We didn't have rest days or weekends because we had to get ready as fast as possible, so we could beat the Americans, who were also racing to send a woman into space.

I see Vostok-6 quite often in the centre for cosmonaut training. And every time I pass it by, I stroke it and say, 'My lovely one, my best and most beautiful friend, my best and most beautiful man.'

I am very resourceful, as any woman would be.

I never aimed to be on television or in the press. We all have a personal life, and being a public figure disrupts that.

They forbade me from flying, despite all my protests and arguments. After being once in space, I was desperately keen to go back there. But it didn't happen.