Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR

The honorary title Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR (Летчик-космонавт СССР) 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" (ЛЕТЧИК), along the upper right edge of the pentagon above the globe, the gilt relief inscription "COSMONAUT" (КОСМОНАВТ), along the bottom edge of the pentagon under the globe, the gilt inscription "USSR" (СССР), 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 (posthumously)
 * 25) 1971 — Viktor Patsayev (posthumously)
 * 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