Plus Episode 3: Suppressed Soviet UFO Files

This is My Dark Path with a special Plus episode for subscribers. 

On September 13, 1990, a military radar station in the Volga-Ural region of the USSR picked up a large object in the sky.  It appeared suddenly and was almost overhead.  As the radar was tasked with detecting aircraft that could be bombers or missiles, the signal was taken very seriously.  But as quickly as the object was detected, it disappeared from their radar.  Because of the proximity of the craft and it’s unusual disappearance, the commander of the installation, Major Tuplin, and others in his team, went outside to look for the aircraft with binoculars.

What they saw stunned them.  Overhead was a triangular object, not moving.  Later, it was estimated that each side was about 50 feet long.  That’s about the length of a 4 story building.  It was entirely black.  No windows or portals were visible.

Then, as they incredulous soldiers watched, the craft shot three bright lights into the sky before landing nearby.  What prompted the next events is unknown.  Was the object reacting to the soldiers or executing a preplanned move?  But another beam of light came from the craft, this time aimed at an antenna from the radar installation.  The antenna reportedly caught fire briefly.  Surprised, soldiers fired their rifles at the now landed object, only to be stopped by their commander. 

Then began a standoff of sorts.  The object didn’t move for an hour and the soldiers and radar technicians kept their distance, warily watching and waiting.  But during this pause, Tuplin realized that two soldiers had gone missing - Corporal Blazhis and Private Varennitza.  The standoff ended as suddenly as it began with the object rising up and disappearing into the sky.  Later, the two missing soldiers were found – confused at why their comrades were concerned about them – their watches were stopped but they had no idea they had been missing the whole time.  They claimed that they had never left their posts.  Oddly, their serial numbers on their weapons had also been removed.

The event, of course, had to be investigated.  The object had been seen by too many soldiers to simply ignore.  Initially a reporter from the Za Rodina newspaper, the official publication of the military district, started to look into the events.  Then, before the arrival of a Soviet ufologist, Igor Baurin, the investigation was shut down by the chief air defense officer for the region.  The matter was dropped and the witnesses told to move on.

If you recall in episode 42, Overhead and Underground, UFOs in the USSR, we walked through several fascinating UFO cases from the Soviet era…and how the government repressed open discussion of the topic for decades.  This case, like many others in the Soviet era, were dismissed outright.  The facts, whether they led to a scientific rationale for the events or their cause remained unknown, were buried.

As a result, some of the most famous UFO encounters from the USSR have only come to light in the last decade since the fall of that evil empire.  While most UFO encounters are shrouded with uncertainty, doubt and confusion anyway, the communist government instilled fear – suppressing the population’s will to report sightings and researchers willingness to investigate them.

In this episode, we’ll visit some of the most fascinating Soviet UFO cases that aren’t often in the discussion. 

Hi, I’m MF Thomas, and this is the My Dark Path podcast. In every episode, we explore the fringes of history, science, and the paranormal. So, if you geek out over these subjects, you’re among friends here at My Dark Path.  If you’re listening to this, it means that you’re a Plus subscriber.  Thank you so much for your support!  I love creating My Dark Path and I’m grateful that you care enough to subscribe.  I know that every dollar you share with My Dark Path is precious…the result of your hard work.  I’m humbled that you’re willing to subscribe.

If you have a moment, please visit us on YouTube.  We are starting to release videos frequently there.  We’re just finishing Episode 3, the Haunted Taipei Hyatt.  I’ll put it on Patreon for an early peek for our Plus subscribers.

Let’s begin with Plus episode 3, the Secret Soviet UFO files.

Part 1 – Early Paranoia

As I recounted in episode 42, there are thousands of reports of UFOs in Russia that predated the Soviet Union.  While those events were of mild interest to the Soviet authorities at best, World War II marked the moment when UFOs moved from a curiosity to a national security concern.  While Stalin and Hitler formed an alliance early in the war, only to be broken later by Germany, reports of UFOs reached a fever pitch flying anomalies were observed as military aircraft flooded the skies with human eyes.  And the Soviet military started taking these reports seriously. 

