Yesterday the progressive UFO community celebrated another anniversary of the famous Petrozavodsk phenomenon
For the United States, the turning point that prompted the start of large-scale UFO studies was the report of the observation of nine "discs" by pilot Kenneth Arnold in 1947. The Soviet Union passed through a similar point only 30 years later thanks to an oversight of the censorship, which missed a small note by a provincial TASS correspondent.
In the photo: This is what Petrozavodsk residents saw in the sky in 1977. The quality is not the best, but this is the only shot.
Glowing rain
On September 23, 1977, the press organ of the Central Committee of the CPSU "Pravda" (regional edition) and several other newspapers published a message about the mysterious phenomenon, prepared by the TASS correspondent for Karelia Nikolai Milov. It said:
“Residents of Petrozavodsk witnessed an unusual natural phenomenon. On September 20, at about four o'clock in the morning, a huge "star" suddenly flashed brightly in the dark sky, impulsively sending sheaves of light to the Earth. This "star" was slowly moving towards Petrozavodsk and, spreading over it in the form of a jellyfish, hung, showering the city with a multitude of the finest ray streams that gave the impression of pouring rain.
After a while, the ray glow ended, the "jellyfish" turned into a bright semicircle and resumed its movement towards Lake Onega, the horizon of which was enveloped in gray clouds. In this veil, then a semicircular gully of bright red color to the middle and white on the sides formed. This phenomenon, according to eyewitnesses, lasted 10 - 12 minutes …"
A rather innocent note, which no one would pay attention to these days, caused a sensation in a "stagnant" country. And not only among ufologists. From the very top, the USSR Academy of Sciences received a demand: to explain what was flying in the Karelian sky.
It soon turned out that the mysterious phenomenon was seen not only in Karelia, but also throughout the north-west of the European part of the USSR, as well as in Finland.
Promotional video:
Many residents of Petrozavodsk, who saw this phenomenon, were seized with horror. The ambulance crew stopped in the middle of the street, experiencing "a sense of fear and doom."
“It seemed that they had suffered a serious illness, which is why their consciousness is still upset,” Nikolai Milov told American correspondents. "I have no doubt for a moment that the people I asked had to face something incredible …"
Some residents of Petrozavodsk managed to photograph different phases of the phenomenon - "streams of fiery rain", the removal of an object, a glow spreading across the sky.
Amateur ufologists were delighted. Vladimir Azhazha said: "In my opinion, what was seen over Petrozavodsk was a spaceship, a carrier of a high civilization, with a crew and passengers, or is it an energy field created by a similar UFO." The late Alexey Zolotov echoed him: “In my opinion, the object over Petrozavodsk was a typical flying saucer. Everything indicates that it was a UFO."
Summary of the second part.
But it turned out that it was not a UFO that hovered over Karelia. And the first to figure this out were the employees of the American special services.
Mikhail GERSHTEIN, Chairman of the Ufological Commission of the Russian Geographical Society
VERBATIM
Aliens will take me away!.
The "KP" correspondent managed to find a witness about whom the TASS reporter told foreign journalists.
“Yes, indeed, then I had a feeling of strong anxiety, anxiety,” recalls the ambulance nurse Valentina KHALITOVA. - Although I was young then, 24 years old. I was not afraid of anything.
Imagine! 77th year, September 20, 4:00 in the morning: our lanterns in the city then almost never burned! And suddenly I noticed that it was light outside the car windows. And then an object hung over us. He just hung. From the wild fear that gripped me, I screamed heart-rendingly: "Arrived, arrived …"
For some reason, I was sure that the aliens would take us away now. The object was hanging so low, you could see the insides. There was something like a cockpit, some objects were moving, levers, or something …
The height, it seemed to me, was about the level of a five-story building. Curiosity overcame fear - we followed. Maybe they would have watched it more, but there was a patient in the car with a broken leg and moaning in pain, he had to be urgently taken to the hospital …
Much water has flowed under the bridge since then. Valentina still works at the ambulance station and, unlike many eyewitnesses that night, did not take up ufology.