by Dan Wright
Large shining spheres and discs
Six-meter-long pineapple shapes with “characteristic pineapple platelets covering the hull”
Huge triangular “milk cartons”
Inverted basin shapes 12–15 meters across
The hulls of various objects would flare up then “shimmer and flicker with iridescent flames.” The anomalies moved quickly, stopped suddenly, and darted sideways. No sound was ever heard. Sometimes a shining cloud emerged from a nearby forest. Many were spending their evenings on rooftops to watch the displays.3
TASS further reported on April 17 that the All-Union Inter-Industrial Ufological Scientific Coordination Center, the first of its kind, was established within the Soviet Academy of Sciences. A ufological commission in the previous year had received 10–15 reports per day from all over the world.4
An information specialist for the Soviet Council of Ministers decried the earlier removal of economics matters from the headlines. “The press, for example, enthusiastically discussed the escapades of a UFO, which obstinately appeared in full view but impudently ignored the radars.”5
As conveyed by the Moscow Domestic Service in May, scientists of the USSR and the People's Republic of China had begun a joint study of UFOs. They mapped out a program to investigate known cases and exchanged video and photo materials on new incidents.6
The editor of a new Soviet periodical on aviation and cosmonautics alerted readers: “This magazine will be a one-of-a-kind source of information on the space program, on unidentified flying objects, and on puzzling phenomena.” 7
Johannesburg (South Africa) Television Service, in its program summary for July 20, 1990, alerted its viewers: “Report on strange land imprints found in the south of England and believed to have been caused by UFO's.”8
A JPRS Report on August 1 included a Soviet astronomer's essay entitled “Boundaries of Cosmology.” Included were the remarks: “[E]ven in an environment of people with higher educations, questions about ‘flying saucers,’ ‘space aliens,’ etc. are most widespread. A segment of the audience believes science studies these things.”9
Also on August 1, a JPRS Report quoted an exchange related to the Soviet lunar program. A major asked a major general: “Did you see extraterrestrials on your films? UFO specialists assert that the first people on the Moon saw them and that extraterrestrials allegedly observed the astronauts. Is this true?” The general replied: “People fond of any sensations wrested a phrase from the astronauts' conversation and are building their fantasies on this.” The general remarked, when Aldrin said to Armstrong, “Look out, they're watching us,” he meant Houston watching Armstrong take skipping steps, not observation by ETs.10
A September 1, 1990, JPRS Report included among a list of “Articles Not Translated” from a Russian journal, Ekonomika, Politika, Ideologiya, one titled “Official American Science and UFO's.”11
At Murmansk, Russia, on September 2, as residents looked on, a “large illuminated ball suddenly appeared above the city, slowly moving ...” The “airship” was at an estimated 25 km altitude. Air Defense soldiers were among the observers.12
A JPRS Report on October 1 concerned a survey of Moscow residents. Among various findings:
One other trend in the mass conscience [sic] at present is its growing mysticalness [sic] and the appearance of this we are encountering everywhere. This involves both a belief in miracles, flying saucers, the growing influence of various prophets, including psychotherapists, and much else.13
On the 4th of October came word of a new Soviet news bulletin, UFO and Anomalous Phenomena, which was awaiting government permission to publish. The first edition would recount the sighting by two cosmonauts on separate space stations, including their transcribed conversation. All information in the bulletin was to be verified. The ten-person editorial staff would visit UFO-related sites and gather eyewitness accounts. But it was feared the military would use the accounts to gain new insights and ban open publication. The bulletin was intended to be printed in several languages but had not yet been approved by the state newspaper agency.14
A new Russian television program, VID, premiered on October 5, and was reported on a week later. As one segment, “El Dorado” detailed reports of a 1989 sighting in the Georgia republic, including an interviewee claiming he was controlled by aliens. The reporter announced, “Although aliens think people on earth are more attractive than themselves, the aliens find people on earth to be spiritually ugly.”15
