| Russian Roswell |
| Russian Roswell Shaitan Mazar, Kazakhstan If ufologists Nilolay Subbotin and Emil Bachurin of the Russian UFO Research Station (RUFORS) are to be believed, a 600 meter long UFO lies in a gorge in the Tien Shan ("Celestial") Mountains of Kyrgyzstan near the border with China. The two Russians claim that the huge dirigible shaped object first attracted attention on August 28, 1991 at 4:42 local time when it appeared on the radar screens of the Mangishlak Peninsula, flying from the west to east at 960 km per hour and at an attitude of 6600 meters. Thinking that the object might have been launched from Kapustin Yar ( A Russian version of Cape Kennedy), Mangishlak personnel contacted the Cosmodrome. Kapuston denied any knowledge of the object, although they confirmed its appearance on radar. The object failed to respond to attempts at communication on any frequency, and since it was flying near a restricted area, two MIG-29 fighter jets that were already on patrol were directed to intercept it. In addition, a third jet was scrambled from Air Station 7. The MIG pilots were directed to intercept the object, to identify it if possible, to try to make contact with it, and to force it to land at the nearest Air Station. If the object failed to cooperate, they were directed to shoot it down. The MIGs intercepted the object over the western shore of the Aral Sea at 5:12. The pilots observed the object both visually and on their radar screens, and they described it as dirigible shaped, 600 meters long by 110 meters wide, with very little surface detail except for two round "portholes" near the front, and some sort of strange green markings near the rear. The object did not make any hostile moves or react in any way to the presence of the jets. When all attempts at contacting the object failed, the squadron leader proposed positioning the jets on either side of the object at a distance of about 800 meters and gently but firmly directing it to the Air Station. If necessary, the jets were to fire warning shots to encourage the object to cooperate. When the jets were in position around the object, however, it soon became apparent that, within 800 meters of it, the weapons systems of the MIGs shut down for no apparent cause. Worse yet, at a distance of 600 meters from the object, the engines of the MIGs began to malfunction. The object began to make zigzag evasive maneuvers and to increase its speed from 960 km per hour to 6800 kms per hour. These maneuvers were verified by radar at Baikonur, Alma-Ata, and Bishkek. The jets backed off as it became apparent that their plan to force the object to land was not going to succeed, and the object proceeded east through Alma-Ata airspace at a slightly lower altitude of 4500 meters. Radar dispatchers at Alma-Ata, fearing a collision with a conventional aircraft, issued a general alert for air traffic to avoid the area. At 5:27, the object disappeared from radar in the area of Lake Issyk-Kul near the border of Krygyzstan and Kazakhstan. The next major development in the story occurred a month later when records began to trickle back to Bishkek that a huge UFO had been seen to crash in the Tien Shan Mountains 100 kilometers east of Przhevalsk near a peak known as Pik Pobeda or "Peak of Victory". The actual site lay in a gorge known as "Shaitan Mazar" or "Grave of the Devil", near the Saris Dzas at approximately Latitude 42 degrees 11 minutes North and Longitude 79 degrees 41 minutes East. A search party of experienced climbers led by Michael Eltchin of Sakkufon was immediately dispatched from Bishkek, but the group was unable to reach the site due to heavy early snowfalls and the danger of avalanches in the Saris Dzas valley. An attempt to reach the site by an Air Force helicopter ended tragically with a crash that cost several lives. The search was called off until after the spring thaws. In June of 1992, a second expedition was mounted, consisting of three groups of volunteers having both a scientific background and mountain climbing experience. This expedition was headed by Major German Svechkov, director of the Kazakh branch Sakkufon. The expedition arrived on site on 6/12/92 and set up a base camp 2.5 kilometers NNW from the actual crash site. The path of the object was noted to be such that it had slid 1700 meters after hitting the ground. It then exploded from within its center, blasting it into almost two equal parts and bending its internal structure outwards from the center of the explosion. Decks and interior features were visible inside the object through the gap made by the blast. The expedition immediately notice the following unusual effects when they began to examine the object: + - They could not photograph the object because some sort of radiation exposed all film and ruined all videotape. + - Whenever a member of the party got closer than 800 meters to the object, he began to feel unusual anxiety, depression, and exhaustion. + - Within this 800 meter range, the men's hair stood on end. Instruments showed an unusually high amount of static electrically in the area. + - Compasses and magnetometers refused to function properly in the area of the object. + - Measurement devices registered no magnetic fields at all within an elliptically shaped area centered on the object and measuring 2230 meters long and 1700 meters wide. Even naturally occurring magnetic rocks showed no magnetic field with this ellipse. + - All clocks and wristwatches stopped at a distance of 600 meters from the object. + - Anyone who approached the object began to suffer from some sort of radiation burns at a distance of 500 meters. Nikolay Subbotin of the Russian UFO Research Station (RUFORS) has been preparing for three months to go the site with a new expedition which departs Moscow on August 19. How much truth is there in this ? I became involved in this story a few weeks ago. Nikolay Subbotin posted a message about the plans for an expedition on the alt.paranet.ufo newsgroup, with a note to e-mail him for further information. I wrote to him, and I was placed on an update list which included several well known ufologists such as Jacques Vallee. I received an update on 8/14/98 and another on 8/16. The usenet posts and updates that form the main sources for this story are very difficult to read because Nilolay is using an electronic translator to translate them from Russian into English, resulting in quite a loss of meaning and context. To understand the messages, one must do a lot of guessing, so if I have made small errors in the details, I apologize. Subbotin apparently gets his information from RUFORS investigator Emil Bachurin, who he says has been to the crash site. I have researched the story online, as well as researching Nikolay Subbotin and Emil Bchurin, and I have found the following. Nikolay has a RUFORS Web page on which he names Emil Bachurin as RUFORS' principal investigator. Emil Bachurin is known for having researched the Russian version of the "Bermuda Triangle", known as the "M-Zone" or "M-Triangle", which is located at Moljebka (Molyobka). He also investigated a UFO crash known as the "Russian Roswell" that is supposed to have occurred near Zaostrovka in Perm on September 16, 1989. As usual, there are little things about the Shaitan Mazar story that nag the edge of my mind: + - There has been no mention of this UFO incident or of the crash in the Russian media until now. That's a period of seven years, a long time for it to have been kept quiet, especially when UFO groups in Russia knew of the event and mounted two (or three) expeditions to the site. + - Nikolay's update says that he saw Emil Baruchin in May, after a span of two months, and Emil said, Nikolay, I have visited on a place of accident a UFO ! It is also stated that Emil's hands were burned by the radiation emitted by the object and that he suffered an eye hemorrhage caused by the object. But when was Emil at the site ? There is nothing to indicate that he was part of the June, 1992 expedition, and there is no mention of another expedition. He seems to be saying in May, 1998 that he has just been to the site. Was he there in the Spring of 1998 ? Why is there no information given about Emil's expedition ? + - There is no mention of any other expedition to the site since 1992. Why not ? That's five summers during which the object could have been studied. + - What has kept the military or the government from getting involved ? A crashed UFO is certainly interesting to any government. Yet, except for the fatal Air Force helicopter attempt, all of the expeditions have been by UFO groups. Perhaps these questions have simple answers. As I said, the translations of Nikolay's messages are very poor. Hopefully, as he continues to send updates, these questions and more will be answered. His e-mail update of 8/16 indicates that he intends to return from Shaitan Mazar on 9/6/98 or shortly thereafter. The Devil's Grave Almost Fantastic Story (continuing the "Russian Roswell" Story) http://www.sightings.com/ufo/russianros.htm |
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