Russian spacesuits is a unique contribution to space science. The authors, part of the original Zveda team that manufactured spacesuits for the first Russian space flights, still play an integral role in spacesuit research and development. Thus there is no-one better to describe the technical innovations of the past 40 years, which enabled Gagarin's first flight in 1961, the first space walk in 1965 and the Mir missions of the 1980s and 1990s, and which have culminated in today's International space Station. The authors also describe how the political climate within the Soviet Union and internationally has affected the development of the space programme and their work. Many documents are published for the first time that, together with photographs, detailed descriptions of the events of the time and the authors' personal memories, provide a fascinating review of a previously unknown aspect of space science