One of the events that caught the attention of the Soviet government is today captured in a report from the Russian Ufology Research Center.  It details an encounter in the skies over Poland in the fall of 1944.  A navigator aboard a Soviet bomber, Lev Petrovich Ovischer observed a peculiar, bright object over an airfield near the front lines near Warsaw.  Lev and many others in the plane, saw an object hovering, or maintaining its altitude for about 15 minutes, a feat that drew everyone’s attention.  Equally surprising was the object’s brightness.  Then, without warning, the object few straight up at an alarming speed before disappearing from sight.  Soviet flight crews knew nothing of the foo fighters that were the subject of much discussion among western flight crews.  But the event prompted Ovischer to start collecting reports from other military pilots about UFO sightings.

Another prominent sighting took place in August 1943 at the location of a fierce armor battle at the Kursk, a city near the Russian border with Ukraine.  It was here that Soviet and German tanks and artillery fought.  In this case, the UFO observation was made from the ground.  Senior Lieutenant Gennady Zhe-lag-in-ov was watching the sky in the aftermath of a Soviet artillery attack on German lines.  At this moment, a sickle-shaped object came into view.  If you recall, there was a spate of sickle-shaped UFOs that were viewed throughout the Soviet Union in the 1950s.  But in the middle of World War II, this was not a shape typically associated with UFO sightings. 

The object flew incredibly fast and quickly disappeared from the surprised lieutenant’s view.  But the object had been close enough for Gennady to make out the color of the UFO.  The UFO had been dark blue, except for the middle that was bright orange.  In the book the Soviet UFO files, Gennady is reported as describing the object as something like the breathing of a giant dolphin as the center appeared to expand and contract in size.  And he was not alone in his sighting, as others signed the report as well.

And this was not the only UFO sighting at the epicenter of the Kursk battle front.  There were other reports of a massive UFO that hovered over the ground between the Soviet and German lines, staying in place just before the commencement of the battle.  Soviet leaders feared that this might have been another Nazi wonder weapon.  While the V1 and V2s had been deployed against the allies in the west, wild rumors persisted of other Nazi super weapons.  Observers made several drawings of the object that were supposedly placed in Felix Ziegel’s archive.  But today, no such drawings are to be found in Zielgel’s records.  Burdakov, was very familiar with the content of Ziegel’s archives. But even he never saw any records of these events at Kursk. 

But beyond the battlefield, Soviet citizens were also making wartime UFO observations.  For example, earlier in the war, in April 1941, a young high school aged student named Shirokova was at home in the village of Zimmnyatskiy, north of Stalingrad.  About 11pm, she observed several red and black globes hovering over the nearby forest. Reportedly, the objects were the size of the setting sun. After watching them briefly, they started moved in a way that suggested to her they were fighting, eventually causing one to try to escape the possible dogfight and fly south while gaining altitude.  The other gave chase, and seemingly shot the down the escaping object.  The object crashed on Zelyenyi Island on the River Don. Civilians nearby reported hearing a loud boom that night. 

The morning after the crash, several locals went to investigate.  At this time there was no bridge to the island so the civilians used mobile pontoon bridges to visit it. To their surprise, they found a crashed object with pieces scattered broadly around the point of impact.  Shards of silver metal covered the terrain.  The civilians observed that the object had broken apart into several small and large sections with some partially buried in the earth.  Perhaps even more shocking was that, throughout the wreckage, they found remnants of several bodies.  In hindsight, these were, presumably, alien, in origin.

As word reached the government, the island and surrounding area soon swarmed with with soldiers and secret police.  Rumors ripped through the area about what was found, only to be exacerbated by the observation that trucks were seen hauling things away from the area.  Reportedly, a laboratory was built right on the site to study the crash.  Initially, the craft was thought to be a new German spy airplane or even a V1 or V2. But at this time, the Soviet and Nazi governments were allies and so the Soviet government may have even reinforced this rumor as a test gone wrong.

Apparently, the investigation stretched on for months but several facts seemed to emerge.  First the craft was large, between 20 and 30 meters in diameter.  Additionally, the wreck and ground around the crash were contaminated with radiation. But as the effects of radiation were poorly understood, the presence of radiation was not initially picked up.  But many who visited or worked at the crash site or even evaluated the debris died from radiation poisoning, leaving few witnesses. Because of the high radiation an order was given to bury all parts of the crashed disk in a remote location. Parts of the alien bodies were cremated; apparently because they were also emitting radiation.

