posted 12-27-2007 12:37 PM               

The attached image recently came into my hands. It is said to show the women candidates who attended the second medical commission for the Vostok female group in March 1962. Tereshkova, Kuznetsova and Solovyeva had already been selected by this stage.

It is possible to identify successful candidates Yorkina and Ponomaryeva on the front row, together with Marina Popovicha, well known as a candidate who was turned down at this point in the process, but who are the other five women.

posted 12-27-2007 05:30 PM               

The initial screening produced 58 candidates who were medically examined in two groups of 23 and 35 resulting in 18 being passed as medically fit (Borzenhova, Yefremova, Zanozina, Daricheva, Ivleva, Kvasova, Korchuganova, Maslova, Popovich, Sokolova, Soloviyova, Korolkova, Morozitcheva, Yorkina, Kuznetzova, Ponomarova, Solovyova and Terashkova).

They were then examined in two groups of 9 and 8 - indicating that one candidate had withdrawn. Of the first group (Group 1) of 9 examined, 7 passed - Yefremova, Kvasova, Sokolova, Solovyova, Kuznetsova, Solovyova and Tereshkova.

The names of the four who passed from the second group (Group 2) of eight (shown in the original photograph) were Borzenkova, Popovich, Yorkina and Ponamoreva. We can therfore surmise that the candidates shown in the Group 2 photo in addition to Popovich, Yorkina and Ponomareva definitely include Borzenkova.

While two names from Group 1 are missing the faces in the photo must be from Zanozina, Daritcheva, Ivleva, Korchuganova, Maslova, Korolkova or Morozitcheva.

posted 12-28-2010 06:05 PM               

The second left in the first row sits Borzenkova Valentina. Now she lives in Belgorod.

posted 03-01-2011 02:19 AM               

Tatyana Nikolaevna Voinova is named as a candidate and appears to have been one of the 23 women sent to Moscow in January 1962, but she failed the medical and did not go through to the final tests.

posted 04-13-2011 07:36 AM               

Four girls from her club were sent to Moscow as potential cosmonaut candidates - two failed the initial health checks and were sent home. Borzenkova and her un-named friend proceeded to the next phase, where her friend was eliminated with a spinal problem.

Borzenkova says she passed all the tests and went forward to the credential commission where her family history and political pedigree were checked out. She even reached the stage of completing a photo-shoot to see if she were sufficiently photogenic to be a world media star!

posted 04-21-2011 09:45 AM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by parg1:
The initial screening produced 58 candidates who were medically examined in two groups of 23 and 35 resulting in 18 being passed as medically fit (Borzenhova, Yefremova, Zanozina, Daricheva, Ivleva, Kvasova, Korchuganova, Maslova, Popovich, Sokolova, Soloviyova, Korolkova, Morozitcheva, Yorkina, Kuznetzova, Ponomarova, Solovyova and Terashkova).

---

The specific details which have emerged are:

1. Valentina Borzenkova was one of four candidates from Orel Aeroclub. One of the others was Inga Ivanova - a brand new name for us!
   
2. Borzenkova and Ivanova passed the medicals but the others did not.
   
3. Borzenkova also passed the physicals and went forward to the credentials commission.
4. These four were all in Group 2.
   
5. There were four candidates from Yaroslavl, Tereshkova, (Vera) Kvasova, Tatyana Moritcheva, Valentina Daritcheva.
6. These four were all in Group 1.
   
7. Moritcheva failed the medical, Daritcheva failed the physical and Kvasova reached the credentials commission stage.
   
8. Tatyana Voinova from the USSR parachute team was a candidate, but failed the medicals.

Therefore the groups start to look like this:

Group 1 (11 women)

• Tereshkova
  
• Daritcheva
  
• Moritcheva
  
• Kvasova

• Solovyeva
  
• Kuznetsova
  
• Maslova
  
• Voinova

• Yefremova (about whom we have no information)

• Sokolova (has been reported as a record setting pilot called 'Marina Sokolova' but the pilot is actually called 'Marina Solovyova' - different person.

  I suspect that 'Sokolova' may actually be Evghenia Sokolova who was in the USSR team with Kuznetsova and Maslova in 1961, but evidence is required!

  Solovova (has been reported to be a pilot called Ludmilla Solovova)

Group 2

• Borzenkova
  
• Ivanova
  
• Unknown 1 (from Orel)
  
• Unknown 2 (from Orel)

• Popovich
  
• Zanozina
  
• Korchuganova

• Ponomareva

• Yorkina

Putting names to the 'unknowns', one is presumably Svetlana Iveleva. I am unsure that we should include Galina Korolkova, other sources suggest she was one of the 58, but did not make the 23.

posted 04-24-2011 01:01 PM               

I have some additional information on Tatania Voinova. She was born on 25th July 1938, and was a candidate for the 1962 cosmonaut group but a heart murmur was enough to eliminate her during the medical testing. However she continued to compete in parachute jumping until injury forced her retirement in 1971.

posted 08-05-2015 08:45 AM               

Here is the original text to picture:

Во втором ряду, слева направо: Наталья Маслова, Розалия Занозина-Шихина, Жанна Ёркина

В первом ряду, слева направо: Воинова Татьяна, Валентина Борзёнкова, Галина Корчуганова, Валентина Пономарёва, Марина Попович

Фото: Алла Панасенко.

In English back row left to right: Natalia Maslova, Rozalia Zanozina-Shikhina, Zhanna Yorkina. Front row, l-r: Tatyana Voynova, Valentina Borzyonkova, Galina Korchuganova, Valentina Ponomaryova, Marina Popovich. Photo: Alla Panasenko.