Probably everyone remembers well how many different kinds of psychics and predictors appeared in the 90s of the last century. Newspapers were full of advertisements, and from TV screens they charged water, dissolve scars and raise the dead.
The difficult economic situation in the country pushed people to search for a quick solution to their problems. And the sorcerers promised wealth and healing. Before its collapse in the USSR, such a profession could easily become the reason for the institution of a criminal case. But despite this, the union had its own celebrities. And what is more surprising, their services were used not only by ordinary citizens and members of the government, but even by special services.
Wolf Messing
This amazing man was born in Warsaw in 1889. From his early teens, he performed in roving theaters and circuses throughout the country. In markets and city squares, young Wolf Messing amused the audience with mind reading and card guessing.
According to his memoirs, in 1939, he predicted the defeat of the Reich and the end of the Fuehrer. After which Hitler appointed a reward for his head. Messing had to urgently flee to the USSR.
In the Union, the popularity of Messingu came very quickly. Starting with performances with propaganda teams, he quickly rose to individual performances and the Soviet circus.
Messing's memoirs are full of fantastic stories about meetings with Stalin. Stalin allegedly offered Messing to rob the savings bank. The illusionist coped with the task perfectly. With the help of hypnosis, the woman cashier simply gave him a large sum of money.
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There were stories in the memoirs about Messing's imperceptible transition, through the entire Kremlin to Stalin's office.
But alas, today it has been proven that the memoirs of Wolf Messing are a hoax. And journalist Mikhail Khvastunov wrote them.
Vladimir Safonov
Very little is known about this man. Only after the publication of some of the KGB archives. It became clear that he worked well with the special services. He was invited to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the KGB, to help with high-profile criminal cases.
Possessing telepathic abilities, he was present at interrogations and, according to some reports, was engaged in the treatment of the highest party leaders.
Safonov worked as an ordinary engineer. But he was often invited to consult at the Brain Institute. B. N. Yeltsin established a committee on astrology and extrasensory perception, which included Safonov himself.
BUKHRANSKY SERGEY