Tereshkova) Elena Andriyanovna, b. 06/08/1964, doctor at the Aeroflot Medical Center
Andriyan Nikolaev was twice awarded the highest title of Hero of the Soviet Union, twice holder of the Order of Lenin, awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Red Banner of Labor, the Tsiolkovsky gold medal and other orders and medals. Honorary citizen of many cities in Russia and other countries: Mongolia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Algeria and others. Wrote 2 books: “Meet me in orbit” and “Space is a road without end.” The pilot-cosmonaut died in 2004 from a repeated myocardial infarction. He was buried in his native village of Shorshely, and a crater on the Moon was named in his honor.
Pilot-cosmonaut of the USSR, twice Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General of Aviation... Andriyan Nikolaev's first launch, on Vostok-3, took place in August 1962, the second, on Soyuz-9, in June 1970 . The first time he stayed in space for four days, the second - eighteen...
At first we didn't know his name. They only knew that he was German Titov’s understudy. Then they began to call him Cosmonaut-3. Then, in 1961, this “mysterious” person was invariably present in the stories of Yuri Gagarin and German Titov. In his book “Seventeen Cosmic Dawns” Titov wrote:
“One of the traits absolutely necessary for an astronaut is composure and calmness in all possible situations of a complex space flight.”
He was already an experienced pilot when he made an emergency landing in a fighter jet during a training flight. As the pilots say, he “sat on his belly” outside the airfield. He remained alive and unharmed. And I saved the car. Rare case...
Even in very difficult moments, he did not lose his composure, analyzed, forced himself to weigh all the pros and cons before doing or deciding anything.
Not new to the cockpit. Andriyan Nikolaev did not stay long at the first career step. After a year in the unit, he became a senior pilot, then a squadron adjutant.
He went to launch in August 1962 and was the first earthling to spend four days in space. And all these long days his unhurried, calm voice sounded from orbit:
- “Zarya”, I am “Falcon”. The flight is going well. But the mother did not leave the radio, did not close her eyes. After the night she waited for the morning, after the morning for the night.
Best of the day
That August launch marked the beginning of multi-day group space flights. Following Vostok-3, Vostok-4 entered orbit.
In the years that have passed since the Vostok 3 flight, many events have happened in the life of the astronaut. He graduated from the Air Force Academy named after N. E. Zhukovsky. He was elected as a deputy of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation. He traveled a lot around the world, telling people about space, about the flights of Soviet cosmonauts, about his Motherland, about the Soviet people - great workers and creators. He visited Bulgaria and Hungary, Yugoslavia and France, Mongolia and India, Indonesia and Burma, Nepal and Ceylon, Algeria and Japan, Guinea and Brazil. Fame and popularity did not change him. Still the same calm and modest, kind and sensitive person, confident in himself, in his abilities, in his knowledge.
His efficiency and perseverance can be the envy of many. He did not leave the simulator until he felt that he had done everything he could for today, that this part of the program had been sorted out and mastered, that he had given his all. He immediately realized that in cosmic affairs there is no main and secondary. Any omission can be costly. He once called his stay in Zvezdny a man's work.
When asked what he meant by this, he replied:
Constant, unrelenting overcoming of resistance. Like in a fight...
A new flight is a new step into big space. There were a lot of “whys” and “hows”. For example, it was known that a person quickly adapts to conditions of weightlessness. The “position illusions” that initially appear and unpleasant sensations during sudden movements soon disappear, the functioning of the circulatory system and gas exchange return to normal, but during a long flight sluggishness of movements, decreased reaction may appear, irritation of the vestibular apparatus may accumulate, and with them symptoms of seasickness. A new test flight was supposed to clarify the picture.
Soyuz 9 launched on June 1, 1970. Before this flight, the maximum duration of a person's stay in space ranged from 5 (Vostok, Soyuz) to 14 days (Gemini 7). Aidrian Nikolaev and Vitaly Sevastyanov had to stay in orbit for 18 days. And at the same time, carry out a large program of work, which included both medical and biological research and testing of on-board systems, testing manual control, conducting scientific observations and experiments.
