Astronaut Goes on a Space Mission for a Year — When He Returned, His Entire Country Was Gone

Science and politics have crossed paths throughout history. But Russian astronaut Sergei Krikalev had never imagined that he would lose his entire country following his year-long voyage in space. The cosmonaut hailed from the Soviet Union and was deployed to the Mir space station on a 10-story Soyuz spacecraft for a five-month mission in May 1991. Once he returned, Krikalev found himself to be the very last soviet citizen, per Discover Magazine. 

Krikalev took off from the space center in Baikonur, Kazakhstan– known for having sent the first satellite ever, the Sputnik 1. Soviet scientist Anatoly Artsebarsky and British scientist Helen Sharman accompanied him to make some repairs to their home space station. However, the targeting system of the spacecraft faltered but Krikalev’s flawless aim saved the mission followed by a successful onboard to Mir. Sharman, also the first Briton, returned home with the rest of the existing crew eight days later. Krikalev and Artsbarsky stayed on the five-month mission packed with six spacewalks meant for the repairs. 

Back on Earth, the USSR had seemed to loosen its grip over the 15 Soviet states, including Kazakhstan. They eventually started pushing for independence triggering political tensions in the country. USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as the supreme leader before the communist superpower was torn down in December 1991. Krikalev, while unaware of the Soviet Union’s collapse, felt the ripples up in space extending his stay to 312 days on the station. A cosmonaut, who had not been trained for long-term missions, replaced a more experienced astronaut scheduled to relieve Krikalev. Therefore, he was left with no choice but to hold on longer at the Mir station. 

Simultaneously, he remained aloof from all events back on Earth until a rescue mission of three astronauts was assigned, per Eurasian Times. Krikalev had, by then, completed a whopping 5,000 orbits around the planet. Meanwhile, his country struggled to make ends meet amidst the political turmoil. He finally returned back to Earth in March 1992 but his home was gone. He landed in the now Independent Republic of Kazakhstan while his hometown of Leningrad had converted to St Petersburg in Russia. Even though he had lost his nationality and home, Krikalev was described to be immensely passionate about life away from Earth. Co-astronaut Sharman said at the time, “He always said when he got into the space station, he felt like he was going home.” 

During his extended stay in space, he conversed with ordinary people on Earth through the medium of radio as its frequency traveled to certain regions on Earth. Historian of space operations Kathleen Lewis said, “Krikalev became immensely popular around the world because he was an astronaut who spoke to ordinary people on Earth through the space station’s radio,” per BBC. She revealed that is how he and Artsebarsky formed “informal contacts” across the globe. Krikalev was marked as the ‘last Soviet citizen.” 

In July 2020, Krikalev opened up about his experiences in space and shared his perspective in a YouTube interview with NASA Johnson (@ReelNASA). “It’s a little more difficult to find things on the surface than when you do it on the maps. Because on the maps you have borders. But in space, no borders and you have only natural rivers, mountains, beaches, water, and forests,” the cosmonaut reflected.