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| |name=Nina Kulagina | |name=Nina Kulagina | ||
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| |birth_name=Ninel Sergeyevna Kulagina | |birth_name=Ninel Sergeyevna Kulagina | ||
| |nationality=Russian | |nationality=Russian | ||
Revision as of 14:03, 19 December 2007
| Nina Kulagina | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ninel Sergeyevna Kulagina 1926 |
| Died | 1990 |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Known for | Purported psychic ability |
Nina Kulagina, Ninel Sergeyevna Kulagina (Template:Lang-ru) (1926 – 1990) was a Russian woman who reportedly had great psychic powers, particularly in psychokinesis. Academic research of her phenomenon was conducted in the USSR for the last twenty years of her life.
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. 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.
Nina 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.
One of Nina'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 the late 1970s, a near fatal heart attack forced Nina 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. 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. 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.
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.
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