It took longer to prepare for this flight than for the previous ones. There was enough time. Andrian even thought it was too much. (“We are not iron men, and impatience is also inherent to some extent.”) Sometimes he lacked endurance, and he asked himself and others: “When will we fly?” Doctors carried out endless examinations and special work. But tests are tests, and the main examiner is the space flight itself.
Day... third... fifth... Soyuz-9 was counting its orbital orbits. There are slight overloads and starting vibrations behind. Ahead, it seems, there is nothing but a weightless body, weightless objects, the blackness of space and the excessively bright Sun.
When we passed the 14-day mark, my mood lifted. But he did not relax himself, nor did he allow his comrade to relax. Even before the start, he “charged” himself for the entire 18 days, for a decisive and difficult test of will. Self-hypnosis, as he himself said, is the greatest battery of mental balance.
The day began with physical exercise. Then breakfast, cleaning the room, photographing atmospheric formations, studying the physical characteristics of phenomena and processes in space, testing the orientation system... And all this in zero gravity.
Everything comes to an end. The 18-day flight was over. The braking device was activated and the descent began.
They had already gotten a little used to it, from its warmth, tart smells, from its hardness and brightness of colors... Their hands were shaking from tension, their heads were spinning, it was hard to breathe. It seemed as if everything around him suddenly slowed down. But the clock was already counting down earthly time. The task was completed.
"...Valuable medical and biological data obtained during the research on the influence of the factors of a multi-day space flight on the human body and performance, long-term and comprehensive testing of the technical systems of the spacecraft and ground support facilities, the implementation of a wide program of scientific and national economic research and observations provide the necessary practical" ! material that will form the basis for future space flights is bringing the time of creating permanent orbital stations closer..."
These are lines from the greetings of the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR to those who participated in the preparation and implementation of the Soyuz-9 flight.
The Motherland awarded Andriyan Nikolaev the second Gold Star. He was awarded the rank of general. He has been appointed to a new position. Now Andriyan Grigorievich Nikolaev is the deputy head of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yu. A. Gagarin. But what has changed in him? There are more wrinkles and more gray hair. But the same thoughtful, calm and extremely young eyes. The movements became a little more restrained and measured. But the same lightness, the same swiftness in gait.
Yes, he is an optimist. Not because optimism, as they say, is directly proportional to the number of successes in a person's life. It’s just that he not only wants, but also knows how to be an optimist. Such a character. Well, he did write a book. A good book. He called it "Space - a road without end."
And this name also contains his character.
Nikolaev Andriyan Grigorievich(September 5, 1929, Shorshely, Marposadsky district, Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, RSFSR, USSR - July 3, 2004, Cheboksary, Russian Federation) - Soviet cosmonaut No. 3. Twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Major General of Aviation. By nationality - Chuvash.
Biography
Education and activities before enrollment in the cosmonaut corps
Born in the Chuvash village of Shorshely (Chuv. Shurshal). After birth until graduation, he bore the surname Grigoriev - after his father’s name, according to the traditions of those years.
In June 1944 he graduated from 7th grade. In 1947 he graduated from the Mariinsky Posad Forestry Technical School and received the specialty “forestry technician”. From December 1947 to April 4, 1950, he worked as a logging foreman for the Yuzhkarelles trust in the Derevyansky timber industry enterprise, Prionezhsky district, Karelo-Finnish Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.
In 1950 he graduated from the air gunners school at the Kirovabad Military Aviation School named after V.S. Kholzunova. From December 26, 1950 to August 1951, he served as an air gunner (the city of Staro-Konstantinov, Karelia).
In 1952 he graduated from one course at the Chernigov Military Aviation School for pilots of the 69th Air Army.
In 1954 he graduated from the Frunze Military Aviation School for Pilots of the 73rd Air Army, Turkestan Military District.
