Story Of "The Last Soviet" 

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10 April 2024

Space travel is a difficult field, one that requires extreme mental and emotional toughness

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Sometimes the missions last for years and even the highly trained astronauts find it overwhelming

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But the story of Sergei Krikalyov stands apart as the one in which he showed tremendous courage

Image: European Space Agency

He is known as "the last Soviet" for his more than 311 days spent in space as Soviet Union collapsed beneath him in 1991

Image: NASA

Mr Krikalyov was only meant to be at the Mir station for five months. Instead, he remained for close to a year

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It was supposed to be a routine mission but his replacement never came and even the communications ceased

Image: NASA

Mr Krikalyov completed his mission and agreed to stay back as the flight engineer for next crew, not knowing what had happened on Earth

Image: X/@SirChuckles1962

Having been launched as a Soviet citizen, the mechanical engineer returned to Earth as a Russian citizen

Image: NASA

But he was completely changed - from his weight to his motor abilities and even the emotional state

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Mr Krikalyov had been isolated for so long but his case went down in history for his perseverance to complete the mission

Image: NASA

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