Shuttle-Mir Stories

Mir 25 crewmember Andrew Thomas poses with personal Flight Data File (FDF) items in the Mir Space Station including stuffed animals and a patch.

Thomas on Russian Culture

In his Oral History, U.S. Mir astronaut Andy Thomas comments on his experience with Russian culture.

Thomas says, "Being in Moscow was fascinating, too, because Moscow is a city that's, in some ways, caught between the nineteenth and the twenty-first centuries in part of its culture, and it's a culture that clearly grew up as an autocratic Communist state.

"Geographically, it's caught between Eastern Europe and the Far East, or even the Middle East, and you can see that reflection in their architecture and in some of the clothing and cultural habits.

"So it was fascinating to just be in that sort of environment and see that aspect to it and to live there for a year and get to know them. It's something that would have been unthinkable ten years ago . . . but I got to do it. . . . It was just an amazing experience."

Related Links:
Star City Life
Cultural Background
Russia
Thomas Increment
Profile: Andy Thomas
Andy Thomas Oral History (PDF)

 

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