Alexei Leonov Arkhipovich

Born May 30, 1934 in the village Listvyanka Tisulskogo region of Kemerovo region. Father - Leonov Arkhip A. (1892g.rozhd.), Was a peasant, in the past - miner. Mother - Leonova (Sotnikova) Evdokija Minaevna (1895g.rozhd.) - Teacher. Wife - Leonova, Svetlana Pavlovna (1940g.rozhd.). Daughters: Leonova Victoria Alekseevna (1962g.rozhd.) Leonova Oksana (1967g.rozhd.).

Alexei Leonov was born in a small village about 600 kilometers north of the city of Kemerovo. Here to his grandfather, the exiled royal government for participation in the revolution of 1905, at various times came from the Donbas parents Alexei - first her mother, and after the Civil War and his father. Shakhtar Donetsk Arkhip Leonov began in a Siberian village, the village council chairman. In 1936 his father was repressed, in 1939, he was rehabilitated.

Alex was the ninth child in the family. In 1938, he and his mother moved in Kemerovo. In 1943 he went to primary school. In 1948 the family moved to the place of work of his father in the city of Kaliningrad (KцІnigsberg). In 1953, Alex graduated from high school, got a good school leaving certificate, although the main wealth is not considered a mark in the certificate, and those outstanding for graduate school knowledge, which had cherished towards - aviation art. By synopses brother - a former aeronautical engineering, he studied with enviable persistence not only aircraft engines and aircraft designs, but also the basic theory of flight. In conjunction with the sports achievements it was the key that opened the doors of boys flying school.

In the same year, Leonov went to school in the city of Kremenchug pilots from 1955 to 1957 he studied at the Higher School of fighter pilots in the city of Chuguev Ukraine. After school from 1957 to 1959, flew in combat regiments. In 1960, AA. Leonov restrain competition and was enrolled in the cosmonaut. In 1960-1961 he was attending courses at the Cosmonaut Training Center.

After a three-year training 18-19 March 1965 in conjunction with PI. Belyaev flew in a spaceship "Voskhod-2" as the second pilot. During the flight, . lasted one day 2 hours 2 minutes and 17 seconds, . world's first came out in open space, . retired from the spacecraft to a distance of five meters, and held out the airlock into open space 12 minutes 9 seconds,
. At the state commission after the flight sounded the shortest in the history of astronautics report: "In the open space to live and work can be". Thus began a new direction of human activity in space.

In 1965-1967 AA. Leonov - senior instructor, astronaut, deputy commander of the astronauts - Soviet cosmonaut. From 1967 to 1970, commanded a group of lunar astronauts. In 1968 he graduated from the Air Force Engineering Academy N.E. Zhukovsky.

From 1970 to 1972, Leonov - Head of the 1 st Management Institute CTC, from 1972 to 1991 - deputy head of the Center of Cosmonaut Training Yu.A.. Gagarin, the cosmonaut corps commander.

In early 1973 the Academy of Sciences and NASA (USA) today announced the composition of the main and backup crews of Soyuz and Apollo, called the astronauts, who were to undergo a long and difficult way to start sharing. Criteria for selection of each party defined itself. A necessary condition for the final preparation were to be in-depth knowledge engineering, . ability to work with systems and equipment, both ships, . knowledge of the language of the country - partner, . high professional qualification, . willingness to undertake a broad program of scientific experiments and observations,
. USSR were cosmonauts AA. Leonov and VN. Kubasov. From the U.S. - astronauts T. Stafford in. Brand, D. Slayton. In July 1975 a joint mission was carried. The commander of the Soyuz spacecraft was Leonov.

All of humanity has followed with admiration for the remarkable experiment in space - a joint flight of Soyuz-19 "and the American" Apollo ". For the first time in history was carried out docking of spacecraft, . tested in place new means of connections in order to ensure human safety in space, . held astrophysical, . medicobiological, . technological and geophysical experiments,
. The flight lasted more than five days, they opened a new era in space exploration.

