Georgy Stepanovich Shonin (Ukrainian: Гео́ргій Степа́нович Шо́нін; 3 August 1935 – 7 April 1997; born in Rovenky, Luhansk Oblast, (now Ukraine) but grew up in Balta of Ukrainian SSR) was a Soviet cosmonaut, who flew on the Soyuz 6 space mission. Shonin was part of the original group of cosmonauts selected in 1960. He left the space program in 1979 for medical reasons. Shonin's family hid a Jewish family from the Nazis during WWII. Shonin later worked as the director of the 30th Central Scientific Research Institute, Ministry of Defence (Russia). He died of a heart attack in 1997.