12-08-2007, 12:33 AM
By Itar-Tass World Service writer Lyudmila Alexandrova
Russia's tour companies are sure they have unearthed a bonanza. In the wake of a sudden surge of public interest in matters unknown they have addressed their clientele with a plethora of invitations to make pilgrimage to sites Unidentified Flying Objects and the Abominable Snowman - the Yeti - are said to frequent.
On the web sites of tourist firms one finds no end of promises of arranging rendezvous with yetis and green-skinned humanoid-like creatures, says the daily Novyie Izvestia. Different regions are almost at war with each other for the right to be called "the nation's most paranormal territory."
Roads are being laid to and hotels built at places local folks prefer to never ever venture into without a special need - just to be on the safe side. This is not an outbreak of collective insanity. The reason is very down-to-earth. The most active players in the market of travel services have realized that vouchers to ill-famed spots on Russia's map may help them make fortunes.
At the end of November the authorities of the Perm Territory declared they had established a UFO wildlife preserve in the local paranormal territory called the Molebka Triangle (Molebka is the name of a tiny local village) - an area where unidentified flying objects can be seen now and then. The local authorities hope the UFO preserve will make the region a major tourist attraction. Crowds of curious visitors will flock in and cash will be pouring like rain.
Local officials do not have a shade of doubt flying saucers do exist and drop in once in a while. Likewise, they are certain that those eager to get in touch with extraterrestrial civilizations are more than enough. Most people in the region are ready to believe in extraterrestrials. A recent sociological poll found that one in three Perm Region residents is certain there is a good chance of seeing a UFO in one's own back yard some day.
Many other regions have followed in Perm's footsteps. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory construction work is well in progress in the middle of dense Siberian taiga forests close to the site of the Tunguska Event of almost a hundred years ago. The local authorities hope that the 100th anniversary of the enigma will attract crowds, the hotels and infrastructures being built there will not stay idle, and the local budget will make millions.
There are plans for opening an outdoor museum in a local village and laying an 80-kilometer road through the thicket and across marshland to the place where a huge celestial body of unknown origin and nature is thought to have hit the Earth's surface early last century. Flying there by helicopter will be no problem. Landing pads will be in place pretty soon.
On July 30, 1908 a huge round-shaped celestial body tore through the sky over Central Siberia with a roaring noise. On that night many in Western Europe and in Russia noticed unusual glow in the sky. The period of dusk is said to have been incredibly beautiful.
Combined efforts by Russian and foreign scientists have produced no plausible explanation to this day. Currently there exist seven groups of interpretations of the Tunguska Event and about 100 versions of what exactly happened then. The ice nucleus of some comet, a huge globular lightning, a solar plasmoid, and a cloud of space dust are the most frequently mentioned ones.
Dozens of international expeditions visit the Krasnoyarsk Territory every year in search of the truth.
In other regions moneymaking on things unexplainable is on the rise, too, although on a somewhat more moderate scale. In the Samara Region the authorities contemplate creation of a tourist zone near the Medveditskaya Gryada (She-Bear Ridge), where local people claim they often see flying saucers.
The authorities in the city of Togliatti, in the middle reaches of the Volga River, say in full seriousness that "the idea of turning the center of Russia's car-making industry into a paradise for UFO fans looks really good." Indeed, one in two locals claims to have an experience of dealing with paranormal phenomena at least once.
"Togliatti draws UFOs like a magnet. The high-rise tower of the AvtoVAZ car giant's head office is the extraterrestrials' usual target. This place is believed to be one of the most abnormal places in the whole of Russia," UFO expert Tatyana Makarova told the daily Noviye Izvestia.
Flying saucer hunters suggest building special communities, where UFO enthusiasts will be able to spend sleepless nights in the hope of meeting aliens from other worlds.
When the rumor of the authorities' plans fell on the attentive ears of local businessmen, the smartest ones promptly volunteered to supply future tourist musts with proper infrastructures - trading centers, bars restaurants and what not.
The regions where preserves could be established on enigmatic sites are two numerous to count. On their web sites travel companies invite clients to take a look at enigmatic circles on crop fields on either side of the Kuban River, visit a yeti's cave in Western Altai, or explore old-time labyrinths on the Solovetsky Islands. Researchers have catalogued Russia's unusual places to produce a special encyclopedia.
Even the tiniest villages, where nothing extraordinary has happened for centuries, hurry to earn what they can on Russians' UFO-mania.
The general public's interest in things unexplainable soars with every single day. Print runs of special publications are breaking records. Ever bigger television audiences switch to television channels that keep paranormalities and esoterics in focus.
