Soyuz 7 (Russian: Союз 7, Union 7) was part of a joint mission with Soyuz 6 and Soyuz 8 that saw three Soyuz spacecraft in orbit together at the same time, carrying seven Cosmonauts.

The crew consisted of commander Anatoly Filipchenko, flight-engineer Vladislav Volkov and research-cosmonaut Viktor Gorbatko, whose mission was to dock with Soyuz 8 and transfer crew, as the Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 missions did. Soyuz 6 was to film the operation from nearby.

However, this objective was not achieved due to equipment failures. Soviet sources later claimed that no docking had been intended, but this seems unlikely, given the docking adapters carried by the spacecraft, and the fact that the Soyuz 8 crew were both veterans of the previous successful docking mission. This was the last time that the Soviet manned Moon landing hardware was tested in orbit, and the failure seems to have been one of the final nails in the coffin of the programme.

The radio call sign of the spacecraft was Buran, meaning blizzard, which years later was re-used as the name of the entirely different spaceplane Buran. This word is apparently used as the name of an active or aggressive squadron in Soviet military training, and, just like the Soyuz 4, it was constructed and trained to be the active or male spacecraft in its docking. Further, the word was probably chosen as it begins with the second letter of the alphabet.

The mission objectives included:
- checkout the modified structure of the Soyuz craft,
- further improvement of the control, orientation, and orbital stabilisation systems and navigation aids,
-debugging the piloting systems by orbital maneuvering of the spaceships in relation to one another,
- testing of a system for control of the simultaneous flight of three spacecraft,
-scientific observations and photographing of geological-geographical subjects and exploration of the Earth's atmosphere,
-studying circumterrestrial space,
-conducting experiments of engineering research and biomedical engineering importance.

After exhausting all the opportunities for docking between Soyuz-7 and Soyuz-8, the two crews began preparations for landing.

The landing of Soyuz-7 was scheduled for the 97th orbit of the joint mission on October 17, 1969. The two final communications sessions between the crew of Soyuz-7 and ground control were scheduled at Orbit 95 from 9:12 to 9:22 Moscow Time and during the 96th orbit from 10:34 to 10:42 Moscow Time.

Two minutes after the start of the final communications window, the automated landing sequence was to be activated aboard Soyuz-7, at 10:46:10 Moscow Time on the command from the NIP-3 ground station in Sary Shagan. The braking engine firing was scheduled to begin at 11:44:11 Moscow Time (11:44:18 according to Mishin) to deliver a velocity change of 95 meters per second. The parachute system was to be activated at 12:12:34 Moscow Time on October 17, 1969, to ensure landing near Karaganda.

Kamanin arrived at the mission control room in Yevpatoria at 8:00 and Pavel Popovich, who was acting as a communications officer with the crews during that shift, reported one potential problem aboard Soyuz-7. For an unknown reason, the light signaling the activation of the Automated Landing System, ASP, aboard the spacecraft had lit up on the flight control console inside the Descent Module. Normally, this signal would be on only after the separation of the modules or after pressing two buttons on the console. Obviously at the time, the spacecraft was still intact, and the cosmonauts had never commanded the automated landing sequence. Apparently, some electric malfunction had activated the signal and, therefore, there was some risk for triggering real unsanctioned commands. Kamanin called Filipchenko aboard Soyuz-7 and told him not to worry and wait for instructions from the ground.

Best experts in the main ground control station in Yevpatoria, Crimea, and in Moscow reviewed the situation and, after a long debate, everybody concluded that there was no way that the landing sequence could be activated before the separation of the modules. Ground controllers reported that news to the crew, but some concerns still lingered at mission control.

The SKDU propulsion system aboard Soyuz-7 initiated the braking maneuver at 11:44:13 Moscow Time and, at 11:56:17, the Descent Module separated from the rest of the spacecraft. Still, Filipchenko was able to maintain reliable communications with the ground after the modules' separation via a small antenna in the Descent Module. The capsule reached the parachute-opening altitude of seven kilometers at 12:12:30 Moscow Time and successfully touched down around 12:20 Moscow Time.

Two minutes after the landing, a search helicopter touched down near the capsule and a couple of minutes later, General Pushkin, responsible for search operations, reported to mission control that all three cosmonauts were in good shape.