Landmark UFO documents smuggled out of Russia 30 years ago — and just publicly revealed — show the Soviets investigated thousands of reports of extraterrestrial craft and encounters with aliens.
Legendary reporter George Knapp, 73, quietly released on Jan. 16 documents he smuggled out of Russia in 1993 under the nose of the KGB after the fall of the USSR in 1991.
Legendary UFO reporter George Knapp stole the precious documents from Russia in 1993 and released them last week. Aaron Schwartz/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
The translated documents reveal the shocking extent to which the USSR and the post-Soviet Russian Federation probed the persistent phenomenon — despite the communist government officially deeming UFOs a concoction of war-mongering “American imperialists” in 1953.
The USSR commissioned several studies of UFOs beginning with the “Network-AN” program in 1979, continuing with “Galaxy-MD” from 1981-1985, “Pluton 7” in 1989 and 1990, and the continuing “Thread 3” program.
A photo-negative of the “jellyfish” UFO that was witnessed by hundreds on Feb. 13, 1989 above the city of Nalchik.
The 1993 report claimed UFO sightings and interactions “increased greatly” after 1978.
The document included many narratives of purported UFO abductees and witnesses which the government deemed credible enough to warrant further investigation, including these:
On Feb. 13,1989, hundreds of people witnessed a massive 450-foot wide jellyfish-shaped UFO flying 300 feet above the ground in the city of Nalchik, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. A massive red light was seen descending over the city, then splitting into equidistant green lights. After 10 minutes, the lights merged and ascended into the sky. Ninety minutes later, the massive UFO descended on the city with a smaller, more agile craft also swarming before disappearing into the night sky. Among the witnesses were military members, local airport staff and astronomers.
Anatoly Malishev, 18, claimed he was brought onboard a craft on July 21, 1975, and flown to the home planet of the alien pilots. Malishev was sketching the sunset in the woods of the village of Blagoveshenka in the same Kabardino-Balkarian region when he saw what looked like a meteor falling from the sky. A silver disc appeared and three humanoids, including one woman with chestnut colored hair, emerged. Their planet was three light years away, and had no star but was illuminated from within. “They fastened detectors to my hands and legs, and put on my head something like a crown.” Their conclusion after the examination: “very strong nerves; mental faculties below the average.” The Russian investigator said he continued contact with Malishev for years and described him as “honest, kind, sympathetic” with no desire to indulge in “fantasy.”
Earthlings allegedly came into contact with a race of giant aliens on June 27, 1979, in Derzhavinsk, Kazakhstan. A group of pioneers, including many children, were traveling from Berezka when they stopped to camp near a mound. One group of boys, escorted by an adult, chased a flash on the edge of a forest and came upon 10-foot-tall, black, slender aliens with shining pink eyes. The next day, a girl and her teacher saw one of the giants sitting in a chair near the campsite. Nearly a year after the incident, investigators spoke to the children and reported they all had the same recollection of events.
The documents drew no definitive conclusion on UFOs other than to say they warranted further study.
“By releasing these documents now, George Knapp is expanding the public record, showing not only how seriously Russia confronted the UFO phenomenon,” investigative journalist and Knapp’s “Weaponized” podcast partner Jeremy Corbell told The Post.