Nina Kulagina

Nina Kulagina
Born	Ninel Sergeyevna Kulagina 30 July 1926
Died	1990 (1991)
Nationality	Russian
Known for	Reported psychic ability

Nina Kulagina, Ninel Sergeyevna Kulagina (Russian: Нине́ль Серге́евна Кула́гина) (aka Nelya Mikhailova^[1][2]) (30 July 1926 – 1990) was a Russian woman who claimed to have psychic powers, particularly in psychokinesis. Academic research of her phenomenon was conducted in the USSR for the last twenty years of her life.

Biography

Kulagina, who was born in 1926, joined the Red Army at 14, entering its tank regiment during World War II,^[3] but she was a housewife at the time that her alleged psychic abilities were studied and she entered international discourse in the 1960s.^[4][5] During the Cold War, silent black-and-white films of her appearing to move objects on a table in front of her without touching them, were produced. These films were allegedly made under controlled conditions for Soviet authorities and caused excitement for many psychic researchers around the world, some of whom believed that they represented clear evidence for the existence of psychic phenomena. According to reports from the Soviet Union, forty scientists, two of whom were Nobel laureates, studied Kulagina.^[6] In Investigating Psychics, Larry Kettlekamp reports that Mikhailova was filmed separating broken eggs that had been submerged in water, moving apart the whites and yolks, during which event such physical changes were recorded as accelerated and altered heartbeat, brain waves and electromagnetic field.^[7] To ensure that external electromagnetic impulses did not interfere, she was placed inside of a metal cage while she supposedly demonstrated an ability to remove a marked matchstick from a pile of matchsticks under a glass dome.^[8]

Kulagina claimed that she first recognized her ability, which she believed she had inherited from her mother, when she realized that items spontaneously moved around her when she was angry.^[9] Kulagina said that in order to manifest the effect, she required a period of meditation to clear her mind of all thoughts. When she had obtained the focus required, she reported a sharp pain in her spine and the blurring of her eyesight. Reportedly, storms interfered with her ability to perform psychokinetic acts.^[8]

One of Kulagina's most celebrated experiments took place in a Leningrad laboratory on 10 March 1970. Having initially studied the ability to move inanimate objects, scientists were curious to see if Nina's abilities extended to cells, tissues, and organs. Sergeyev was one of many scientists present when Nina attempted to use her energy to stop the beating of a frog's heart floating in solution. He said that she focused intently on the heart and apparently made it beat faster, then slower, and using extreme intent of thought, stopped it.

In 1974 Jürgen Keil, of the University of Tasmania paid a surprise visit to Kulagina. According to Keil she was friendly and invited the scientist in without preparation and also asked them to stay for dinner. Kulagina performed without prior preparation and was filmed during the dinner.

In the late 1970s, a near fatal heart attack forced Kulagina to scale back her activities. According to a report produced by Dr. Zverev, her heartbeat was irregular, she had high blood sugar, and her endocrine system was disturbed. Over the long term, she suffered from pains in her arms and legs, could not coordinate properly, and experienced dizziness. The report said that these symptoms were the result of her paranormal exertions, and limited her ability to demonstrate psychokinesis under controlled conditions.

Criticism

Many skeptical individuals and organizations, such as the James Randi Educational Foundation and the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims on the Paranormal (CICAP) express strong skepticism regarding the truth of these claims. It is noted that the long preparation times and uncontrolled environments (such as hotel rooms) in which the experiments took place left much potential for trickery.^[10] Skeptics have argued that many of Kulagina's feats could easily be performed by one practiced in sleight of hand, through means such as cleverly concealed or disguised threads, small pieces of magnetic metal, or mirrors.^[11] They further point to the fact that no sleight of hand experts appear to have ever been present during experiments, and that the Cold War-era Soviet Union had an obvious motive for falsifying or exaggerating results in the potential propaganda value in appearing to win a "Psi Race" analogous to the concurrent Space Race or arms race.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

1. ^ Chughtai, M. H. H.; S. G. Abbas (1980). Life. Majlis-e-Milli. p. 190. 
2. ^ Ebon, Martin (1983). Psychic warfare: Threat Or Illusion?. McGraw-Hill. p. 70. ISBN 0070188602. 
3. ^ Buckland, Raymond (2003). The Fortune-Telling Book: The Encyclopedia of Divination and Soothsaying. Visible Ink Press. p. 317. ISBN 1578591473. 
4. ^ Randall, John L. (1975). Parapsychology and the Nature of Life. Souvenir Press. p. 185. ISBN 0285621777. 
5. ^ "Soviet stare gets action: Woman's look puts mind over matter". The Hartford Courant: p. 36. 1968-03-18. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/933034952.html?dids=933034952:933034952&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&date=Mar+18%2C+1968&author=&pub=The+Hartford+Courant&desc=Soviet+Stare+Gets+Action&pqatl=google. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
6. ^ Mishlove, Jeffrey (1975). "The Roots of Consciousness: Psychic Liberation Through History, Science, and Experience". Random House. p. 164. ISBN 0394731158. 
7. ^ Kettlekamp, Larry. (1977) Investigating Psychics: Five Life Histories William Morrow & Company, New York. 16-17. Reproduced, Understanding a Midsummer Night's Dream: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents by Faith Nostbakken. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003. pp. 179-180. ISBN 0313322139
8. ^ ^{a b} Parodi, Angelo (2005). Science and Spirit: What Physics Reveals about Mystical Belief. Pleasant Mount Press, Inc.. p. 233. ISBN 0976748932. http://books.google.com/books?id=Q_uEqifzpNEC&pg=PA233&dq=%22Nelya+Mikhailova%22&lr=&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U3ccP0MSV0guv19ubpbc1bPOgXkSA#PPA233,M1. 
9. ^ Bowater, Margaret M.; Diane Stein (1999). All Woman Are Psychics: Language of the Spirit. The Crossing Press. p. 126. ISBN 0895949792. http://books.google.com/books?id=_0DvlbswtXgC&pg=RA1-PA127&dq=%22Nelya+Mikhailova%22&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U0JgbR944TBw6CaB1cAr1p0sArTbA#PRA1-PA126,M1. 
10. ^ Polidoro, Massimo (December 12, 2000). "Secrets of a Russian Psychic". CICAP. http://www.cicap.org/en_artic/at101003.htm. Retrieved July 28, 2009. 
11. ^ Kulagina, Nina, An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural, JREF

References

• Gris, Henry, and Dick, William. The New Soviet Psychic Discoveries. London, Souvenir Press, 1979.
• Inglis, Brian. The Paranormal? An Encyclopedia of Psychic Phenomena. Granada publishing, 1985, p112.
• Ostrander, Sheila, & Schroeder, Lynn. Psychic Discoveries? The Iron Curtain Lifted. London, Souvenir Press, 1997 (1971).
• Spencer, John & Anne. The Poltergeist Phenomenon. London, Headline 1997, pp 227–8.
• She is referred to (approx. 40 seconds of footage) in the 1978 film 'The Medusa Touch' starring Richard Burton.

External links

• Braude, Stephen. Unusual Powers of Mind Over Matter
• The Psychic Powers of Nina Kulagina Comprehensive Biography of Nina Kulagina
• Nina Kulagina and Psychokinesis In Russia
• Secrets of a Russian Psychic Magicians and parapsychologists describe mundane methods

Persondata
Name	Kulagina, Nina
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	30 July 1926
Place of birth
Date of death	1990
Place of death