One of the most popular television shows this season was The Battle of ESPs on the TNT channel, which holds competitions for specially selected contestants boasting unusual capabilities.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html...D=12159197
Russia's tour companies are sure they have unearthed a bonanza. In the wake of a sudden surge of public interest in matters unknown they have addressed their clientele with a plethora of invitations to make pilgrimage to sites Unidentified Flying Objects and the Abominable Snowman - the Yeti - are said to frequent.
On the web sites of tourist firms one finds no end of promises of arranging rendezvous with yetis and green-skinned humanoid-like creatures, says the daily Novyie Izvestia. Different regions are almost at war with each other for the right to be called "the nation's most paranormal territory."
Roads are being laid to and hotels built at places local folks prefer to never ever venture into without a special need - just to be on the safe side. This is not an outbreak of collective insanity. The reason is very down-to-earth. The most active players in the market of travel services have realized that vouchers to ill-famed spots on Russia's map may help them make fortunes.
At the end of November the authorities of the Perm Territory declared they had established a UFO wildlife preserve in the local paranormal territory called the Molebka Triangle (Molebka is the name of a tiny local village) - an area where unidentified flying objects can be seen now and then. The local authorities hope the UFO preserve will make the region a major tourist attraction. Crowds of curious visitors will flock in and cash will be pouring like rain.
Local officials do not have a shade of doubt flying saucers do exist and drop in once in a while. Likewise, they are certain that those eager to get in touch with extraterrestrial civilizations are more than enough. Most people in the region are ready to believe in extraterrestrials. A recent sociological poll found that one in three Perm Region residents is certain there is a good chance of seeing a UFO in one's own back yard some day.
Many other regions have followed in Perm's footsteps. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory construction work is well in progress in the middle of dense Siberian taiga forests close to the site of the Tunguska Event of almost a hundred years ago. The local authorities hope that the 100th anniversary of the enigma will attract crowds, the hotels and infrastructures being built there will not stay idle, and the local budget will make millions.
There are plans for opening an outdoor museum in a local village and laying an 80-kilometer road through the thicket and across marshland to the place where a huge celestial body of unknown origin and nature is thought to have hit the Earth's surface early last century. Flying there by helicopter will be no problem. Landing pads will be in place pretty soon.
On July 30, 1908 a huge round-shaped celestial body tore through the sky over Central Siberia with a roaring noise. On that night many in Western Europe and in Russia noticed unusual glow in the sky. The period of dusk is said to have been incredibly beautiful.
Combined efforts by Russian and foreign scientists have produced no plausible explanation to this day. Currently there exist seven groups of interpretations of the Tunguska Event and about 100 versions of what exactly happened then. The ice nucleus of some comet, a huge globular lightning, a solar plasmoid, and a cloud of space dust are the most frequently mentioned ones.
Dozens of international expeditions visit the Krasnoyarsk Territory every year in search of the truth.
In other regions moneymaking on things unexplainable is on the rise, too, although on a somewhat more moderate scale. In the Samara Region the authorities contemplate creation of a tourist zone near the Medveditskaya Gryada (She-Bear Ridge), where local people claim they often see flying saucers.
The authorities in the city of Togliatti, in the middle reaches of the Volga River, say in full seriousness that "the idea of turning the center of Russia's car-making industry into a paradise for UFO fans looks really good." Indeed, one in two locals claims to have an experience of dealing with paranormal phenomena at least once.
"Togliatti draws UFOs like a magnet. The high-rise tower of the AvtoVAZ car giant's head office is the extraterrestrials' usual target. This place is believed to be one of the most abnormal places in the whole of Russia," UFO expert Tatyana Makarova told the daily Noviye Izvestia.
Flying saucer hunters suggest building special communities, where UFO enthusiasts will be able to spend sleepless nights in the hope of meeting aliens from other worlds.
When the rumor of the authorities' plans fell on the attentive ears of local businessmen, the smartest ones promptly volunteered to supply future tourist musts with proper infrastructures - trading centers, bars restaurants and what not.
The regions where preserves could be established on enigmatic sites are two numerous to count. On their web sites travel companies invite clients to take a look at enigmatic circles on crop fields on either side of the Kuban River, visit a yeti's cave in Western Altai, or explore old-time labyrinths on the Solovetsky Islands. Researchers have catalogued Russia's unusual places to produce a special encyclopedia.
Even the tiniest villages, where nothing extraordinary has happened for centuries, hurry to earn what they can on Russians' UFO-mania.
The general public's interest in things unexplainable soars with every single day. Print runs of special publications are breaking records. Ever bigger television audiences switch to television channels that keep paranormalities and esoterics in focus.
One of the most popular television shows this season was The Battle of ESPs on the TNT channel, which holds competitions for specially selected contestants boasting unusual capabilities.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html...D=12159197