Just 2 months after the crash the Nazi’s invaded their ally on June 22, 1941, diverting Soviet attention entirely to their western front.

And six months later, on November 20 1941 German troops reached the area.  A regiment of the NKVD fiercely defended the island, including the laboratory that continued to operate there.  But as their defenses crumbled, the Soviet troops evacuated the area and lab, taking with them the remaining wreckage, reportedly to the distant city of Novosibirsk, far from the frontlines.  Again, the radiation from the wreckage was severe, reportedly killing most of those involved in the evacuation

This purported crash and recovery became a footnote amid the horrors of war.  As I worked to try to verify parts of this event, I found several facts from some different sources. 

Reportedly, in the 1980’s city leaders in Rostov-on-Don decided to make the Zelyenyi Island, today also known as the Green Island, into a center for youth development, by building camps, sports fields and parks. There are different stories about the results of this construction.  Some books say that that construction was halted almost immediately without any explanation given.  However, as I’ve looked into the island, it appears to be fully populated with housing, small businesses and parks.  Internet research provides no evidence that there’s any residual radiation or other contamination.

So how much evidence is there for this entire event?  As usual, there’s very little direct evidence of a UFO crash.  Nevertheless, given the importance of the island to the story, could the island itself provide some other proof?

First, in favor of the story, there’s no argument that a NKVD regiment was virtually wiped out.  A record from the chief of staff of the 56th army states: “The regiment fought fierce battles for the island, where the enemy directed the most violent blows.  Despite the obvious superiority of the enemy in forces, firepower as well as favorable conditions of the area, the regiment courageously and stubbornly defended the area.  The regiment’s losses - killed and wounded - amounted to more than 90%.”

There’s also another source that somewhat supports the story.  The island has seemingly been the location of paranormal events for sometime, many that predate the purported UFO crash.  Some stories claim the island had a pagan temple, others state that the island has a source of energy that attracted witches to the area to test their evil powers.

A third source of evidence is simply…the lack of evidence.  The island is populated and has no records of unusual health problems.  There are parks, businesses, and ongoing human activity. 

So, like most UFO sightings, this event will remain unsolved at least for the time being.  But, the city of Rostov-on-Don and Zelyenyi Island have been added to my list of places to visit to explore in depth.

But the event, combined with so many others in war-time USSR, only fed the already paranoid Soviet leadership.  Paranoia that these sightings were actually Nazi or western weapons, or, as we will see later in this episode, that the UFO and alien threat might, just might, be real.

Part 2 – the Soviet response

Many years ago, when planning my first trip to Geneva for work, I had a mental picture of the city that was informed more by fiction than fact.  For many reasons, most tied to popular culture, Geneva has a reputation as the epicenter of secret agents, diplomatic intrigue, and geopolitical power.  We’ve visited Geneva in past episodes with My Dark Path, including the episode about Frankenstein and Pacemaker.  It was in a small house in the city where Mary Shelley, staying with friends, conceptualized Frankenstein’s monster.

I’ve been to Geneva now dozens of times and for a city with such high expectations, it is, in fact, an incredibly peaceful city.  Built on the shores of Lake Geneva, it’s a historic location.  While James Bond, Jason Bourne, or their real-world counterparts may not be leaping from roof top to roof top, it is a city of intrigue.

While the Soviets actively suppressed investigation of UFO activity at home, their government did not fully ignore it.  While Burdakov and Zeigel were being dissuaded from investigating, the Ministry of Defense created a UFO Research Committee in 1955 that operated in secret.  A year later, there’s a report that the heads of the intelligence services of the USSR, Great Britain, USA, and France met in Geneva. Supposedly, they reached an agreement regarding how they would handle UFO reports.  A part of their plan was focused on suppressing reports or finding ways to dismiss them.  In particular, the group wanted to minimize the UFO phenomenon with plans to enroll the media, and include of military, scientific and medical resources in support.  Alarmingly, they also wanted to infiltrate UFO research groups, even to the point of taking leadership roles to subvert the mission of those organizations.

