Nexus - 0804 - New Times Magazine-pages

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of the natural sciences". Writing in the Moscow periodical Nauka Historically, Western parapsychology was rooted in the 19th- i Religia (Science and Religion), an atheistic magazine, Dr century efforts to find scientific proof for such traditional reli- Kitaygorodsky stated as long ago as March 1966: "To me, there gious beliefs as life after death. is no doubt whatever that those who relate such fairy tales are And as psychic phenomena retain the mysterious air of the frauds, mystificators or, at best, grossly deceived. Men have unknown or unexplored, many Marxists accused Western para- believed in miracles for centuries, and for centuries there have psychologists of propagandising religio-folkloric "superstition" existed charlatans and impostors, conscious or unconscious. And and of advocating soft-headed "idealistic" concepts, in contrast to the struggle against such deception of the human mind has gone __ the strictly "materialistic" approach promulgated by Karl Marx on for centuries, and in each century it has to begin anew." and V. I. Lenin. Such criticisms had been voiced on and off for But in the same magazine, science writer Leonid Fillipov took some 20 years in the Soviet Union. the opposite view and cited Marxist gospel to prove his point. He During the life of Mao Zedong, Chinese Communist ideologues asked: "Does Professor Kitaygorodsky seriously believe that the even accused the Soviet Union and the United States of using frontiers of physics have been reached?" He cited scientific parapsychology to foster "religion without the Cross" in order to breakthroughs in radioactivity, quantum theory and lasers, and distract their citizenry from economic difficulties. wrote: "What if telepathic phenomena conform to some new, as As we examine analyses of Soviet research, this continuing ide- yet undiscovered laws which do not contradict already known ological conflict must be kept in mind. But there can be little rules governing electrons?" Fillipov added: "Rejecting a priori doubt that the extent of the Soviet effort did become enormous. the possibilities of telepathy and other In 1978, a US intelligence report was declas- still unfamiliar to science amounts sified and released, although it had originally to rejecting Lenin's idea that, on any given been scheduled for declassification in level of scientific development, our knowl- December 1990. The report was entitled edge of the work remains incomplete." "Controlled Offensive Intelligence Agency But beyond viewing with exaggerated oo. (DIA), Task Number T72-01-14". In part, it alarm, ridicule-cum-hyperbole and the credi- "The major impetus read: bility gap lie the realities of psychic func- behind the Soviet drive "The Soviet Union is well aware of the tions, for good or ill. To obtain the correct . benefits and applications of parapsychology perspective, let us keep in mind that para- to harness the possible research. The term parapsychology denotes sychology can play only a supporting role AAG . in the Soviet Union] a multi-disciplinar: in ‘he Soviet Union's or ‘any other military. capabilities of telepathic field consisting of the sciences of bionics, scientific complex. It must therefore be seen communication, biophysics, psychophysics, psychology, as one element within a large and diffuse leki ti d bi . physiology and neuropsychology. defensive-offensive research apparatus. telekinetic an lonics "Many scientists, US and Soviet, feel that Psychic elements might well be inte’ is said to come from parapsychology can be harnessed to grated into, rather than be operate: . oT create conditions where one can alter or separately from, other scientific or mil- the Soviet military manipulate the minds of others. The and the KGB [Committee of State itary projects. major impetus behind the Soviet drive Security, Secret Police]." A major attraction for planners is the to harness the possible capabilities of promise of financial and organisational telepathic communication, telekinetics shortcuts. Why engage in high-cost and bionics is said to come from the armaments, for example, if one or sev- Soviet military and the KGB eral psychics might influence person- [Committee of State Security, Secret nel in the enemy's missile silos, as a Police]." DIA report suggested? The costs of In continuing, the Defense military hardware are a heavy burden Intelligence Agency report asserted that on national economies in the East as the Soviet Union enjoyed a "head start" well as in the West—and ESP is cheap. in the field and had provided substantial financial backing. The report conclud- A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOVIET PSYCHIC. ed that "Soviet knowledge in this field is superior to that of the RESEARCH MACHINE US". It noted that Soviet researchers had explored "detrimental The origins of the Soviet psychic research machine remain a effects of subliminal perception techniques" that might even be mystery at best, mostly due to gaps in accessible documentation. "targeted against the US or allied personnel in nuclear missile In any case, it would be clear that the research and attempted silos" by "telepathic means". The report also stated: development of specific, useful, psi powers of mind proceeded at "The potential applications of focusing mental influences on an the start under severe ideological difficulties. Thus it is not easily enemy through hypnotic telepathy have surely occurred to the understandable how, and especially why, the Soviet research Soviets... Control and manipulation of the human consciousness machine grew to the monumental extent it did by about 1977. must be considered a primary goal." Soviet efforts to harness telepathy (mind-to-mind communica- At this point, the reader should again be cautioned that the ideo- tion), telekinesis (better known as psychokinesis, the influence of logical controversy about the study and use of psychic potentials the human mind on matter), or any other psychic ability needed to in the USSR had created gaps in public knowledge that inevitably overcome strong ideological objections from Marxist theoreti- led to rumours and unverifiable claims. "Hypnotic telepathy", of cians. Pragmatists, even those highly placed in scientific or gov- which the DIA report spoke, may well have been one of the target ernment circles, needed to justify their hopes for psychic experi- areas of Soviet research, but little current information on its status ments in acceptable ideological terms. was available. "The major impetus behind the Soviet drive the Soviet military _ and the KGB the A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SOVIET PSYCHIC RESEARCH MACHINE The origins of the Soviet psychic research machine remain a mystery at best, mostly due to gaps in accessible documentation. In any case, it would be clear that the research and attempted development of specific, useful, psi powers of mind proceeded at the start under severe ideological difficulties. Thus it is not easily understandable how, and especially why, the Soviet research machine grew to the monumental extent it did by about 1977. Soviet efforts to harness telepathy (mind-to-mind communica- tion), telekinesis (better known as psychokinesis, the influence of the human mind on matter), or any other psychic ability needed to overcome strong ideological objections from Marxist theoreti- cians. Pragmatists, even those highly placed in scientific or gov- ernment circles, needed to justify their hopes for psychic experi- ments in acceptable ideological terms. JUNE — JULY 2001 NEXUS = 43 is said to come from www.nexusmagazine.com