From 1977 to 1979 AA. Leonov - Associate of the Academy Zhukovskii.

Over the years the scientific and practical work and during space flight Leonov made a number of studies and experiments. Among them: a study of light and color characteristics of vision after space flight (1967), . influence of space flight factors on visual acuity pilot complex "Buran" (1980), . development gidrolaboratorii (use of the hydrosphere as an analogue of weightlessness, . 1966), . creation of a spacesuit to work in the hydrosphere,
. He repeatedly took part in scientific conferences and international congresses, made about 30 presentations

. The most important publications Leonov are: "pedestrian space" (1967), . "Solar Wind" (1969), . "I go out in the open space" (1970), . "Perception of Space and Time in Space" (Leonov, . Lebedev, 1966), . "Features of the psychological training of astronauts" (Leonov, . Lebedev, 1967),
.

He was twice honored with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (1965, 1975), as well as the title of Laureate of the Soviet Union (1981) and laureate of Lenin Komsomol.

Leonov was awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Star, "For Service to Motherland in the Armed Forces" III degree. He was awarded the title Hero of Socialist Labor of Bulgaria, Hero of Labor of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He was also awarded a large gold medal "For merits in development of science and mankind," Medal W. NejedlцҐ (Czechoslovakia), two large gold medals of "Space", de Lavaux two medals, a gold medal Yu.A.. Gagarin, a large gold medal Tsiolkovsky Academy of Sciences of the USSR, many other foreign orders and medals. He was awarded the International Prize named after aviation K. Harmon. He is an honorary citizen of 30 cities in the world: Vologda, . Kaliningrad, . Kemerovo, . Perm, . Chuguyiv, . Kremenchug, . Belgorod, . Cherepovets, . Nalchik, . Karaganda, . Arkalyk, . Dzhezkazgan, . Kaluga, . Gagarin, . Kirzhach, . Leninsk, . Druskininkai (Lithuania), . Altenburg (former GDR), . Mouth Labem (Czechoslovakia), Sofia, . Pleven, . Plovdiv, . Varna, . Vidin, . Ruse, . Svishchev, . Kolarov deg, . Silistra (Bulgaria), New York, . Washington, . Chicago, . Atlanta, . Nashvil, . Haitsvil, . Oklahoma, . San Antonio, . LA, . San Francisco, . Salt Lake City (USA),
. In the name of AA. Leonova named one of the craters on the Moon

. Leonov was elected a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, . Academician of Russia Academy of Astronautics, . co-chair of the International Association of Space Flight (1985-1999), . has a PhD degree in technical sciences,
. From 1992 to 2000 was president of a specialized investment fund, Alfa Capital. Since 2000 - vice-president of Alfa Bank.

In school, Alex cosmonauts began to get involved in painting. His paintings captivated the surrounding nature, it lives always surprised creations of human hands. From this wonder - the desire to sketch and arch gateway on the channel, and the old brigantine ... Leonov - the author of about 200 pictures and 5 of the album art, among which cosmic landscapes, fantasy, earth landscapes, portraits of friends (watercolor, oil, gouache Dutch). Even in sparing time for hobbies, he finds budgeted hours to scrutinize works of great artists past and the great masters of modern. In the short months of military service in the GDR, for example, he several times visited the Dresden Art Gallery, visited an art gallery in Altenburg and other museums. Since 1965, a member of the USSR Union of Artists. His favorite artist - Aivazovsky. Nicholas Romadina considered one of the best local landscape, from the Soviet artists appreciates Yuri Kugacha, Skitaltseva. There favorite sculptor. The best way he knows the work of Gregory Postnikov. This sculptor had devoted himself to other display daring man in the conquest of outer space.

In addition to painting hobby Leonov likes to read books from the series of great people ". Among his other likes cycling, tennis, volleyball, basketball, hunting, photography and filming (they removed and announced a series of 17 films "The astronauts without masks").

Lives and works in Moscow.