Voronezh UFO incident: Difference between revisions
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A. Kuzovkin, a UFO specialist, was published in the ''Socialist Industry'' as saying he thought a 26-foot wide patch of scorched ground near to south Moscow was caused by ufo landing. This statement was disputed by a Tass article which stated fire-fighters considered the same area could have been caused simply by a haystack which was caused to ignite. <ref name="iams">{{cite news | last = Iams | first = John | title = Tass Says UFO Landing in Soviet Union Confirmed |url=https://apnews.com/article/5117ff1e9d2da3160174e7d9c8cbb6c4| newspaper = The Associated Press |archive-url = https://archive.today/20201006020846/https://apnews.com/article/5117ff1e9d2da3160174e7d9c8cbb6c4|archive-date=6 October 2020 | date = October 9, 1989|quote=In July, Tass disputed a report in Socialist Industry quoting a UFO specialist, A. Kuzovkin, as saying a 26-foot-wide patch of burned ground near southern Moscow was probably caused by the landing of a UFO. Tass said firefighters believe a haystack simply caught fire and scorched the ground.}}</ref> |
A. Kuzovkin, a UFO specialist, was published in the ''Socialist Industry'' as saying he thought a 26-foot wide patch of scorched ground near to south Moscow was caused by ufo landing. This statement was disputed by a Tass article which stated fire-fighters considered the same area could have been caused simply by a haystack which was caused to ignite. <ref name="iams">{{cite news | last = Iams | first = John | title = Tass Says UFO Landing in Soviet Union Confirmed |url=https://apnews.com/article/5117ff1e9d2da3160174e7d9c8cbb6c4| newspaper = The Associated Press |archive-url = https://archive.today/20201006020846/https://apnews.com/article/5117ff1e9d2da3160174e7d9c8cbb6c4|archive-date=6 October 2020 | date = October 9, 1989|quote=In July, Tass disputed a report in Socialist Industry quoting a UFO specialist, A. Kuzovkin, as saying a 26-foot-wide patch of burned ground near southern Moscow was probably caused by the landing of a UFO. Tass said firefighters believe a haystack simply caught fire and scorched the ground.}}</ref> |
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==Response== |
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==Scientific response== |
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The Soviet Scientific Commission ordered an official inquiry into the alleged incident. Though the area was found to have an above-average presence of the radioactive isotope cesium, the vice-rector of the University of Voronezh quickly dispensed with the idea that this was significant.<ref name="Globe">{{cite news | newspaper = The Globe and Mail | location = Canada | date = October 30, 1989}}</ref> |
The Soviet Scientific Commission ordered an official inquiry into the alleged incident. Though the area was found to have an above-average presence of the radioactive isotope cesium, the vice-rector of the University of Voronezh quickly dispensed with the idea that this was significant.<ref name="Globe">{{cite news | newspaper = The Globe and Mail | location = Canada | date = October 30, 1989}}</ref> |
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According to [[Paul Kurtz]] writing in a 1990 volume of [[Skeptical Inquirer]], the scientists in the Soviet Union who had studied the evidence included members of the "Voronezh Amateur Section for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena", who visited the site a week after the alleged event and used "a form of ESP dowsing". Regarding the supposedly extraterrestrial rock, Genrikh Silanov of the Voronezh Geophysical told ''Socialist Industry '', "Don't believe all you hear from Tass. We never gave them part of what they published."<ref name="Kurtz">{{cite journal |last1=Kurtz |first1=Paul |title=Paranormal Pandemonium in the Soviet Union |journal=Skeptical Inquirer |date=April 1990 |volume=14 |issue=Spring |pages=255-262 |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/1990/04/paranormal-pandemonium-in-the-soviet-union/ |publisher=Committee For Skeptical Inquiry (CSI)}}</ref> |
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Kutz noted a French Press Agency report of October 28, "...There exists no verifiable proof of a landing by aliens in Voronezh. Sixteen radiometric analyses, 19 checks of the ground, 9 tests for micro-organisms, and 20 spectro-chemical measurements failed to uncover "any anomaly either in the earth or surrounding vegetation".<ref name="Kurtz" /> |
