Approved  For  Release  2000/08/15  :   CIA-RDP96-00792R000500210001-9 
PARAPSYCHOLOGY  IN  THE  USSR. 
I •  Reports  of  studies  of  psi  in  the  USSR  go  back  to  the  mid  19th 
century.  According  to  MARTIN  EBON,  in  his  book,  “PSI  IN  THE  USSR, 
RELIGION  WITHOUT  A   CROSS”  (see  Appendix  1,  Reference  Literature), 
Russian  scientists  and  laity  have  been  researching  various 
parapsychological  phenomena  for  decades  before  the  1917  October 
Revolution. 
-   From  1857  to  1867,  the  newspaper  “WESTNIK  EUROPY”  in  Petersburg 
appeared,  which  dealt  with  mediums  and  other  openly  unexplainable 
phenomena. 
The  medium  phenomenon  was  reexamined  for  its  veracity  around  1860  by 
a   special  committee  of  the  Physical  Society  of  the  University  of 
Petersburg,  which  was  founded  just  for  this  purpose,  and  a   dispute 
developed  between  Mendelejev  and  the  then-prominent  spiritualist 
A.N.  Aksakov  over  the  presumptions  and  methodologies  of  the  study. 
Mendelejev  had  openly  exposed  fraudulent  mediums. 
The  oldest  known  report  of  telepathy  experiments  in  Russia 
describes,  as  does  EBON  in  his  book,  telepathy  experiments  in 
Tashkent  through  Alexander  Wilkins  around  1870,  and  was  published  in 
Paris  in  the  ”Annals  of  Physical  Science”. 
The  Russian  Society  for  Experimental  Psychology  was  founded  in  1891. 
It  was  interested  in  clairvoyance,  psychometry  and  poltergeist 
phenomena.  Materialism  led  to  a   search  for  new,  new,  no  longer 
religious  truths.  Hypnosis,  seances,  with  their  connections  to 
ghosts,  and  a   string  of  unexplainable,  supernatural  phenomena  such 
as  thought  transference  and  other  related  areas  were  popular. 
So,  research  in  parapsychology  in  the  USSR  was  about  the  same  as  in 
the  USA  and  other  European  countries  up  until  the  time  of  the 
industrial  revolution. 
I I ■ 
 EBON  lists  other  scientists  and  works  in  parapsychology  which 
occurred  between  the  1917  October  revolution  and  the  mid  '50s: 
VLADIMIR  M.  BECHTEREV  (Leningrad) :   mental  communication  between  dogs 
and  humans. 
P.P.  LAZAREV  (1922):  published  “Psycho-chemical  Principles  of  the 
Higher  Nerve  Energies”,  in  which  the  possibility  of  telepathic 
communication  due  to  neurological  functions  was  studied. 
-   B.B.  KASCHINSKI:  conducted  other  pertinent  studies  of  mental 
telepathy  with  dogs,  and  published  a   book  on  thought  transference  in 
Moscow  in  1923. 
-   LEONID  L.  VASILIEV  (died  in  1966).  A  student  of  BECHTEREV,  joined 
Approved  For  Release  2000/08/15  :   CIA-RDP96-00792R000500210001-9
Approved  For  Release  2000/08/15  :   CIA-RDP96-00792R000500210001-9 
the  Institute  for  Brain  Research  in  Leningrad  in  1921,  and  became  a 
member  of  the  committee  to  study  mental  suggestion  (the  expression 
for  telepathy  at  that  time) . 
1924:  The  2nd  All-Russia  Congress  for  Psychoneurology  recommended  a 
joint-work  of  the  Russian  scientists  and  the  International  Committee 
for  Parapsychological  Studies. 
-   About  1925:  The  selected  Committee  for  the  Study  of  Mental 
Suggestion  came  about  through  the  Society  for  Neurology, 
Reflexology,  Hypnosis  and  Biophysics  was  ended. 
1928:  The  Institute  of  Brain  Research  in  Leningrad  began  a   study  of 
the  possible  practical  factors  of  telepathic  phenomena  from  person 
to  person,  resulting  in  the  conclusion  that  the  phenomena  of  thought 
transference  do  not  rest  on  ’’electromagnetism”. 
1959:  Soviet  parapsychology  received  strong  impetus  through  the 
french  publication  of  supposed  american  ship-to-shore  telepathy 
attempts  with  the  atomic  submarine  Nautilus.  These  attempts  were 
officially  denied  by  the  Americans. 
