The crew of Soyuz TM-31, Yuri Gidzenko, Bill Shepherd and Sergei Krikalev, at the launch. (2000)

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scanzen:

Moszkva. Ismét négy lakója van a Szaljut-6 űrállomásnak. Vlagyimir Dzsanibekov alezredes és Zsugderdemidijn Gurragcsaa, a Mongol Népköztársaság űrhajósa a Szojuz-39 jelzésű űrhajóról átszállt a Szaljut-6-ra, ahol a Kovaljonok-Szavinih párossal végzik a közös kutató munkát. Telefoto MTI Külföldi Képszolgálat, XXII. évfolyam 8. szám (25578). 2.

Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa before the launch of the Soyuz-39 spacecraft, March 22, 1981. With this mission, Gürragchaa became the first Mongolian, and second Asian cosmonaut.

scanzen:

Moszkva. Fellőtték a Szojuz-15 űrhajót, parancsnoka Gennagyij Szarafanov alezredes, fedélzeti mérnöke Lev Gyemin mérnök ezredes.  Telefoto MTI Külföldi Képszolgálat, XV. évfolyam 35. szám (25578). 2.

Liftoff of the Soyuz-15 rocket, August 26, 1974.

Sergei Krikalev after putting on his Sokol spacesuit for the launch of Soyuz TMA-6. (2005)

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scanzen:

Csillagváros. A Szojuz-Apollo szovjet-amerikai kísérleti űrrepülés szovjet előkészületi programjának megfelelően december 2-án felbocsátották a Szojuz-16 űrhajót. Telefoto MTI Külföldi Képszolgálat, XV. évfolyam 49. szám (25578). 2.

Liftoff of the Soyuz 16 spacecraft, December 2, 1974. Soyuz 16 was a manned test flight for the Apollo-Soyuz mission in July, 1975. The two-man crew - Anatoly Filipchenko and Nikolai Rukavishnikov - tested a docking ring and other systems to be used in the joint flight.

Vladimir Dzhanibekov (front) and Viktor Savinykh on their way to the pad for the launch of Soyuz T-13 (1985)

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There have been some new religious traditions added to launch preparations after the fall of the Soviet Union. The Soyuz is blessed after being rolled out to the launch pad and also the crew before being suited up for launch. These were performed by Father Sergei, the local Baikonur Russian Orthodox Priest.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3)

unknownskywalker:

Expedition 31 Soyuz Launch

The Soyuz TMA-04M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 11:01 p.m. EDT on Monday (9:01 a.m. Tuesday, Kazakhstan time) carrying Expedition 31 Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka, NASA Flight Engineer Joseph Acaba and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin to the International Space Station.

The trio will dock to the station’s Poisk Mini-Research Module at 12:38 a.m. Thursday, bringing the Expedition 31 crew to its full six-member complement. Acaba, Revin and Padalka will join the current station residents, Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineers Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers, and begin a four-month tour of duty aboard the orbiting complex.

Watch the launch video: http://youtu.be/k64UY0vRPIE

The Soyuz TMA-04M crew before getting on the elevator that takes them to their Soyuz.

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The coverage has started on NASA for the launch of Soyuz TMA-04M. There is also a russian video feed of the pad here.

Soyuz TMA-04M launches tonight!

It’s scheduled for 11:01pm ET (8:01pm PT). Prelaunch coverage starts at 10pm ET (7pm PT) on NASA TV.

The crew of Soyuz TM-27 before launch: Talgat Musabayev, Léopold Eyharts (France, and the only one without a mustache) and Nikolai Budarin. (1998)

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Alexei Gubarev and Vladimír Remek (Czechoslovakia), crew of Soyuz 28. They spent 7 days in space onboard Salyut 6. This was the first manned flight in the Interkosmos program, making Vladimír Remek the first person in space who was not a Soviet or American citizen. (1978)

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Vladimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh, crew of Soyuz T-13, wave goodbye at launch. It was the first Soyuz to dock to an inert station; Salyut 7 had been left empty for eight months because of a problem with the solar arrays. (1985)

(Source)