A series of brief mentions were made on the UFO subject in the Soviet society:
Soviet Commentary List for November 5, 1990, included an anonymous source who discussed the Soviet magazine, UFO and Us.16
The Television Program Summary for November 9, 1990, on Paris Antenna 2 stated: “UFO sightings reported over weekend turn out to have been of section of Soviet rocket.”17
Soviet Commentary List for November 13, 1990, announced the first issue of a new Soviet magazine, We and the UFOs.18
Comlist: Moscow Consolidated (radio) for November 16, 1990. Scheduled during the “hour for youth” would be a 5-minute rundown of new publications in the USSR on UFOs.19
Moscow Krasnaya Zvezda, press selection list, November 22, 1990. A military officer disclosed radar tracks of UFOs around the time of a November 15, 1990, “rogue launch” of multiple surface-to-air missiles.20
Commentary List for December 5, 1990. Among the nine topics, “more UFO sightings by some Soviet citizens ...”21
Radio Peace and Progress program schedule for December 9, 1990. One of 19 subjects: “The Soviet Union through the eyes of an Arab.” Journalist Ahmad Abu Rashad discussed the economic crisis in USSR in addition to the phenomenon of UFOs.22
Hanoi Domestic Service, Program Summary (radio) for December 10, 1990. A report on America's intentions in UFO research.23
Moscow Television Service, Video Selection List for December 12, 1990. A video report on paintings depicting the artist's encounters with UFOs and his extrasensory powers.24
TASS on December 6, 1990, reported on a peculiarity seen by cosmonauts in space. “Asked about UFO sightings, Gennadiy Strekalov said that the crew saw a huge ball of light for seven minutes on September 26. ‘This is probably an unknown natural phenomenon,’ he said.”25
Comlink, Moscow Consolidated, for December 21, 1990. In the “science & engineering” segment, Boris Belitskiy answered listeners' questions about circles in English fields, “noting U.S. speculation that they could be caused by winds, pranksters, or even UFO's, also commenting on changing Soviet attitudes toward UFO's with increasing interest on scientific basis.”26
While you were away from your desk . . .
April 6, 1990
In rural southern Iowa, a couple was driving home when they noticed a single red light moving laterally in the distance. Curious, they decided to follow. The light soon halted above a stand of trees, so they tried to get closer, but it abruptly disappeared before their eyes. Repeatedly the light came on when they retreated, only to wink out upon their approach. They finally gave up and drove away. The next morning the farmer who owned that field found a tight grouping of three deep oval depressions, each 14 inches by 36 inches, evidently formed by something of great weight.27
April 6, 1990
Driving from Gulf Breeze, Florida, to Pensacola across the Escambia Bay Bridge, around 10:50 p.m., a couple's attention was drawn to an aerial object shaped like a long isosceles triangle. The structure was motionless or moving slowly above the Pensacola shore. It displayed a centered red light on the bottom and pairs of white lights at the points. Suddenly, they could neither see nor hear the bridge traffic around them. The triangle moved out over the bay as the couple drove cautiously forward, fearing a collision. They pulled into a parking lot at the bridge's end and climbed out to see the structure above the water. When it receded into the night, they became aware of normal traffic again.28
September 1, 1990
At Williams Lake, British Columbia,
a couple rose from their bed at 4:10 a.m. Over the roof of their son's home next door was a red glow. Through a light fog they discerned a cone of red light overhead, some 75 feet across at the top. It remained over the yard for 20 minutes before leaving. Upon awakening later in the morning, the wife had a nosebleed that persisted for three weeks. Her doctor could only say it was a severe nasal irritation without offering a cause.29
Chapter 38
1991: USSR—Nay, Russia
Among various Soviet-based TV and radio programming schedules, commentary lists, and the like for January 1991 were three of particular note:
Moscow International Korean (radio schedule), January 19, 1991. “. . . on interest of world media in unidentified flying objects.”1
BBC Hungary Television Program Summary, January 21, 1991. Video report on unidentified flying object spotted in Kecskemet.2
