Cosmonaut Hero of the Soviet Union

Tula, Soviet Union: n.p., 1970. 150 by 230mm (6 by 9 inches). Buckram photo album with title printed in gold (in Russian); [15] lvs. most with tissue guards. 26 full page original silver gelatin photographs (plus two additional photographs autographed by Khrunov). Each photo 5 ½ by 8 inches. Generally Very Good; unfortunately where one of the tissue guards is missing two photos are damaged. Autographed photographs Good.

Yevgeny Vasilyevich Khrunov (1933–2000) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 5 and Soyuz 4 missions. The Soyuz 5 mission in January 1969 was the first docking of two crewed spacecraft of any nation, and the first transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another of any nation.

This is a commemorative album of Khrunov visiting the Tula Machine-Building Plant, a Soviet weapons manufacturer in Tula. Tula a.k.a. Tulamashzavod was founded in 1879 and was a major producer of guns and missiles for land, air and naval forces. Khrunov appears in full military uniform and is fawned on like a rock star. The item includes two extra autographed photographs which appear to have been autographed by Khrunov at the visit.