Senator Russell's Soviet sighting (1955)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
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| Date | 15 October 1955 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Secrecy & cover-up (topic), Government programs (topic), Congress & law (topic) |
| People | Richard Russell |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 54 |
| Year | 1955 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1955 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 5 |
In October 1955 U.S. Senator Richard Russell of Georgia, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, reported seeing two disc-like objects rise into the sky while travelling by train in the Soviet Union. The sighting was reported through U.S. intelligence channels, summarised in a CIA bulletin and kept classified for decades.[1][2]
The sighting
On 4 October 1955 Russell was travelling by train through the Transcaucasus, about an hour and a half out of Baku, with his aide Colonel E. U. Hathaway and an interpreter, Ruben Efron. Around 7 p.m. Russell saw a greenish-yellow object rise rapidly from near the track and called the others to the window; they then saw a second, similar object do the same. The witnesses said the objects seemed to be whirling, gave off a yellowish glow and followed a single trajectory.[1][2][3]
Reports and CIA review
When the party reached Prague a few days later, they were debriefed by American officials. An Air Force intelligence report on the debriefing was classified Top Secret and quoted the witnesses as convinced they had seen a genuine flying disc, and the CIA summarised the sighting in its Current Intelligence Bulletin of 15 October 1955. On 27 October Russell was interviewed by Herbert Scoville Jr., the CIA's Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence, who concluded that the testimony did not support the idea that the Soviets had developed saucer-like aircraft and suggested the objects might have been the exhaust of jets climbing steeply. The witnesses were asked to keep the matter secret.[1][2][3]
Release
The CIA memo was first released in redacted form in 1978. After researcher John Greenewald of The Black Vault filed a mandatory declassification review request in January 2020, the agency released it in full just over two years later. The case stands out because the main witness was one of the most powerful members of Congress; no explanation was ever confirmed.[1][3]
People and topics
- Richard Russell — U.S. senator from Georgia who saw two disc-shaped craft in the Soviet Union in 1955.
- Central Intelligence Agency — The U.S. foreign intelligence agency, which has followed UFO reports since the 1940s.
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- The Black Vault — John Greenewald's online archive of government documents.
On the Timeline
- Blue Book Special Report No. 14 (5 May 1955) — Blue Book Special Report No. 14 analyzes 3,200 sightings and finds no proof of advanced craft.
- Herald Tribune "Conquest of Gravity" series (20 November 1955) — A newspaper reports on research into the 'secret of gravity' at top U.S. laboratories.
See every 1955 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Declassified Top Secret CIA Memo Reveals Senator's 'Saucer-Like' Craft Sighting in 1955", The Black Vault (11 Jul 2023) · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Patrick Gross, "Senator Russell, USSR, 1955", UFOs at close sight · ufologie.patrickgross.org · archived copy
- "Senator Richard B. Russell Jr.", NOUFORS · noufors.com · archived copy
- October 4, 1955: Senator Russell observes UFO from train · uapdiscovery.discourse.group · archived copy
- cia.gov · cia.gov · archived copy
Further reading
- Project Blue Book — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Project Blue Book records — National Archives · archives.gov · archived copy
- Project Blue Book files — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Condon Committee — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- UFO documents — CIA Reading Room · cia.gov · archived copy
- U.S. congressional hearings on UFOs — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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