Voronezh Landing — Soviet TASS Reports Humanoids 1989

On September 27, 1989, a large sphere or disc reportedly descended into a park in Voronezh, Russia, in the presence of dozens of children and adult witnesses. TASS, the authoritative Soviet state news agency, subsequently published a formal report stating that a large ball had landed in the park, that two or three humanoid beings approximately 9 feet tall with small heads had emerged, and that a small 'robot' had accompanied them. One boy had screamed in terror and was temporarily paralyzed by a beam directed at him from a tube-like device carried by one of the beings. The craft and beings then disappeared and reappeared. Physical evidence at the site included a circular depression in the soil and elevated radiation readings measured by Soviet scientists who investigated. The Soviet Interior Ministry's militia interviewed witnesses. The case was covered by the international press and became one of the most widely reported UFO events of the Soviet era. The significance of TASS publishing such a specific report — including the humanoid description — in the context of Soviet institutional culture made the Voronezh event uniquely important in the governmental acknowledgment of UAP encounters.