| he thick curtain of secrecy and deceipt covering the early soviet space program has endured for over forty years. The early “Raketoplan” rocket-powered aircraft flights, the sub-orbital launches and the first manned orbital missions have all been pushed into forced oblivion by the state censors of a country that no longer exists. The new Russia and the countries in the Russian Federation have embraced freedom and democracy and are struggling to free themselves of the old shackles, in a new push for “transparency” in state affairs. The first breakthroughs are finally occurring.Dr. Serghei Khruschev, the son of former soviet leader Nikita Khruschev has recently become a citizen of the United States. During the years of the space race, he worked for Vladimir Chelomei, Chief Rocket Designer in charge of development of boosters and space vehicles. Khruschev is currently a research fellow at Brown University. He has provided evidence that supports the existence of the unofficial missions of the 1960s. Other former soviet officials who have contributed information about these early missions include Col. Yuri Lyzlov and Capt. Anatoli Grushenko, formerly of the SSRF (Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces) and directly involved in the soviet space program during the 60s and 70s. They participated directly in the the preparations for Vladimir Ilyushins spaceflight and they witnessed the launch of the capsule “Rossyia”. They have recounted those events in recent television interviews.It is interesting to note the reaction of some well-known western “experts” on soviet space history to the revelations that are coming out of the Russian Federation. These “experts” have built their reputation on their interpretation of the soviet space program and they now blindly refuse to examine this new evidence. In the internet newsgroup dedicated to space history, these respected writers have launched personal attacks against the authors of this website; instead of looking at the evidence with an open mind, they attempted to ridicule our sources, resorted to name calling and even to anti-italian slurs. In a public show of their spineless character, some of these “experts” have not had the courage to use their real names, preferring instead to hide behind a pseudonym. So much for having the courage of their convictions! Some of these “experts” were recently invited to debate the issue on television in the presence of some of the prominent former soviet space program officials who are now living in the West and who have provided material that sheds light on those early, secret space missions. The fact that they ignored the invitation comes as no surprise to the author of the present notes. We invite debate and welcome constructive comments and contributions. All our website visitors can contact us personally via email: well reply to every message. Finally, we are providing a link to an open letter sent by Dr. E.H. Haimoff, producer of a program recently shown on the PBS network in the U.S. entitled “The Cosmonaut Cover-up“. |