Apollo Astronauts in the USSR

Some rarely seen photos

Neil Armstrong relaxing in Russia.

Introduction:

I was surprised to come across some photos of Apollo Astronauts visiting the Soviet Union - so I figured they were probably not well known, and worth sharing on this substack. There were three visits, first by Frank Borman, (Commander of Apollo 8), and a year later, Neil Armstrong. The final visit was by Tom Stafford for the Apollo-Soyuz Mission.

As usual, click on an image for a larger version.

Frank Borman.

Frank Borman was the commander of Apollo 8, the first crewed mission to fly around the Moon. These photos were taken after that flight, and before the Apollo 11 landing. Given tensions at the time, I’m really surprised that the visit took place.

Frank Borman and his wife meet Gherman Titov, (AI enlarged).

Out and about with Gherman Titov

Borman on the beach in the USSR.

Borman and Titov tasting wine in Crimea, I think they got along well!

Borman with some more cosmonauts

Frank Borman with Georgy Beregovoi at the Cosmonaut Training Centre.

Frank Borman inside a Soviet Simulator

Here’s an article in Russian on Borman’s visit, complete with Soviet news clippings from the time.

https://dzen.ru/a/YLCgcEoQoxbVP-sZ

And here’s a video clip.

Neil Armstrong:

About 1 year later, between May 24 and June 5, 1970, Armstrong travelled to the Soviet Union, a country not on the goodwill tour’s itinerary, at the invitation of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Neil Armstrong relaxes in the countryside.

A picnic in the countryside

He seems to be enjoying himself with the cosmonauts…

Accepting an award (???) from Valentina Tereshkova

My personal favourite, Neil dancing at an infant school!

Laying flowers at Gagarin’s Red Square memorial.

One of the gifts he received was a hunting rifle.

Armstrong at the “Volga” simulator.

At the controls

Neil Armstrong entering a Soviet simulator

Neil Armstrong getting into a Soviet Simulator, it looks a bit cramped for him…

Tom Stafford, (Apollo 10), in the USSR:

Stafford and Leonov in a simulator

Again, Stafford and Leonov

Apollo / Soyuz gathering in the Soviet Union.

This edition’s cool image:

A high resolution, (AI Enlarged), Soviet poster showing the successful space missions. As always, click for a large version.

Soviet poster: “Soviet satellites and spacecraft”

This edition’s cool links:

Several links this time, covering some of the pages I used to find articles with the photos of astronaut visits to the USSR.

NASA page in English covering Armstrong’s visit.

https://www.nasa.gov/history/50-years-ago-armstrong-visits-the-soviet-union/

Russian “photojournal” site, with many photos of Neil Armstrong in Russia.

https://cccp-foto.livejournal.com/647720.html?view=4871208

Russia Beyond article:
https://www.rbth.com/history/334020-first-man-on-moon-ussr

This edition’s 1 week download:

A batch of Russian Language, (Heavily Illustrated), Novosti Kosmavtiki Space magazines, this time all 17 issues from 1998. 100 Mb of PDF files. Click on Glushko’s mugshot to download.

V P Glushko

That’s all folks!