Aleksei Yeliseyev

Aleksei Stanislavovich Yeliseyev (Алексей Станиславович Елисеев; born July 13, 1934) is a retired Soviet cosmonaut who flew on three missions in the Soyuz programme as a flight engineer: Soyuz 5, Soyuz 8, and Soyuz 10. Aleksei's father was Lithuanian with the last name Kuraitis, who died in the Soviet's Gulag as an enemy of the people. Aleksei uses his mother's last name "Yeliseyev" so some regard him as also being a Lithuanian cosmonaut.

A graduate of the Bauman Higher Technical School (1957) and postgraduate of Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (1962). Yeliseyev worked as an engineer in Sergey Korolev's design bureau before being selected for cosmonaut training.

Following his retirement from the space programme in 1985, he took up at an administrative position at the Bauman school for several years before retiring fully.

His awards include:
 * Twice Hero of the Soviet Union (January 22 and October 22, 1969)
 * Pilot-Cosmonaut of the USSR
 * Four Orders of Lenin (January 22, 1969 October 22, 1969 April 30, 1971, January 15, 1976)
 * Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration" (April 12, 2011) – for the great achievements in the field of research, development and utilization of outer space, many years of diligent work, public activities
 * Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary since the Birth of Vladimir Il'ich Lenin"
 * State Prize of the USSR (November 3, 1980)

Foreign awards:
 * Hero of the German Democratic Republic
 * Hero of the People's Republic of Bulgaria
 * Order of Georgi Dimitrov (People's Republic of Bulgaria)

Literature

 * S. P. Korolev. Encyclopedia of life and creativity" – edited by C. A. Lopota, RSC Energia. S. P. Korolev, 2014 ISBN 978-5-906674-04-3
 * The official website of the city administration Baikonur - Honorary citizens of Baikonur