The town of Ostrov in the Pskov region has never been distinguished by a particularly calm atmosphere. Despite the small population, regional militiamen in the 50s of the XX century had to leave for the settlement almost every week. However, one of the crimes already on duty ended in disaster.
The robbers not only took the entire cash register from the store, but also managed to kill two law enforcement officers. The third - captain Yuri Sirotin - was then seriously wounded. Already in the hospital, strange events began to happen to him. At night, as if delirious, the Soviet policeman suddenly shouted phrases in German. How did the Russian captain know a language alien to him and why in a dream he quoted the phrases of Mephistopheles from "Faust" by Johann Goethe? KGB officer Ivan Mitin came to Ostrov to sort out the case. It would be better if he stayed at home.
About all the secrets and mystical events that the Chekist Mitin faced - watch in the series "The Cry of the Owl" on the MIR TV channel on June 10 from 10.45. In the meantime, we will tell you about five other, no less mysterious cases that the KGB faced.
The case of Zinaida Reich
A popular actress, the first wife of Sergei Yesenin, the wife of Vsevolod Meyerhold, died in July 1939. This happened not in a distant forest or a house near Moscow, but in the elite district of the capital, in the apartment of Zinaida Reich. 17 knife wounds were found on her body. Despite the fact that her window and the windows of the neighboring apartments were thrown open all night, no one heard a single scream or noise of struggle. In addition to the housekeeper, who received a harmless injury, and also preferred to remain silent for the rest of her days.
Who and why killed Reich is unknown. Then the NKVD did not even start a case, so no evidence was preserved. Most likely, the criminals got into the apartment through the balcony - the actress lived on the second floor. Then they stabbed the victim several times with a knife and escaped the same way they came. It seems that it is even known that there were two killers. But all this remained only at the level of rumors.
Of course, there are no official versions. Various historians in books and articles retell events for their own reasons. Now the national issue is intertwined with the matter - Reich was German, then they say that the actress too actively opposed the arrest of her husband Meyerhold, which happened a few months before. It is only known that the motive was not monetary: nothing was taken out of the apartment and nothing was broken. Here is just one moment that haunts the supporters of conspiracy theories so far. Just a few months later, Vardo Maximilishvili settled in the apartment of the deceased. An NKVD officer and, as they say, the passion of Lavrenty Beria.
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The case will most likely never be solved by the official authorities: all the statutes of limitations have expired, and the witnesses with possible evidence have long since “floated away”. The death of Zinaida Reich will remain one of the unsolved pages of history.
The secret of Soviet superheroes
They say that Wolf Messing was originally a project of the Soviet special services. Nostradamus of the 20th century predicted the fall of the Third Reich and the failure of Adolf Hitler, and also actively read minds and showed other skills unimaginable to an ordinary person. And all this, they say, at the behest of Joseph Stalin.
True, there is nothing of the kind in the KGB archives. No descriptions of miracles, no real contribution of Messing to the victory in World War II, no alleged meeting with the leader of the USSR. But the profile of Ninel Kulagina, who became famous as a telekinetic in the 60s, is accurately documented. The secret services even tested the abilities of a woman who claimed that she could move small objects with her mind.
Although not Soviet, but Bulgarian special services worked with Vanga, this is also a confirmed fact. All the incredible "superpower" of the woman was that her assistants, including the Chekists, told her all the secret information about the guest - and Wang passed it off as "reading fate and thoughts." In addition, when a woman was mistaken, the security forces persistently asked not to disclose it. How can you refuse.
Believers in the Bulgarian telepathist came to her and told her all the important information, which the woman's assistants then passed on to the special services.
The murder of Lena Zakotnova
The murder of a girl from the town of Shakhty, in the Rostov region, resulted in the death of three more people, guilty and innocent. On December 22, 1978, near the river, townspeople found the body of a second grader. She died of suffocation.
The valiant Soviet militia could not leave such a high-profile case unsolved and quickly appointed the culprit. On the day of the murder, a local resident Alexander Kravchenko, who was already in prison, was detained. At first, the man was released thanks to an iron alibi, but after only a month, for unknown reasons, he decides to commit theft. And so obvious that it is revealed in a matter of minutes, arrested and again raised the question of him as Lena's killer.
Kravchenko was shot. Another suspect, who in a state of alcoholic intoxication himself confessed to the crime, committed suicide. Finally, they wanted to hang the case on the serial maniac Andrei Chikatilo. But even here, despite the acknowledged murders of 52 other people, he still did not touch Zakotnova. So the court decided.
It is still unknown who killed the second-grader Lena, the case has been postponed, no investigation is underway.
Blue package
In America, there is a legend about a real-life "Area 51" in Nevada. Allegedly, they collect all information about contacts with aliens, dissect the Martians and disassemble flying saucers. The Soviet Union did not lag behind. Only the scale is more modest there. You can't hide a whole test range in the basements of the Lubyanka, but the "blue package" is easy.
According to legend, for decades all evidence of the existence of aliens was collected in this folder with documents. Reports, dispatches, notes. No city madmen - just handwritten messages from the KGB, the Armed Forces or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. True, they are no different from the usual messages of ufologists: luminous disks in the sky, moving at high speed. Believe it or not - everyone decides for himself.
In the mid-2000s, most of the reports were published in the public domain. However, conspiracy theorists still claim that the Chekists have revealed only part of the truth to us, the tip of the iceberg. It is not possible to prove or disprove this.