Cosmonaut Pilot of the USSR. President of the Presidium of the Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries.

She was born on March 6, 1937, in the village of Maslennikovo in the Yaroslavl region, into a poor peasant family. Her father died in the war (1942). The family moved to Yaroslavl in 1945. She completed secondary school in Yaroslavl in 1953. She had a passion for history, mathematics, and music.

In 1954, at the age of 17, she began working at the Yaroslavl Tire Factory, combining work with night studies. In 1955, she worked at the “Krasny Perekop” Textile Plant. Without leaving her factory job, she studied industrial technology, graduating with top marks. As a Technical Industrial Engineer, she worked in the mechanical repair shop of “Krasny Perekop.”

In 1958, she began practicing parachuting at the Yaroslavl Aeroclub. In 1961, Valentina Tereshkova passed the selection of a medical commission to become part of the Soviet cosmonaut corps (“Star City”). In 1962, she began her training for space flight. In 1963, she completed her courses as an Aeronautical Engineer.

From June 16 to 19, 1963, the spacecraft Vostok-6, piloted by her, completed 48 orbits around the Earth. For accomplishing this flight, she was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and “Cosmonaut Pilot of the USSR” (the first woman cosmonaut).

In 1969, she graduated from the “Zhukovsky” Military Academy. By 1970, she was a Colonel Engineer in the USSR Air Force. In 1976, she defended her doctoral thesis in Technical Sciences. She is the author of various publications and articles on the challenges of space exploration.

She was elected Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1966. From 1968 to 1987, she was elected President of the Soviet Women’s Committee. In 1969, she became Vice President of the Women’s International Democratic Federation. She has been a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR since 1974. She is also President of the House of Europe in Moscow.

Since 1986, Valentina Tereshkova has been President of the U.A.S.A. (Union of Soviet Societies for Friendship). She holds numerous honors (honorary doctorates and scientific medals) awarded by universities and societies in various countries (England, France, Italy, USA, China, etc.).