Portuguese 
English 
Spanish 
6 min of reading 
0 comments 
The Soviet cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev launched on May 19, 1991, for a five-month mission to the Mir space station, but the dissolution of the Soviet Union left him stranded in space for almost a year. According to CNN Brasil, rescued with German help, the cosmonaut accumulated more than 803 days in orbit throughout his career and was part of the first crew of the International Space Station.
It has been exactly 35 years since the Soviet cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Soyuz TM-12, heading to the Mir space station. It was May 19, 1991, and the mission, initially planned to last five months, ended up turning into 311 days in space, enough time to make about five thousand orbits around Earth and witness, from 400 kilometers altitude, the disappearance of the country that had sent him. The Soviet flight engineer departed accompanied by compatriot Anatoly Artsebarsky and the British Helen Sharman, the first UK citizen to go to space.
What turned a routine mission into one of the most extraordinary episodes of the space race was the political collapse unfolding on Earth. While Krikalev was performing repairs and experiments on Mir, the Soviet Union was undergoing its definitive dissolution process, with the independence of 15 republics and the resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev. The funding for the Soviet space program collapsed, and the cosmonaut was left without a return schedule, becoming what the world press would call “the last Soviet citizen.”
The coup, the dissolution, and a cosmonaut without a country
Krikalev’s mission began like any other operation on Mir. Helen Sharman stayed only a week at the station and returned with the previous crew, leaving the Soviet cosmonaut and Artsebarsky on board. In July, Krikalev agreed to extend his stay for operational adjustments: two planned flights were reduced to one, and he needed to wait for the next crew.
-
The first street in Brazil is almost 400 meters long, 477 years old, has had eight different names, and holds secrets of Salvador that few know; discover Chile Street.
-
22 trucks with hydraulic lifts traveled 330 km between Prague and Vienna to transport more than 130 original James Bond relics, including the Aston Martin DB5, the ice dragster from Die Another Day, and pieces so rare that any logistical failure could compromise irreplaceable treasures of the 007 franchise.
-
Can plaster be retired? Technique applies acrylic texture directly to the block wall, is ready in 2 hours, and promises a professional finish while spending up to 70% less.
-
While construction projects consume wood and plastic in forms that later become waste, MIT researchers use clay from the site itself as a recyclable mold for curved concrete.
Then came August. Between the 19th and 21st, a hardline group within the Communist Party attempted a coup against Gorbachev. The coup failed, but it mortally wounded the Soviet Union. Krikalev learned of the events via radio and, from orbit, confessed that he did not understand what was happening. In October, three new cosmonauts arrived at Mir, but none were trained to replace him as flight engineer. The Soviet cosmonaut remained. On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev resigned, and the USSR officially ceased to exist.
Trapped in space due to lack of money and substitute
Krikalev’s situation on Mir was technically precarious. There was a Soyuz capsule docked to the station that could be used to escape, but abandoning it would mean leaving Mir without anyone on board to operate and repair it. Without an operator, the station that symbolized Soviet power in space exploration for 15 years would be doomed.
The Soviet cosmonaut recognized the weight of the decision to stay. The newly-formed Russia was facing severe economic difficulties, and the cost of a rescue mission was prohibitive. There was also a political promise: the Soviet government had assured Kazakhstan that the next cosmonaut sent to Mir would be Kazakh, but no professional from that country had adequate training. Krikalev remained in orbit indefinitely, keeping the station operational alone while terrestrial politics decided his fate.
The rescue with German money and the return to a different world
The saga of the Soviet cosmonaut only ended on March 25, 1992. Germany paid 24 million dollars to Russia to send the German pilot Klaus-Dietrich Flade on a joint mission. Krikalev returned alongside Alexander Volkov after 311 days in space, needing the help of four men to get out of the capsule and stand up. Gravity, after so long, was an enemy almost as formidable as isolation.
Upon landing, Krikalev discovered that the world he knew had disappeared. The Soviet Union that sent him to space no longer existed. His hometown, Leningrad, was now called Saint Petersburg. The Soviet uniform he wore represented an extinct country. He had left as a Soviet citizen and returned as a Russian — a geopolitical transition experienced in real-time, 400 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
The physical and psychological risks of 311 days in orbit
At the time, there was still no complete clarity about the effects of such prolonged stays in space. Today it is known that such periods cause muscle and bone mass loss, increased radiation exposure, decreased immunity, and profound psychological impacts. Krikalev faced all of this without knowing when he would return.
His wife, Elena Terekhina, communicated with him by radio and described the situation in an interview for the BBC documentary “The Last Soviet Citizen”. Both avoided addressing difficult subjects to not worsen the emotional burden, aware that the uncertainty was already heavy enough. The cosmonaut himself admitted having doubts about his ability to endure: he said he wondered if he would have enough strength to readjust to such a long stay. A curious detail marked the journey of the Soviet cosmonaut: due to time dilation caused by high speed in orbit, Krikalev returned about 0.02 seconds younger than someone born at the same instant as him.
From Mir to the International Space Station
Despite the extreme experience, Krikalev did not distance himself from space. In 2000, he joined the first crew of the International Space Station, alongside American Bill Shepherd and Russian Yuri Gidzenko. It was a symbolic moment: the same Soviet cosmonaut who was stuck on Mir during the collapse of the USSR now helped inaugurate a station built by cooperation between former rival powers.
Over six missions, Krikalev accumulated 803 days, 9 hours, and 39 minutes in space — a record he held for ten years until it was surpassed by compatriot Gennady Padalka in 2015. He received the titles of Hero of Russia and Hero of the Soviet Union, two decorations from different countries that reflect the exceptional nature of his career. Currently, Krikalev holds the position of director of manned missions at Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.
What Krikalev’s story says about resilience and geopolitics
The story of the Soviet cosmonaut who was forgotten in space transcends historical curiosity. It reveals how political decisions on Earth directly affect those in orbit — and how international cooperation can arise in the most unexpected moments. Krikalev’s rescue, funded by Germany, was one of the first concrete gestures of post-Cold War space collaboration and paved the way for the ISS.
Krikalev never described himself as a victim. In interviews, he credited the success of his mission to his colleagues and the ground control teams. Regarding the nickname “forgotten cosmonaut,” he maintained a pragmatic stance: he acknowledged that conserving resources was a priority in a country in crisis and that staying on board was the right decision. Thirty-five years later, his story remains the most eloquent reminder that space is not immune to what happens on Earth.
Did you know the story of the Soviet cosmonaut who was forgotten in space while his country disappeared? What impresses you most about this episode: Krikalev’s resilience or the political abandonment that left him in orbit? Tell us in the comments.
Be the first to react!