Soviet participation in this group, if it actually existed, was a part of the secret communist planned response to the potential threat of UFOs and an alien invasion. Some evidence of this comes from Ivan Vasilyevich, a former KGB officer visited ufologist Yuri Stroganov in 1994.  Reportedly, Vasilyevich knew of Stroganov’s efforts to share previously suppressed UFO research from the now defunct USSR.  Vasilyevich had been a part of a small, secret planning team that had been charged by Khrushchev to develop options for responding to an alien invasion.  The group, operating within the KGB, structured its approach along the lines of an equivalent team working within the US government.

The KGB group took as fact that an invasion was inevitable.  Now, sometimes, conspiracy theorists take this approach as government knowledge of the existence of UFOs and aliens.  But a thoughtful reader must recognize the following – to explore fully the potential outcomes of a scenario, like in this case of an alien invasion, the group has to accept the conditions as true.  So while we want to believe, this expectation isn’t a signal of fact, only a signal that the Soviet government thought the risk was real, or at least worth studying.

The KGB group’s charter was to determine the strategy and tactics to deal with an alien invasion.  But first the group worked through the form of the attack.  The team came to the conclusion that the invasion might not be in the form of total war, a scenario played out has HG Wells imagined it in the War of the Worlds.  Instead, they explored the idea that an invasion would probably come in the form of a single alien ship, likely damaged or lost, that would crash on earth and initiate aggressive action. 

As I read this source, I’m smiling.  It’s exactly the premise of my fifth novel which will come out in 2023.  I have’t named it yet, but in the novel, aliens visit earth in non-humanoid form and find their beachhead in Honduras, a country I know and love.

So under this scenario that the KGB team detailed, the invasion would be easily defeated, potentially with the use of weapons of mass destruction.  Another scenario considered that aliens would be so advanced that they wouldn’t even notice the human population and would be imperceptible to humans as well. 

Ultimately, the KGB team decided that the likely form of an invasion would play out under this scenario.  The attack would be imperceptible at first, likely changing human DNA and culture without the human race even being aware of the invasion, but ultimately the alien effort would undermine human civilization and place it under alien control.

This scenario seemed to drive Soviet policy…the idea that the Soviet government needed to detect alien craft and agents.  Perhaps this policy was adopted simply because it was already a central principle of the Soviet state and, arguably, a core competency.  It’s an interesting thought exercise to ask: what if the right policy was to endorse freedom and individual accountability?  Would it have been adopted?

But back to the actual policy.  As an example of its implementation, it turns out the data gathered by all Soviet satellites was send to a KGB unit for the purpose of looking for unidentified flying objects.  Further, if an object were detected, the KGB unit would come up with options to track and capture the object.  Vasilyevich worked for decades in the unit before it was finally disbanded by Gorbachev in 1985. He told Stroganov that, during the time he served, he and others tracked many objects in near-earth orbit that would be tangible one moment, but then simply vanish later.

But one final thought about Gorbahev…and Geneva…and UFOs.

During the 1985 Geneva Summit, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev paused their negotiations to take a walk. They were accompanied only by their private interpreters.  The details of their discussion were kept secret for years from both the American and Soviet public.  But in a 2009 interview held by Charlie Rose and Reagan’s Secretary of State, George Shultz, Gorbachev revealed an odd question that Reagan had asked him during their stroll.  Gorbachev recounted, " President Reagan suddenly said to me, 'What would you do if the United States were suddenly attacked by someone from outer space? Would you help us?' "I said, 'No doubt about it.'""Reagan said, 'We too.'"  Gorbachev concluded that part of the story simply by saying. "So that's interesting.”

Indeed, very interesting!

Part 3 – The Soviet Roswell

No exploration of secret Soviet UFO files can be complete without a review of an event some call the Soviet Roswell.