From February 22, 1955, he served as a pilot, from December 15, 1957, as a senior pilot, and from February 28, 1958, as an adjutant of an aviation squadron (chief of staff), senior pilot of the 401st (Smolensk) Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Rzhev Air Defense Corps, Moscow Military districts.
Space training
On March 7, 1960, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force No. 267, he was enrolled as a student-cosmonaut at the Air Force Cosmonaut Training Center.
From March 16, 1960 to January 18, 1961, he underwent general space training. On January 17 and 18, 1961, he passed the final exams in general space training and was enrolled as an astronaut at the Air Force Cosmonaut Center.
On October 11, 1960, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force No. 176, he was enrolled in the group to prepare for the first manned flight on the Vostok satellite ship together with V.F. Bykovsky, Yu.A. Gagarin, P.R. Popovich, G.S. Titov and G.G. Nelyubov.
From May to August 1961, he underwent direct training for a flight on the Vostok-2 spacecraft as part of a group of cosmonauts.
On August 6, 1961, during the launch of the Vostok-2 spacecraft, he was German Titov’s backup.
From September 1, 1961 to January 6, 1968, he studied at the Air Force Engineering Academy named after N.E. Zhukovsky, specializing in "Manned air and space aircraft and engines for them." Upon completion, he received the qualification of “pilot-engineer-cosmonaut”.
From September 30 to November 2, 1961, he trained for a flight on the Vostok-3 spacecraft under a three-day solo flight program as part of a group of cosmonauts. The flight was cancelled.
From November 1961 to May 1962, he trained for the first group flight of two Vostok spacecraft as a pilot of the Vostok-3 spacecraft. Due to the unavailability of the ships, from June 2 to August 1, 1962, he was preparing for a flight in maintenance mode.
Andriyan Nikolaev made his first flight into space on April 11-15, 1962 as a pilot of the Vostok-3 spacecraft.
The next day, the Vostok-4 spacecraft, piloted by Pavel Popovich, launched. For the first time in the world, a group flight of two spacecraft was carried out. Call sign: "Falcon". The flight duration was 3 days, 22 hours, 22 minutes.
Further space training: On December 20, 1963, he was appointed Senior Cosmonaut Instructor,
commander of the 2nd cosmonaut detachment, and on March 14, 1966 - commander of the 1st cosmonaut detachment.
From September 1965 to April 1967, he trained for a flight as the commander of the backup crew of the passive Soyuz spacecraft (7K-OK) under the Docking program, first together with Pyotr Kolodin, who was replaced in September 1966 by Valery Kubasov) and Viktor Gorbatko.
From June 1967 to May 1968 he continued to train in the same crew according to the same program.
On July 11, 1968, he was appointed Deputy Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center for flight and space training. From February to September 1969, he was trained as the commander of the main crew of the Soyuz-8 spacecraft under the three-ship flight program, together with Vitaly Sevastyanov.
On September 18, 1969, based on the results of passing comprehensive exams, the State Commission decided to appoint the main crew of Soyuz-8 consisting of Vladimir Shatalov and Alexei Eliseev, and the crew of Andriyan Nikolaev was appointed as a backup crew.
During the launch of the Soyuz-8 spacecraft on October 13, 1969, he was a backup to the spacecraft commander Vladimir Shatalov. From January to May 1970, he was trained as the commander of the main crew of the Soyuz-8 spacecraft under the long-term autonomous flight program, together with Vitaly Sevastyanov.
Andriyan Nikolaev made his second flight into space from June 1 to June 18, 1970 as
commander of the Soyuz-9 spacecraft, with Vitaly Sevastyanov. For the first time, a long-term orbital space flight lasting 17 days, 16 hours, 58 minutes, 55 seconds was carried out. Call sign: "Falcon".
Returning to Earth, the astronauts could not walk. After this, the term “Nikolaev effect” appeared among “space” doctors. Thanks to Nikolaev’s resilience, in-orbit physical exercise programs were developed that saved the lives of hundreds of future cosmonauts.
