"When I orbited the Earth in a spaceship, I saw for the first time how beautiful our planet is. Mankind, let us preserve and increase this beauty, and not destroy it!"

"The path of a cosmonaut is not an easy, triumphant march to glory. You have to get to know the meaning not just of joy but also of grief, before being allowed in the spacecraft cabin."

"I feel wonderful. I see clouds and the horizon, and the forests and cities."

"When they asked me to write down a farewell letter to my wife, I was a bit surprised. I thought, 'What's the hurry?'"

"I was singing a song during the flight. 'The Motherland Hears, The Motherland Knows.'"