We received the program for the remaining days. Didn’t like it — it’s almost all medical. Today they examined us to see how we feel in the final phase. Seems fine. In the second half of the day, Leonov came by and congratulated us on the record. We received an informal radiogram.

Telex from France, 23.11.82. To Mission Control.

I would be grateful if you would convey, on behalf of the National Center for Space Studies of France and on behalf of Jean-Loup Chretien and Patrick Baudry, our sincere congratulations to Anatoly Berezovoy and Valentin Lebedev on the success they have just achieved in breaking the record for flight duration and time spent in space. We wish them a successful continuation of the flight. With deep respect, Hubert Curien, President of CNES.

In the evening we asked them to play us the National Anthem. After all, this record is the fruit of the labor of our people. And we wanted to mark it with the country’s anthem. Before bed, in the last communication session, we heard it. We stood, suspended in the air. Below us at that moment, Kamchatka was gliding past in the window. It felt so good to experience the solemnity of those minutes. And so much came flooding back along this difficult, long road.

We entered shadow. I watched the twinkling of stars as they set below the horizon — it lasts 5-7 seconds at a frequency of about 3 Hz. The cucumbers in the garden have sprouted well. Height — 35 mm, 5 little leaves. And the “Little Cranes,” as I’ve named them here, are 25 mm tall with 2 leaves. I just rode the bicycle ergometer.