In  April,  1960  L.L.  VASILIEV,  according  to  Shiela  Ostrander  and  Lynn 
Schroeder  in  their  book  ”PSI”  (see  Appendix  1,  Reference 
Literature),  reprimanded  soviet  scientists,  referring  to  these 
Nautilus  reports,  for  their  considerable  number  of  ESP  and  telepathy 
studies  which  were  carried  out  under  Stalin's  regime,  but  were  as 
yet  unpublished.  He  stressed  the  need  to  shake  off  the  prejudices 
against  parapsychology.  He  is  convinced  that  the  discovery  of  ESP 
energy  will  be  of  the  same  significance  as  atomic  energy. 
1961:  L.L.  Vasiliev  received  the  leadership  of  the  first  ESP 
laboratories  sponsored  by  the  soviet  administration;  the  Special 
Laboratory  for  Parapsychology  at  the  University  of  Leningrad. 
-   After  Vasil  lev’s  death  in  1966,  the  center  of  soviet 
parapsychological  research  partially  shifted  from  Leningrad  to 
Moscow,  where  IPPOLIT  KOGAN,  Director  of  the  Section  for 
Bioinformation  on  the  totally  soviet  scientific  and  technical  A.S. 
Popov  Institute  for  Radiotechnology  and  Electrical  Communication  was 
located. 
EDUARD  K.  NAUMOV  and  KARL  NIKOLAEV  were  known  at  this  time  through 
telepathy  experiments  which  were  conducted  over  the  distance  of 
Moscow  to  Leningrad. 
In  the  summer  of  1968  a   conference  in  Moscow  on  "Technical 
Parapsychology”  took  place. 
NINA  KULAGINA  and  WOLF  MESSING  are  the  two  most  famous  soviet 
stars  of  this  time  with  supposedly  especially  great 
parapsychological  talent.  N.  KULAGINA  fascinated  onlookers  with 
Approved  For  Release  2000/08/15  :   CIA-RDP96-00792R000500210001-9
Apj&ilved  For  Relej 
)P96-00792R00050021 0001  -9 
psychokinetic  abilities,  in  which  she  made  compass  needles  and  other 
with  an  energy  which  seemed  to  radiate  from  her  hands. 
W.  MESSING  held  large  crowds  of  spectators  with  his  telepathic 
exhibitions  in  Bann. 
In  July,  1970,  the  russian  newspaper  "Radio-Technika”  published 
research  results  of  the  above  mentioned  professor  KOGAN  in  Moscow, 
which  had  supposedly  convincingly  proven  the  existence  of  telepathic 
possibilities  through  statistical  methods. 
-   S. . OSTRANDER  and  L.  SCHROEDER  in  their  book  ”PSI”  maintained  that 
while,  by  1970  there  were  already  more  than  30  centers  in  the  USSR 
for  the  study  of  paranormal  phenomena,  and  that  by  1967  there  were 
already  yearly  budgets  of  at  least  13  million  rubles  had  been  put  at 
their  disposal  for  these  studies,  and  parapsychology  in  the  USSR 
enjoyed  official  sanction,  VLADIMIR  LVOV'S  article  in  the  newspaper 
LE  MONDE  (4  AUG  76)  denied  its  (official)  recognition  in  the  USSR. 
He  logically  pointed  out  in  his  article  that  it  is  a   mistake  to 
accept  that  parapsychology  enjoyed  official  recognition  in  the  USSR. 
Moreover,  the  truth  was  simply  that,  parapsychology  in  the  Soviet 
Union  was  not  recognized  as  an  official  branch  of  science.  No 
institute  and  no  research  center  in  the  Soviet  Union  devoted  itself 
to  telepathy  or  psychokinesis,  etc.,  but  there  were  simply  a   group 
of  amateurs  who  associated  themselves  with  the  paranormal. 
According  to  EBON,  this  opposing  opinion  makes  clear  the 
unpleasant  situation  in  which  parapsychology  found  itself  in  Russia 
at  this  time.  It  held  no  official  status,  but  individuals  and 
private  groups  could  carry  on  such  studies  without  special  official 
intervention. 
Further  examples  of  the  historical  development  of  soviet 
parapsychology  are  found  listed  in  Appendix  1,  Reference  literature  of 
western  authors.  The  book  ”PSI”  by  S.  OSTRANDER  and  L.  SCHROEDER 
contains  an  extensive  source  of  proof. 
IH.  A   literature  search  on  the  theme,  made  in  open-source  databanks 
m   December,  1990,  for  the  time  around  1968,  turned  up  27  institutes 
and/or  centers  in  which  researchers  were  occupied  with  paranormal 
phenomena,  in  the  widest  sense  of  the  term  (see  List  of  Institutes. 
Appendix  2) . 
