Are top secret files on aliens and UFOs kept by Russian heads of state? Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev talked extraterrestrial life and UFO sightings Friday after a televised interview in Moscow. Did the former president, who was succeeded by Vladimir Putin, show off his subtle sense of humor or is there some truth to other-worldly life?
Secret files on aliens
In an AP story via the Clarion Ledger on Dec. 7, it was suggested that what Medvedev said after his interview on Ostankino TV Center, arguably, received the most attention.
View slideshow: UFOs in Russia: A history of sightings
After the interview concluded, the cameras continued to run. At some point, the former president (pictured here) told a journalist that leaders get two folders containing top secret files on aliens that came to Earth and remained. Medvedev cautioned that he could not tell them "how many of them are among us, because it may cause panic."
When he suggested gathering more information from "Men in Black" films, it was all passed as a joke. However, could it be a slip of the tongue or the truth masked by an ill-attempt at comedy?
In 1948, a UFO sighting took place over Kapustin Yar, a rocket and launch research base in Russia. Many call the area "Russia's Roswell" or the Soviet Union's equivalent to Area 51 in the United States.
Reportedly, an cigar-shaped object suddenly appeared over an area near the base. A MIG pilot was flying at the time and reported being blinded by its reflection.
At some point, the order was given to engage the UFO sighting. The pilot fired, striking the object and both craft plummeted toward the ground. The pilot is said to have died after being hit by a "proton beam."
Sources say soldiers collected the debris from the unidentified flying object and carried it underground. Further still, Joseph Stalin, Premier of the Soviet Union at the time, believed the encounter was real. As a result, he is said to have ordered plans for increased UFO research. Could the top secret files on aliens have started here?
In 1892, something strange called the "Pillar of Light" was seen in parts of Russia. It was described as a large beam of light pointing towards the Earth's surface. The unidentified flying object hurled light for 25 minutes.
On June 30, 1908, the controversial Tunguska event took place over Russia. It was believed to be an enormous comet or meteoroid that did an air burst about three to six miles above the surface.
The explosion -- 1,000 times larger than the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII -- downed over 80 million trees and flattened an area over 4 kilometers in diameter.
Others believed UFOs and alien life were behind the mysterious blast, the largest "impact" event ever recorded to-date.
It's likely that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was joking about secret files on aliens after his interview. However, die-hard believers in the mysteries of UFO sightings are likely not laughing at all.
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