THE RUSSIANS: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

By ANDREW MEIER/MOSCOW

VASILI TSIBLIYEV

The question "Kto vinovat?" (Who's to blame?) has long haunted Russia. Searching for scapegoats--be it at the behest of Bolsheviks, Stalinists or the Russian Space Agency--is a native tradition. But Vasili Tsibliyev, after surviving the premature judgment of Boris Yeltsin (who blamed Mir's woes on "the human factor"), has hit the ground fighting. "They can convict me," he says, "but what'll they do when the next crisis comes?" Though the new crew on Mir has been beset by their own troubles, Tsibliyev won't gloat. "If the crew weren't prepared, they'd be on the ground. No one gets a free ride into the cosmos."

Tsibliyev hasn't yet seen any medals or pay raises. Since his return, he's been to Germany twice, but a NASA-sponsored U.S. trip was postponed. "We've had a few things to sort out," he explains. Wife Larissa, meanwhile, has become a minor celebrity. Russian Mir watchers praise her dignity and "big-screen beauty." "She's kept strong," says a fellow cosmonaut's wife, "and kept the kids out of the public eye." Tsibliyev, a colonel, could still lose his stripes. But son Vasili Jr., 19, and daughter Victoria, 14, are not worried. "Papa's back," says Victoria. "That's all that matters."

ALEXANDER LAZUTKIN

When the Soyuz capsule bearing the ill-fated Mir crew hit the Kazakh steppe in mid-August, the landing "wasn't as soft as it could have been," engineer Alexander Lazutkin later recalled. The former gymnast has clearly mastered the art of Right Stuff understatement. In his spartan apartment on the edge of Moscow, Lazutkin speaks of Mir in the most sanguine tones. "The inquisition is over," he reports, "and so far, no fines."

In the meantime, he isn't worrying about his paycheck. He's considering doing what so many retired Politburo and KGB bigwigs have done: writing his memoirs. Maybe with the royalties, he'd be able to move his wife Lyudmilla and daughters Natasha, 13, and Yevgeniya, 8, out of the apartment he's lived in since 1961.

After two weeks of R. and R. on the Black Sea, Lazutkin and Tsibliyev are on tour, hitting six German cities to promote the space program. Despite his ordeal, Lazutkin remembers Mir fondly. "Up there, there's something worth watching. The earth...the northern lights. You fly like a bird. And you can't fathom how people could possibly walk." He'd still love to take another spin onboard. The odds, however, are slim.

--By Andrew Meier/Moscow