Dalnegorsk is a small mining town of about 35,000 residents on the east coast of today’s Russia.  It’s about 50 minutes from the ocean.  And to be clear, that’s the east coast of Russia, the one that boarders Japan.  To give you a sense of distance, a drive from Moscow to Dalnegorsk would be over 5,700 miles long.  A flight, with a connection, would take over 12 hours, about the same flight time as a trip from the Atlanta airport, where I’m writing this, and Tokyo.  But from the northern island of Japan, Dalnegorsk is just a few hundred miles away.

The town itself was founded in 1897 by a Swiss immigrant, Julius Bryner.  His son Boris maintained the right to mine in the town until 1931, making it one of the longest-running private companies in the Soviet Union.  Julius and Boris probably maintained this independence in part due to their distance from the core of Soviet power. To attempt to keep the city of Geneva Switzerland woven throughout this episode, I spent time researching Julius Bryner’s life…hoping that he too might be from Geneva.  But alas, Julius was born in La Roche Switzerland, which is a town near the eastern tip of Lake Geneva.  I’ve passed near it on many train rides…but never visited.  Searching Julius’ life has, well, made me fascinated by his history.  He left home as a teenager, took a ship to Shanghai China then to Yokohama Japan where he started a shipping company that ultimately took him across the sea of Japan to Vladivostok and the founding of the Dalnegorsk mining town.  And, I’ve just added Julius’ life to our schedule of episodes for season 3 of My Dark Path.

But I will share one fact here.  Julius’ grandson was born to Boris & Marousia Bryner on July 11, 1920 in Vladivostok, Russia.  His parents named him Yul.  This is the same Yul who made his way to France, then ultimately New York.  The same Yul who added an “n” to his last name.  The same Yul who won an academy award for best actor in 1956.  The same Yul is best known for his role as King Mongkut of Siam in the King and I, iconically recognized for his rich voice, bald head and arresting screen presence.  Yul Brynner.  And so, I think we’re arrived at the title for that season 3 episode…three generations of Bryners.

But back to UFOs…and the event that started about 7:55 pm on January 29, 1986. Winter weather is brutal in Dalnegorsk and in January, the highs only reach 19’ Fahrenheit and the lows average 1’. 

That evening, a red object flew across the town from the southeast, crashing into at the Izvestkovaya Mountain which is also known as Hill 611, named for its height.

The UFO flew noiselessly, and parallel to the ground.  Witnesses state that it was approximately three meters in diameter, had a perfectly round shape.  There were no cavities or projections.  The red color was described as similar to that of burning stainless steel.

One eyewitness, a V. Kandakov, described the speed as being quite slow, only about 15 meters per hour…that’s about a mile per hour.  Hardly a typical aircraft or meterorite.  Kandakov noted that the object slowly ascended and descended, it’s red color intensifying when it rose.  As it approached Hill 611, he said the object jerked, and fell to earth like a rock. All the eyewitnesses recalled similar behavior recalling that the object “jerked” or “jumped”. Most said that it jerked twice.  Two girls thought the object actually jerked four times before hurtling to the ground. When the object crashed into Hill 611, the witnesses heard a thump then observed an intense fire on the hill.

Dr. Valeri Dvuzhilni, the leader of the Far Eastern Committee for Anomalous Phenomena, was the first on the scene, arriving 2 days after the crash.  While area was blanketed with snow, the crash site was on a rocky ledge and was clear of snow.  Locals had already visited the site

When Dr. Dvuzhilni and his team finally arrived, it was immediately evident to them something had, in fact, crashed there.  A burned-out tree stump smoldered at the edge of the ledge.  It emitted an odd, chemical-like smell. The ground was littered with a splintered rocks that showed evidence of being exposed to high temperatures.  Some observers state that the lack of large pieces of the craft speak against the crash theory.  However, in some instances, airplane crashes can occur with such force that there remains no identifiable pieces.

Different types of debris were scattered around the crash site.  Some of the debris had the appearance of mesh.  An examination of the mesh showed that it was made of tiny fibers, and these fibers made of even thinner fibers.  And these fibers were found to be women with gold strands as well.

Other objects strewn around had the appearance of tiny balls and others looked like small pieces of glass.  The tiny balls were reminiscent of droplets and were between 2 and 5 millimeters in diameter.  They could only be cut with a diamond blade saw, making the investigators believe they had to be manufactured.  The droplets were made of nickel, chromium and aluminum. 