Further service in the CPC:
On April 30, 1974, he was appointed First Deputy Head of the CPC.
In July 1975, he defended his dissertation and received the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences.
On January 26, 1982, he was expelled from the cosmonaut corps, retaining
position of First Deputy Head of the Cosmonaut Training Center.
Social and political activities after dismissal from the Cosmonaut Training Center. In 1991 - 1993 he was a People's Deputy of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation. Since 1993, he worked as a Leading Specialist of the Staff of the Credentials Commission of the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
He was an assistant to State Duma Deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation faction Vitaly Sevastyanov (his close friend and Soyuz-9 flight engineer).
He was an Academician of the Russian Academy of Security, Defense and Law Enforcement (ABOP), as well as an Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences.
He died on July 3, 2004 from repeated myocardial infarction of the left ventricular wall while refereeing at the All-Russian Summer Rural Sports Games in Cheboksary. He was buried on the territory of the memorial complex of the Museum of Cosmonautics in the village of Shorshely, Mariinsko-Posad district of the Chuvash Republic.
Class and sporting achievements
Military pilot 3rd class (06/25/1958).
Military pilot 2nd class (October 31, 1959).
Military pilot 1st class (08/15/1962).
Air Force parachute training instructor (11/10/1960).
Cosmonaut 3rd class (11/30/1962).
Cosmonaut 2nd class (06/27/1970).
Literary and scientific activities
Has 75 scientific papers and publications.
Andriyan Grigorievich Nikolaev is the author of books:
"In Space" (in Chuvash language, 1966),
"Meet me in orbit" (1966),
"Space is a road without end" (1974, 1st ed.),
"Gravity of the Earth."
Co-author of books
- “Tomorrow begins today” (with M.F. Rebrov, 1972),
- "Optical phenomena in the atmosphere according to observations from manned spacecraft" (1972),
- "Optical research in space" (with A.I. Lazarev and E.V. Khrunov, 1979),
- "Flight Without End" (2nd edition, expanded, 1980).
Awards and titles
For carrying out orbital flights on the Vostok-3 spacecraft in 1962 and Soyuz-9 in 1970, Andriyan Grigorievich Nikolaev was awarded two Gold Star medals of the Hero of the Soviet Union (08/18/1962, 07/03/1970).
He was awarded the Order of Lenin (08/18/1962), the Red Banner of Labor (01/15/1976), the Red Star (June 1961), "For Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR" III degree (08/30/1988), the medal "For Strengthening the Military Commonwealth" " (02/18/1991) and 9th anniversary medals.
Laureate of the USSR State Prize for 1981.
He was also awarded the Gold Star medal of the Hero of Labor of the Mongolian People's Republic and the Order of Sukhbaatar (1965), the Gold Star medal of the Hero of Socialist Labor of the People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Order of Georgi Dimitrov, the Gold Star medal of the Hero of Labor of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (1962) , Order of the State Banner of the Hungarian People's Republic (1964), National Order of Nepal (1963), Order of Cyril and Methodius (NRB), Order of the Star of the II class (Indonesia), Order of the Necklace of the Nile (Egypt).
Andriyan Nikolaev is an Honorary Citizen of the Chuvash Republic, his name was the first to be included in the Honorary Book of Labor Glory and Heroism of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in 1962.
Honorary citizen of the cities of Kaluga, Kaspiysk, Makhachkala, Nalchik, Rzhev, Smolensk (Russia), Gyumri (Armenia), Karaganda (Kazakhstan), Darkhan (Mongolia), Sofia, Varna, Petrich, Pleven, Stara Zagora (Bulgaria), Karlovy Novgorod Vari (Czech Republic); Bouir (Algeria).
Awarded the Gold Medal named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Prize of the International Academy of Astronautics, FAI medals.
From 1963 to 1982, Andriyan Grigorievich Nikolaev was married to Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (born in 1937) - the world’s first female cosmonaut,