Comlist: Moscow Consolidated, January 21, 1991. Video discussed a local man's claims of repeated contacts with an alien life form, plus other paranormal topics.3
The January 22 edition of Pravda addressed a January 18 “report on observation of unidentified flying object in south Moravia, possibly a destroyed satellite.”4
Also appearing on January 22, Moscow's Rabochaya Tribuna commented on the prospect of repurposing an obsolete radar station. Rather than demolishing it, the writer suggested retrofitting it as a center for UFO research. “Then, perhaps, we will figure out jointly who these ‘strange guests’ are and what they want.”5
On the night of January 19, in south Moravia at 11:17 p.m., for three minutes, area residents saw a light like a comet's tail, debris occasionally falling from it.6
In the Moscow Consolidated Comlist's “Science & Engineering” segment on January 25, Boris Belitskiy answered a Kenyan listener's inquiry, “mentioning in USSR possibility of extraterrestrial research, confirmation that there has never been an official statement on capture of a UFO.”7
On January 30, 1991, a new Cypriot Greek-language magazine, “Cruising—Greek-Language Magazine,” included an article on Soviet UFO witnesses.8
A JPRS Report of March 11, 1991, implied a correlation between a Chinese government crackdown on pornographic magazines and the ascension of other periodicals that offered “healthy, forward-looking, colorful, and realistic content.” Among those magazines that were gaining new readers was Feidie Tansuo (Probing the Secrets of Flying Saucers), which was printing 300,000 copies, a 25-percent increase (time period unstated).9
From Moscow's TASS on April 12, 1991, “A shattering explosion shook this small town in the heart of Russia.” Occurring at 1:30 a.m. in Sasovo, it knocked out most windows in the town, injuring some residents. High rises rocked heavily, but earth tremors were ruled out. In a field 1.5 km outside the town, a crater 28 meters in diameter and 3.5 meters deep was discovered. Emergency crewmen on the scene detected no changes to radiation levels or airborne chemical composition. The unusual form of the crater dismissed notions of a bomb or artillery shell. The mayor suggested that stored saltpeter might have spontaneously exploded. An emergency task force was investigating the matter.10
On the 14th of April, Soviet Army General Ivan Tretyak, Deputy Minister of Defense, was interviewed on Moscow's main TV channel, CTV1, discussing a range of issues and viewpoints. On the matter of reported aerial phenomena, he said no UFOs had been recorded by air defense forces. Asked whether he personally accepted a UFO reality, Tretyak replied, “As yet I do not. I believe something else, that modern science and technology are capable of creating such spacecraft that could appear above us.”11
Following up on the Sasavo tragedy, Pravda clarified that at midnight, April 12, a huge explosion ripped off roofs and blew in windows in the Ryazan area town. As yet unresolved, disparate public speculation included: munitions left from war, an air bomb, a meteorite, and UFOs. A crater 28 meters in diameter and 4 meters deep was found one kilometer away.12
As reported by TASS on April 19, in Kazakhstan two militia patrols spotted “a kind of fire” near a mountain peak in a recreation area. An array of reds burst from its center. One of the vehicles was within 200 meters when “a few rays swept across the car and it stopped dead.” The UFO dimmed its “searchlights” and flew away.13
Tretyak and Those Denials
On April 20, 1991—a week after being interviewed on Moscow's CTV1—Army General Ivan Tretyak spoke on television again on the UFO topic, expanding on his earlier remarks: “I have recently had a large article in Literaturnaya Gazeta. I would like to tell you that UFO questions involve a great number of myths. A great number of tall stories. In practice, in saying that they were here and [we] saw them and registered them, I couldn't say that at all.14
On May 21, Moscow Consolidated news service and Moscow International Service, both Russian news giants, reported on something that had happened on May 11 at the Mir space station. Summarizing the public's reaction, Consolidated announced, “... some (callers) want to know about unidentified flying objects ...”15
On Moscow's CTV1, during a filming of the Mir from the Soyuz cargo craft before docking on May 11, 1991, a “phosphorescent” object had been seen on screen hovering near the space station. The Soyuz pilot speculated it might have been a piece from that craft. The commentator on the ground said ominously, “[T]here is nothing cheerful about the fact that an object of quite a considerable size is flying around the station, even if it is not a part of the Soyuz transport craft.” He followed up, “The fact is quite interesting indeed and, perhaps, fairly alarming.”16