All the debris were collected and analyzed by Soviet scientists at different branches of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Reportedly, none of the items collected where able to be manufactured by known processes today.

A. Kulikov, an expert on carbon at the Chemistry Institute of the Far Eastern Department of the Academy of Sciences, USSR wrote about the mesh.  He said that it was impossible to understand how the mesh was made.  He noted that it appeared to be glass carbon.  What puzzled the scientists was that after different items were melted in a vacuum, that the element molybdenum was seemly created from no-where.

But as confusing as the origin of these items might be, the scientists were confident in one fact – the presence of ash at the crash site confirmed that something biological had burned as a result of the crash.  But what that might have been remains a topic of great speculation to this day.

Immediately, some hypothesized that the cause of the crash could be tied to a launch originating from the Chinese Xichang cosmodrome. This facility frequently launched satellites into orbit and their flight paths took them over the town of Dalnegorsk.  But this potential cause was quickly eliminated as a quick check of the schedule confirmed that the Chinese conducted no launches around this period.

Then on February 8, 1986, just eight days after the crash on Hill 611, something astonishing happened.  At 8:30 pm, two additional UFOs, in the form of two yellow spheres flew from the north to the south.  Eyewitnesses saw the spheres circle the crash site 4 times.  Then, they turned back, flying north before disappearing.

The crash seemed to create a zone of anomalies that remained active for up to three years after the crash.  Like the stories of the alien crash at the Green island, the stories of these anomalies are varied.  Reportedly, insects avoid the place. Mechanical and electronic equipment malfunction or fail altogether.  Visitors to the hill get sick.

Then about 20 months after the crash on Hill 611 another event occurred.  On November 28, 1987 near midnight, 32 flying objects had appeared and were observed by hundreds of civilians as well as military officers.  People in 12 towns and settlements observed the UFOs and 13 of them flew over Dalnegorsk and the crash site. Allegedly, three of them maintained a position over the town while five UFOs lit up Hill 611. 

The UFOs were completely quiet and were thought to maintain a relatively low altitude, no higher than half a mile higher.  Initially, the eyewitnesses thought the lights were search aircraft, responding to some disaster, or, potentially, meteorites.  But as they passed overhead, their presence seemed to disrupt communications, including television reception. 

What is interesting is that different witnesses observed that the UFOs had two different forms.  While some saw spheres like the one that crashed or swarmed the area the week after the crash, others saw massive cylindrical or cigar shaped craft.  For example, officers from the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers saw a red sphere with a dull finish with flame shooting behind it. A kindergarten teacher also saw a sphere shaped UFO. It hovered over a school and emitted a blue light to the ground.  It was completely quiet.

Two different groups also saw cylindrical UFOs that night.  Workers at a nearby quarry saw a giant cylinder, massive in length between 600 to 800 feet long.  It moved slowly but noiselessly.  Others also saw cylindrical or cigar shaped object.  Managers at the site also saw a cigar shaped ship.  The front part was brightly lit, like burning metal.

What are we to make of this Soviet Roswell at Dalnegorsk. Dr. Dvuzhilni, the person closest to the investigation, came to the following conclusion.  He believes that an alien space craft malfunctioned and then crashed into Hill 611.  A second, but related hypothesis is that an alien space craft, malfunctioned, nearly crashed on Hill 611, skimming the hilltop, leaving debris but ultimately crashing much farther away.

The Dalnegorsk incident, like the others we’ve covered in this episode, have some facts that make them potentially authentic UFO encounters.  Yet, they also suffer from a flaw that, no matter how compelling the evidence, is woven throughout the UFO cases we know of.  The evidence is simply not 100% definitive.  But my attitude remains the same…I still want to believe.  And, therefore, we keep searching for the truth.

Thank you for listening to My Dark Path. I’m MF Thomas, creator and host.  Our creative director is Dom Purdie. I’m thankful for him and the entire My Dark Path team.

Please take a moment and give My Dark Path a 5-star rating wherever you’re listening.

Again, thanks for walking the dark paths of history, science, and the paranormal with me. Until next time, good night.