The theme “Astronauts in Sochi” takes a worthy place in the Museum of the History of the Resort City of Sochi as one of the interesting pages in the history of the city.
The formation of the “space” collection began in the 1960s, with diverse and extensive sources of acquisition, including Star City (Zvyozdny gorodok), personal items of pilot-cosmonauts, and health resorts in Sochi. The first permanent exhibition, “Astronauts in Sochi”, opened at the Museum of Local History on October 4, 1979, covering a total area of 40 square meters and showcasing 120 exhibits from the main and auxiliary collections. The opening was attended by pilot-cosmonauts Vitaly Sevastyanov, Andrian Nikolayev, Vladimir Lyakhov, Valery Ryumin, and Natalya Sergeyevna Korolyova — the daughter of the general designer of rocket and space systems Sergey Korolyov. Over the years, the museum’s collection has grown significantly, and today it houses over 1,700 exhibits, including photographs, negatives, stamps, badges, medals, chevrons, books, signed scientific papers, astronaut life support equipment, models of the Soyuz spacecraft and the Salyut-7 orbital station, records, postcards, and envelopes. In 1988, a unique exhibit was installed in the museum: a fully equipped descent module of the Soyuz-9 spacecraft. The personal collection of the cosmonaut Vitaly Sevastyanov, who played a major role in the formation of the museum’s “space” collection, is prominently featured.
