Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR


The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR was a state award of the Soviet Union presented to all cosmonauts who flew for the Soviet Space Agency. Usually accompanying the distinction was the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the highest title that could be awarded to a Soviet citizen for performing heroic deeds while in service of the state.

History of the title

The title was established by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 14 April 1961. It was awarded until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 where it was retained by the Law of the Russian Federation 2555-1 dated 20 March 1992 with a few slight amendments and renamed Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation.

Award statute

The title was assigned by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet for the outstanding feat of space flight. The insignia of Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR is worn on the right side of the chest above orders and decorations. If worn with honorary titles of the Russian Federation, the latter have precedence.

Award description

The title is a 25mm wide by 23.8mm high convex pentagon with a gilt silver rim. In the center is an image of the terrestrial globe with the territory of the Soviet Union enamelled in red. A gold star denotes Moscow as the point of origin of a gilt orbital path going around the globe once to reach a silver satellite at the upper left of the globe. A second orbital path, this time enamelled in red, starts at the bottom center of the globe going up in an arc narrowing along the way to reach a gilt spacecraft above the globe. Along the upper left edge of the pentagon above the globe, the gilt relief inscription "PILOT", along the upper right edge of the pentagon above the globe, the gilt relief inscription "COSMONAUT", along the bottom edge of the pentagon under the globe, the gilt inscription "USSR", along the left and right lower edges of the pentagon, prominent gilt laurel branches. The reverse of the insignia is plain except for the award serial number.
The insignia is secured to a standard Russian square mount by a ring through the suspension loop. The award is secured to clothing with a threaded stud and nut behind the mount. The mount is covered by a silk moiré red ribbon.

List of Pilot-Cosmonauts of the USSR

The individuals listed below have all received the honorary title "Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR". List is sorted by the serial number of the award.
  1. 1961 — Yuri Gagarin
  2. 1961 — Gherman Titov
  3. 1962 — Andriyan Nikolayev
  4. 1962 — Pavel Popovich
  5. 1963 — Valery Bykovsky
  6. 1963 — Valentina Tereshkova
  7. 1964 — Vladimir Komarov
  8. 1964 — Konstantin Feoktistov
  9. 1964 — Boris Yegorov
  10. 1965 — Pavel Belyayev
  11. 1965 — Alexei Leonov
  12. 1968 — Georgy Beregovoy
  13. 1969 — Vladimir Shatalov
  14. 1969 — Boris Volynov
  15. 1969 — Aleksei Yeliseyev
  16. 1969 — Yevgeny Khrunov
  17. 1969 — Georgy Shonin
  18. 1969 — Valeri Kubasov
  19. 1969 — Anatoly Filipchenko
  20. 1969 — Vladislav Volkov
  21. 1969 — Viktor Gorbatko
  22. 1970 — Vitaly Sevastyanov
  23. 1971 — Nikolay Rukavishnikov
  24. 1971 — Georgy Dobrovolsky
  25. 1971 — Viktor Patsayev
  26. 1973 — Vasily Lazarev
  27. 1973 — Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov
  28. 1973 — Pyotr Klimuk
  29. 1973 — Valentin Lebedev
  30. 1974 — Yury Artyukhin
  31. 1974 — Gennadi Sarafanov
  32. 1974 — Lev Dyomin
  33. 1975 — Aleksei Gubarev
  34. 1975 — Georgy Grechko
  35. 1976 — Vitaly Zholobov
  36. 1976 — Vladimir Aksyonov
  37. 1976 — Vyacheslav Zudov
  38. 1976 — Valery Rozhdestvensky
  39. 1977 — Yury Glazkov
  40. 1977 — Vladimir Kovalyonok
  41. 1977 — Valery Ryumin
  42. 1978 — Yury Romanenko
  43. 1978 — Vladimir Dzhanibekov
  44. 1978 — Aleksandr Ivanchenkov
  45. 1979 — Vladimir Lyakhov
  46. 1980 — Yury Malyshev
  47. 1980 — Leonid Popov
  48. 1980 — Leonid Kizim
  49. 1980 — Gennadi Strekalov
  50. 1981 — Viktor Savinykh
  51. 1982 — Aleksandr Serebrov
  52. 1982 — Svetlana Savitskaya
  53. 1982 — Anatoly Berezovoy
  54. 1983 — Vladimir Titov
  55. 1983 — Aleksandr Pavlovich Aleksandrov
  56. 1984 — Igor Volk
  57. 1984 — Vladimir Solovyov
  58. 1984 — Oleg Atkov
  59. 1985 — Vladimir Vasyutin
  60. 1985 — Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov
  61. 1987 — Aleksandr Viktorenko
  62. 1987 — Aleksandr Laveykin
  63. 1987 — Anatoli Levchenko
  64. 1988 — Anatoly Solovyev
  65. 1988 — Musa Manarov
  66. 1989 — Sergei Krikalev
  67. 1989 — Valeri Polyakov
  68. 1990 — Aleksandr Nikolayevich Balandin
  69. 1991 — Gennadi Manakov
  70. 1991 — Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasyev
  71. 1991 — Anatoly Artsebarsky
  72. 1991 — Toktar Aubakirov