Nina Kulagina

Nina Kulagina
Born
Ninel Sergeyevna Kulagina

(1926-07-10)10 July 1926
Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Died11 April 1990(1990-04-11) (aged 63)
NationalityRussian
Known forReported psychic ability

Nina Kulagina, Ninel Sergeyevna Kulagina (Russian: Нине́ль Серге́евна Кула́гина, born Ninel Mikhaylova[1][2]) (30 July 1926 – 11 April 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 20 years of her life.

Kulagina was suspected of utilizing hidden magnets and threads to perform her feats.[3] She was caught cheating on more than one occasion according to the authors of several books and publications.[4][5][6] In 1987, Kulagina sued and won a partial victory in a defamation case brought against a Soviet government magazine that had accused her of fraud.[7][8][9]

  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 0-07-018860-2.
  3. ^ Planer, Felix (1980). Superstition. Cassell. pp. 230-234. ISBN 0-304-30691-6
  4. ^ Levy, Joel. (2002). K.I.S.S Guide to the Unexplained. DK Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 978-0789489418 "Tricks were employed by Russian housewife and psychic Ninel Kulagina, who was caught using invisible thread to lift tennis balls and hidden magnets to move saltshakers."
  5. ^ Dash, Mike. (1997). Borderlands. William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN 978-0434003358 "The Russian psychic Ninel Kulagina, who in the 1960s, produced effects very similar to those of Tomczyk - moving a salt cellar and levitating a table tennis ball - was eventually caught by Soviet parapsychologists using concealed magnets and invisible thread to effect her tricks."
  6. ^ Kravitz, Jerome; Hillabrant, Walter. (1977). The Future is Now: Readings in Introductory Psychology. F. E. Peacock Publishers. p. 301. ISBN 0875812155 Quoting Martin Gardner: "Ninel has been caught cheating more than once by Soviet Establishment scientists."
  7. ^ Randi, James (1995). "Encyclopedia of Claims: Kulagina, Nina". randi.org. James Randi Educational Foundation. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  8. ^ "This Russian woman’s psychic powers ignited a paranormal arms race between the U.S. and the USSR". timeline.com. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  9. ^ "The phenomenon of Ninel Kulagina: questions and answers". skepticsociety.ru. Retrieved 26 November 2023.