Sobolyov said, puffing on a pungent Russian cigarette. His research centre is the Rerikh Academy, named after early 20th century Russian mystic and scientist Nikolai Rerikh. UFOlogists, who study Unidentified Flying Objects, are treated warily by governments the world over, although there are those, including Russia, which fund some UFO research. But the tiny division of Russian science could become a big money earner if the government takes up the plan for the state to rent out Siberian land during Armageddon. Conference delegates from Italy, Hungary and other countries worked with dozens of Russians on the problem from the safety of the foothills of the southern Urals which tumble down to the beginning of the Siberian steppe.
Governments have yet to comment on their plans.
The Chelyabinsk region where the conference was held is studded with lakes and compared to Switzerland by some, though it is also known for its high proportion of closed cities and nuclear bomb plants. But the delegates at the remote mountain resort of Chebarkul had their heads in the fourth dimension, a higher cultural and spiritual plane and source of many flying saucers. Rerikh the scientist was also a painter, and the conference's cultural programme was well attended. The UFOlogists cheered what they saw as the verse's special message. They say centuries of desperation and hardship have forged hearty Russian souls who can also help lead humanity into the fourth dimension in the countdown to Judgement Day.