The Moscow Russian Television Network (Vesti) TV Program Summary for June 2, 1991 announced: “Humorous video report from Astrakhan which is allegedly visited frequently by flying saucers.”17
Johannesburg's SABC TV, in its program summary for July 9, included a video report on a UFO sighting locally (no details).18
Then on July 15 came an entry to the Soviet Commentary List: From USSR Today, “Report of sighting of UFO in Krasnoyarsk.”19
At the village of Atsavan, Armenia, on August 4, an unknown object landed about 9:30 p.m. and remained, lights twinkling and changing shape, until 3:00 a.m.20
Contained in the August 31, 1991, JPRS Report was the headline “Pravda Urges Readers to Contribute News, Ideas.” Given all newspapers' new status following the Soviet dissolution, Pravda urged readers to submit news stories: from encounters with “flying saucers” to interviews with politicians. “We will buy news.”21
The Hanoi Television Program Summary for September 10, 1991, included “UFO's continue to be a myth for scientists.”22
A commentary in the September 27, 1991, periodical Sovetskaya Rossiya by a Mr. Abalkin regarding the remaking of the USSR, expressed the writer's distress over the nation's institutions. “[I]n such crisis situations there begins a mass belief in aliens, UFOs, extrasensory perception, and much else.”23
As the months of 1991 progressed, Russian newspapers increased their reporting of UFO incidents. The still-evolving Russian government, without the wider and burdensome Soviet Union to administer, encouraged all media to speak out on a great variety of topics and issues, not the least of which was the persistence of unidentified flying object reports. Meanwhile, Army General Tretyak showed the basic and necessary political skills of backtracking and playing both sides of the street.
Now Deputy Minister of Defense, General Tretyak gave a lengthy interview in the November 9, 1991, issue of the weekly newspaper Literaturnaya Gazeta. He confirmed that jet fighters had in recent years encountered UFOs in Soviet airspace. On March 2, 1991, a Russian interceptor obtained photographs plus both optical and thermal signals from an unknown. “[S]ome ‘stealth-like’ capacity prevented the recording of radar signals.” Tretyak believed the narrow frequency band of the air defense forces radars prevented radar returns. Asked why he had not ordered the intruder shot down, he replied wryly, “It would be foolhardy to launch an unprovoked attack against an object that may possess formidable capacities for retaliation.”24
General Tretyak related an event from an unspecified evening northeast of Moscow. For over three hours, two pulsating lights roamed the area in tandem, “moving as if they were fixed in position in relation to each other.” He said it was premature to consider the unknowns visiting Earth a threat to security or sovereignty. He advised that the public adopt a critical, cautious attitude. “He emphasized, however, that some of the UFOs, as demonstrated by evidence obtained by his interceptor pilots, are real.”25
In the town of Corrientes, Argentina, a 15 kg metal object fell through the roof of a home, landing on the couple's bed. (Presumably they were away.) The 35 cm object was green; no other details given. “It may be a cast iron piece that came loose from a satellite or a flying object,” the writer said.26
The Russian television program summary for October 20, 1991, included a mention that the UFO Congress opened in Moscow that day.27
The JPRS Report for October 26, 1991, cited an article in Izvestiya, “‘Sverdlovsk Syndrome’ Studied.” Among many potential causes of a mysterious illness overtaking the agricultural region were the “intrigues of UFO's.”28
Moscow Central Television aired an October 28, 1991, segment on pollution in a Maritime Kray. Several years before, a UFO had allegedly crashed on a particular hill outside Dalnegorsk. As witnesses climbed toward it, the unknown vanished. Residents said UFOs were a common occurrence. What attracted the visitors? The moonscape of strip mined rubble must have been suitable for only a UFO landing, the voiceover said.29
In a non-sourced report by (redacted), the director of the Soviet Institute of Economics reflected on the USSR's breakup. He opined, UFO reports circulate during difficult times.30
