Date: September 27, 1989
Location: Voronezh, Russian Federation
The story of the Voronezh aliens recounts the adventures of several young children who claimed to have seen a three-eyed alien with a robot escort. The alien was said to be about nine foot tall. The craft, according to eye witness testimony, landed on the outskirts of the city. Shortly thereafter, the tall alien appeared, and upon seeing the young lad, shot a type of weapon at him, causing him to vanish before the eyes of the other people around him.
Sketches of the UFOs and robots/beings drawn by some of the witnesses. The top-left drawing of the UFO and robot is by sixth-grader Roma Torshin; and the top-right drawing by Genya Blinov. (credit: Hesemann / Jacques Vallee)
Artist's rendition of the Voronezh landing by Elena Penkova.
Sketch of the object by one of the children who witnessed the object.
Some of the children of Voronezh: Lena Sarokina; Vasya Surin; Vova Startsev; Alyosha Nikonov. (credit: Michael Hesemann)
Type of Case/Report: MajorCase
Hynek Classification: CE3
# of Witnesses: Multiple
Special Features/Characteristics: Physical Trace, Physiological Effects, Humanoid/Occupant, Landing, Children, Witness Sketch, Witness Photo
A three-eyed alien with a robot sidekick landed aboard a spaceship and made a boy vanish by zapping him with a pistol, a Soviet newspaper reported Tuesday in a second day of strange tales in the state-run media. R
In this industrial center -- population 900,000 -- a dark red, flattened sphere, about 15 x 6 m in size, circled 12 m above ground in South Park, disturbing the grass underneath. It flew away and, a few minutes later, returned and was witnessed as it hovered near ground, by twelve lower-school children playing soccer and 30 - 40 adults waiting at a nearby bus stop. R
The official Tass news agency said today that scientists have confirmed the landing of an alien spaceship carrying giant people with tiny heads. R
List of print references for this case. R
Westerners were intrigued back in 1989 when the Soviet news agency, Tass, reported the claims of some school children from the city of Voronezh. A spectacular UFO landed in town, the children insisted, along with its ten-foot-tall occupant toting a tube-shaped gun. R
At about 6.30 pm on 27 September 1989 in the Russian city of Voronezh, 3 schoolchildren and about 40 adults saw a pink or red light in the sky, which turned into a dark red sphere, about 30 ft in diameter. R
Source: UFO Casebook / other sources
[go to original source]
One of the most bizarre accounts of UFO folklore involves an incident that allegedly occurred in Voronezh, Russia. This case was reported in the United States by the St. Louis Dispatch. The story was originally published on October 11, 1989, in America, but its origin was the Russian newspaper TASS.
The report recounts the adventures of several young children who claimed to have seen a three-eyed alien with a robot escort. The alien was said to be about nine foot tall. The craft, according to eye witness testimony, landed on the outskirts of the city. Shortly thereafter, the tall alien appeared, and upon seeing the young lad, shot a type of weapon at him, causing him to vanish before the eyes of the other people around him.
There are several important elements one must keep in mind regarding this extremely strange case of a close encounter. The original details of the case were brought forward by Genrikh Silanov, head of the Voronezh Geophysical Laboratory, who gave details to the TASS agency. Silanov stated that the media took an enormous amount of creative freedom with his report.
"Don't believe all you hear from Tass," he stated." We never gave them part of what they published."
I take this statement to mean that only a part of the news agency's report was based on the facts obtained from Silanov.
The agency had informed the entire world that Russian scientists had confirmed that an alien spaceship carrying giants with tiny heads had landed in Voronezh, a city of over 800,000 people located about 300 miles southeast of Moscow. They stated that as many as three of these giant creatures had emerged from the alien ship. The ship was described as a large, shining ball. These strange creatures were said to have walked in a nearby park, accompanied by a menacing robot. Ironically, TASS was the only media member to print the story in Russia. The newspaper Pravda declined to print, or comment on the strange tale.
In defense of the TASS account, Soviet reporter Skaya Kultura said that the agency was following the ''the golden rule of journalism." "The reader must know everything.''
The TASS account stated that the UFO landed in Voronezh on September 27, 1989, at 6:30 P.M. Young boys playing soccer witnessed the event, stating that a pinkish glow preceded the descent of the unusual flying craft. The pink glow became a deep red as it touched down. Most witnesses described the object as a flattened, disc shape. A crowd quickly gathered, and peered through a hatch that opened. They saw a ''three-eyed alien'' about 10 feet tall, clad in silvery overalls and bronze-colored boots and wearing a disk on his chest. "
The TASS account also stated: "A boy screamed with fear, but when the alien gazed at him, with eyes shining, he fell silent, unable to move. Onlookers screamed, and the UFO and the creatures disappeared."
According to the report, about five minutes later, they reappeared. The alien had an object similar to a pistol - a tube about 20 inches long, which it pointed at an unidentified 16-year-old boy, making him disappear. The alien went inside the sphere, which then took off. At the same time, the boy reappeared.
"Children and eyewitnesses of the abnormal phenomenon have been questioned by police workers and journalists," wrote E. Efremov, the Voronezh correspondent for Soviet Skaya Kultura."
"There are no discrepancies in the description of the sphere itself or the actions of the aliens. Moreover, all the children who became witnesses to this event are still afraid, even now."
Several drawings were made by some of the children who supposedly witnessed the events of Voronezh. A couple of these are included here. One of the drawings showed the Cyrillic alphabet character "zhe" on the side of the UFO.
TASS listed three witnesses' names, all of whom were youngsters. They also stated that a group of international researchers would be investigating the claims of the witnesses.
Voronezh residents interviewed later claimed they had observed this UFO not just during the above incident but also many times on September 21, 23, 29 and October 2, between 6 and 9 PM. Some of these incidents involved a different entity: small, with grayish-green face and blue overcoat resembling a loose raincoat.
This phenomenal account is still in need of more eye witness testimony and research. The Voronezh landing remains an unsolved mystery.
Sources:
Flying Saucer Review 34, 4;
MUFON UFO Journal 259 and 260,
UFO Chronicles of the Soviet Union.
Case ID: 120
edit: 120
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