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Kurtz reported that Soviet evening news correspondent [[Vladimir Posner]] sent a film crew to Voronezh "but they could find no other "witnesses" except the children", leading Posner to suggest "that the creative imagination of young children was perhaps at work. If so, this is not unlike many UFO cases in the United States".<ref name="Kurtz" /> |
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Regarding the wave of paranormal and UFO claims issuing from the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s such as those from Voronzeh, Kurtz cited a [[Time magazine]] October 23, 1989 issue that quotes a disillusioned Soviet party member who said, "They've been feeding us rubbish about the dreams of communism for years" and viewed the state sponsorship of psychic and UFO claims as "a new opiate for the masses".<ref name="Kurtz" /> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 18:20, 17 August 2021
 view of Voronezh from outer space |
The Voronezh UFO incident was an alleged UFO and extra-terrestrial alien sighting reported in Voronezh, Soviet Union, on September 27, 1989.[1] The incident was allegedly witnessed by a group of children, with other members of the local community, including civil servants, claiming to have seen the craft only.[2] The area has been popular with UFO-hunting tourists.[3]
Statements to the media
The story reported by TASS reads:
Boys playing soccer saw a pink glow in the sky, then saw a deep red ball about three metres in diameter. The ball circled, vanished, then reappeared minutes later and hovered
Witnesses then reported [4] a silver-suited [5] "three-eyed alien" [4] wearing bronze coloured boots [6] with a disk on the chest area,[2] and a robot, exiting the craft. The alien stared at a horrified onlooker, freezing them in their tracks, before departing and returning five minutes later to abduct a 16-year-old boy, using what was described as a 50 cm-long "pistol tube".[4] The park the children were playing within is now Yuzhny Park.
Though the children were the only ones claiming to have witnessed the aliens, Lieutenant Sergei A. Matveyev of the Voronezh district police station claimed to have seen the craft.[7] The Interior Ministry said they would dispatch troops to the area should the craft reappear.[7]
Reports, media response, aftermath
On October 9, 1989, TASS reported [6] that a correspondent had spoken to "10 or 12 youths" who claimed to have seen a flying saucer. The original article quoted Dr. Silanov, of the Voronezh Geophysical Laboratory, as confirming the location of the landing using biolocation.[8] The report was the most publicized of a series of UFO claims made by official government media, and were promoted as part of the government's new "openness".[9][10] It was noted that, unlike in America, the reported beings were completely apolitical and did not even speak during their 'visit'.[11] In the immediate aftermath of the alleged incident, hundreds of UFOs began appearing, with a reporter from Komsomolskaya Pravda even claiming to have an exclusive interview with alien beings from Red Star.[12]
In the immediate aftermath of the supposed event, only Sovietskaya Kultura, a Communist Party paper, and TASS reported anything with regards to the childrens accounts, with the Communist newspaper defending its decision, saying: "[I]ts coverage was motivated by 'the golden rule of journalism: the reader must know everything."[4] The newspaper was repeatedly asked whether the report was in jest and were repeatedly assured it was not.[7][13]
The description of the incident was very similar to stories that appeared in the American magazine Saga, but TASS reporters stated that the witnesses "probably haven't read it."[13] Outside of print media, the U.S. show A Current Affair also sent a crew to report on the alleged event.[14]
Landing site
A. Kuzovkin, a UFO specialist, was published in the Socialist Industry as saying he thought a 26-foot wide patch of scorched ground near to south Moscow was caused by ufo landing. This statement was disputed by a Tass article which stated fire-fighters considered the same area could have been caused simply by a haystack which was caused to ignite. [9]
Response
The Soviet Scientific Commission ordered an official inquiry into the alleged incident. Though the area was found to have an above-average presence of the radioactive isotope cesium, the vice-rector of the University of Voronezh quickly dispensed with the idea that this was significant.[15]