Here  were  explored  practically  all  aspects  of  parapsychology,  such 
as  the  general  concept  "ESP"  (in  German,  ASW) ,  and  the  subject  reports 
of  telepathy,  telepathic  hypnosis,  clairvoyance,  as  well  as  the  concept 
of  psychokinesis"  (the  physical  influence  of  man  over  matter),  which 
encompasses  the  study  of  the  human  biofield,  the  application  of  the 
KIRLIAN  effect,  and  healing  through  laying  on  of  hands. 
There  appear  to  be  the  reports  of  telepathy  and  telepathic  hypnosis, 
like  hypnosis  per  se,  which  the  most  basic  research  and  the  widest 
development  of  reports  of  soviet  parapsychology. ~ 
 ' 
Approved  For  Release  2000/08/15  :   CIA-RDP96-00792R000500210001-9
Approved  For  Release  2000/08/15  :   CIA-RDP96-00792R000500210001-9 
SG1E 
n 
 19B2  L. L.  VASILIEV,  in  his  book  on  experimental  studies  of 
mental  suggestion”,  showed  the  advanced  position  of  (such)  pertinent 
research  in  the  USSR.  Efforts  toward  the  aimed  telepathic  manipulation 
of  human  consciousness  seem  to  have  played  a   large  role  in  telepathic 
nvcD°S*S"  • ^esearc^  anc*  application  of  hypnosis  is  wide  spread  in  the 
USSR.  It  is  used  in  medicine,  psychotherapy,  physiology,  psychology, 
psychiatry,  and  in  experimental  education.  Also  the  possibility  of  the 
development  and  application  of  drugs  for  the  augmentation  of  hypnosis 
was  researched. 
„   „ 
 scientists  such  as  L.L.  VASILIEV,  I.M.  KOGAN,  V.  MUTSCHALL, 
V.F.  BASSIN,  M.V.  AVAKUMOV,  I.D.  DUBROVSKI,  V.L.  RAIKOV  and  P.A. 
SLOBODYANIK,  with  their  co-authors  have  made  names  for  themselves  in 
the  above  named  reports  for  the  timespan  of  1968  on.  The  exceptional 
works  published  just  in  the  3  years  1969-1971  by  S.A.  EGOROV,  P  V 
ZAGRYADSKI,  F.D.  MORDVINOV  and  N.B.  YAKOVETS  and  their  co-authors ’ from 
the  Kirov  Military-Medical  Academy  in  Leningrad,  fall  especially  into 
the  area  of  psychophysiological  research  in  connection  with 
ergonometric  questions,  and  only  peripherally  have  something  to  do  with 
parapsychology  (see  also  Appendix  3,  Author  list). 
III#  It,  was  reported  again  and  again  in  the  rainbow  press  that  the 
military  and  the  secret  police  were  behind  the  russian  efforts  to  get  a 
scientific  grip  on  parapsychology. 
The  contents  of  these  statements  could  never  be  substantiated  and 
the  soviet  open-source  literature  on  parapsychology  also  gives  no 
reliable  evidence.  Certain  revelations  in  the  past  years  in  the  USSR 
have  made  assumptions  that  research  has  been  done  here  -   but  these  and 
the  research  results  were  and  will  be  held  in  secret. 
Signs  of  the  efforts  of  soviet  parapsychologists  to  use  telepathy  as 
a   world-wide  telecommunications  system  for  cosmonauts  between  one 
another  and  between  earth  and  the  cosmonauts  in  space  were  already 
visible  in  the  50 ’s.  In  1967,  the  russian  trade  paper  "Marine  Report” 
wrote  that  cosmonauts  in  space  can  ’’get  together  (mentally)  with  each 
other  easier  than  with  people  on  earth.  Psi-training  was  said  to  have 
been  taken  up  on  the  cosmonauts  training  program.  Supposedly, 
phenomenal  psi  experiments  between  soviet  cosmonauts  and  scientists  on 
the  earth  were  said  to  have  been  conducted.  The  dates  and  results  of 
these  experiments,  however,  were  not  published  in  open-source 
literature,  so  a   firm  evaluation  of  these  efforts  is  not  possible. 
In  a   purely  news-report  fashion,  the  subject-complexity  of 
parapsychology  in  the  USSR  and  its  application  by  the  military  and  the 
KGB  is  contradictory,  based  on,  in  part,  conflicting  rumors: 
In  1977  a   specialist  in  Psychiatry  from  the  Serbski  Institute  in 
Moscow,  with  a   good  possibility  of  insight  into  the  situation.   
declared  in  an  article  named  ’’CONTROLLED  BY  THE  KGB” 
which  appeared  in  ”Der  SPIEGEL”  (4  JUL  77),  that  Psi  i^hHlSsHJas 
an  unrealistic  sensationalism  of  half-truths  and  the  fantasies  of 
Approved  For  Release  2000/08/15  :   CIA-RDP96-00792R000500210001-9