According to Paul Kurtz writing in a 1990 volume of Skeptical Inquirer, the scientists in the Soviet Union who had studied the evidence included members of the "Voronezh Amateur Section for the Study of Abnormal Phenomena", who visited the site a week after the alleged event and used "a form of ESP dowsing". Regarding the supposedly extraterrestrial rock, Genrikh Silanov of the Voronezh Geophysical told Socialist Industry , "Don't believe all you hear from Tass. We never gave them part of what they published."[16]
Kutz noted a French Press Agency report of October 28, "...There exists no verifiable proof of a landing by aliens in Voronezh. Sixteen radiometric analyses, 19 checks of the ground, 9 tests for micro-organisms, and 20 spectro-chemical measurements failed to uncover "any anomaly either in the earth or surrounding vegetation".[16]
Kurtz reported that Soviet evening news correspondent Vladimir Posner sent a film crew to Voronezh "but they could find no other "witnesses" except the children", leading Posner to suggest "that the creative imagination of young children was perhaps at work. If so, this is not unlike many UFO cases in the United States".[16]
Regarding the wave of paranormal and UFO claims issuing from the Soviet Union in the 1980s and 1990s such as those from Voronzeh, Kurtz cited a Time magazine October 23, 1989 issue that quotes a disillusioned Soviet party member who said, "They've been feeding us rubbish about the dreams of communism for years" and viewed the state sponsorship of psychic and UFO claims as "a new opiate for the masses".[16]
References
- ^ НЛО в Воронеже / Ф. Киселёв, Ю. Лозовцев, В. Мартынов и др. - Воронеж: Редакционно-издательский отдел, 1990. - 176 с.
- ^ a b Dahlberg, John-Thor (October 11, 1989). "Voronzeh Scientist Quoted by Tass Casts Doubt on UFO Landing Story". Associated Press. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
...Salinov, who said he belonged to the group, cast doubt on the Tass report the quoted him as saying that the aliens left behind two rocks resembling sandstone of deep red colour that cannot be found anywhere The rock they described as extraterrestrial is infact iron oxide which could have easily originated on Earth...
- ^ "Russia's Ren TV shows report on paranormal areas and UFO sightings". BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union. BBC. September 25, 2009.
- ^ a b c d DAHLBURG, JOHN-THOR (October 11, 1989). "Misquoted on aliens, Soviet says". The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ontario. AP (Moscow); noufors.com.
- ^ Han, Go. "2. Child Witnesses and Unidentified Flying Objects - The Possibility of Alien Life Forms and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena". www.researchgate.net Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-ro, Sageun-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ a b Rothman, Lily (2014). "Why 'Aliens' 'Landed' in Russia 25 Years Ago". (TASS, 1989; New York Times) time.com Time. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
- ^ a b c Fein, Esther B.; Times, Special To The New York (11 October 1989). "U.F.O. Landing Is Fact, Not Fantasy, the Russians Insist". The New York Times. p. 6.
- ^ "UFO lands in Russia? Writer now waffles". United Press International. October 10, 1989. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
- ^ a b Iams, John (October 9, 1989). "Tass Says UFO Landing in Soviet Union Confirmed". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020.
In July, Tass disputed a report in Socialist Industry quoting a UFO specialist, A. Kuzovkin, as saying a 26-foot-wide patch of burned ground near southern Moscow was probably caused by the landing of a UFO. Tass said firefighters believe a haystack simply caught fire and scorched the ground.
- ^ Goldberg, Carey (October 9, 1989). "Tass, in Soviet Media's Latest Weird Tale, Says UFO Landed". The Associated Press.
- ^ "The Voronezh Visitors". The New York Times. October 14, 1989. pp. Section 1, Page 24, Column 1.
- ^ Bogert, Carroll (October 23, 1989). "They Came From Outer Space". Newsweek. pp. NATIONAL AFFAIRS, Pg. 42.
- ^ a b Fein, Esther B. (October 10, 1989). "A Tass Bulletin: Knobby Aliens Were Here". The New York Times. pp. Section A, Page 1, Column 2.
- ^ Blau, Eleanor (October 12, 1989). "Rare Thrill for Tass: Joshing Over Its U.F.O. Report". The New York Times. pp. Section A, Page 18, Column 1.
- ^ The Globe and Mail. Canada. October 30, 1989.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b c d Kurtz, Paul (April 1990). "Paranormal Pandemonium in the Soviet Union". Skeptical Inquirer. 14 (Spring). Committee For Skeptical Inquiry (CSI): 255–262.
