"(No. 51; 54; 56; 58; 60; 64; 66; 68; 76; 78) without a signature under the title “Mysterious man. Essay on the history of comic time in Rus'". A separate and expanded edition appeared in 1871 under the pseudonym N. S. Leskov-Stebnitsky: “Mysterious man. An episode from the history of comic time in Rus'." With a letter from the author to Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev. Republished under the title "The Mysterious Man" in Full meeting works of N. S. Leskov, 1889, vol. 8, pp. 3-127.
Plot
The documentary essay “The Mysterious Man” is written about the biography of Arthur Benny, a Russian revolutionary, journalist and translator, who at the end of his life joined the Garibaldian troops and was mortally wounded in the battle of Rome. Leskov describes Benny's biography sequentially from childhood until his tragic death at the age of twenty-eight. He portrayed Benny based on his personal impressions, since he knew him for four years from 1861 to 1865, as well as from the memoirs and documentary evidence of I. S. Turgenev, P. D. Boborykin and A. N. Jacobi.
History of creation
The writer first turned to the image of Arthur Benny in his early novel “Nowhere” (1864), written in the wake of the Polish uprising of 1863. Arthur Benny is depicted there under the name of the socialist Vasily (Wilhelm) Rainer. The novel is based on romantic story Rainer and the revolutionary Liza Bakhareva (prototype M.N. Koptev), as well as the heroic struggle of the Polish rebels, which ends with the tragic death of Rainer and L. Bakhareva. Rainer's image turned out to be prophetic: three years after the release of the novel, Arthur Benny actually died heroically - in the battle of the Garibaldian troops for Rome at Mentana against the combined detachments of the French and papal troops, he was mortally wounded. This death (1867) was preceded by childhood in Poland, youth in Great Britain, whose subject Arthur Benny became in 1857, acquaintance with Herzen, the desire to take part in the revolutionary reorganization of Russia, the role of Herzen's emissary in St. Petersburg and Moscow in 1861, the history of slanderous libel , when Benny was announced in Russian revolutionary circles as an agent of Section III.
Leskov tells how Benny did not despair and was not disillusioned with Russia, despite all the adversities (“trial-32” of “persons accused of having relations with London propagandists”, lack of money and debtor’s prison, deportation from the country), he compassionately shows selflessness , the nobility and sincerity of the aspirations of the young revolutionary, while at the same time depicting in dark colors the images of Russian pseudo-revolutionaries surrounding him, primarily Andrei Nichiporenko (in the novel “Nowhere” - Parkhomenko), who, according to Leskov’s version, was the source of cruel gossip about espionage that darkened life of an English youth. The writer shows the path of a publicist and translator - Arthur Benny became a journalist already in Russia. Leskov portrays Benny’s naive faith in the Russian peasant community, which should become the embryo of the future socialist system according to the socialist.
Benny's faith in Russia, in a country that, in his opinion, could be the first to get rid of exploitation and the proletariat, did not collapse even after Benny was expelled from the country. He appealed to the Russian government to allow him to become a full citizen of the country, but he never received consent from the chief of gendarmes P. A. Shuvalov, and three months later he died. The Russian newspapers that published Benny's obituary recalled previous rumors about Arthur's service as an agent. I. S. Turgenev first came to his defense. Following him, Nikolai Leskov also decided to express his opinion about the honorable name of the tragically deceased socialist. From a letter to A.P. Milyukov: “Sometimes I knew in St. Petersburg a certain “unsolved man” Arthur Benny. He was killed at Mentana, and his most interesting story, which I described at one time, can be announced. This thing is spicy and zesty and seems to be very interesting. She can cause a lot of noise.". In another letter he said: “I am fighting to strike a blow and restore the good name of a slandered person.” .
Reaction
The reaction of contemporaries to this essay was negative. A work called “Spy. An Episode from the History of Comic Time in Rus',” written in 1869, the author tried to publish in the conservative magazine “Russian Messenger.” V. P. Burenin, A. S. Suvorin, V. I. Kelsiev called N. S. Leskov’s pamphlet slander on movement of the sixties, accused of misunderstanding the essence revolutionary movement, the caricature of its prominent figures, the hostility and tendentiousness of individual characteristics. Kelsiev, as one of the characters in the book, rebelled against the epithet of “comic time” as a characteristic of the early 1860s, emphasizing the seriousness of the aspirations of its leading representatives, which deserved a more respectful attitude and a less mocking tone. In subsequent reprints, Leskov was forced to remove his subtitle “An Episode from the History of Comic Time in Rus',” but at the same time he retained the bias of other characteristics, the sharpness of the pamphlet and the polemical tendentiousness.
These people committed scientific discoveries, performed magical rituals, expanded the boundaries of human capabilities, and were declared saints and prophets. They are very different, but they all left behind more questions than answers.
Grigory Rasputin
Nicholas II and the Empress called him “our friend”, or “Gregory”, and he called them “father and mother”. Montenegrin princesses were brought into the family of the last Russian Emperor Rasputin, who were disliked in the world for their passion for the occult, calling them “Montenegrin spiders.”
Rasputin performed a rather practical function at court - he helped the sick Tsarevich Alexei.
According to popular legend, he came to St. Petersburg on the personal instructions of the Mother of God - as the savior of the prince, and also said more than once: “I will not exist - there will be no king” (and he turned out to be right).
All the time that Rasputin was at court, they were “digging” under him. He was a very inconvenient figure, protesting against Russia's participation in the First World War. Many of the accusations brought against Rasputin - of sectarianism, debauchery, behind-the-scenes influence on politics - were never brought to completion due to the fact that they did not receive proper confirmation.
In the summer of 1914 the first attempt was made on Rasputin, on December 30, 1916 - the second and last.
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley can be called the most successful "bad boy intellectual" of the twentieth century. He managed to create, and most importantly, successfully sell his image and his teaching “Thelema” (Greek “will”).
Aleister Crowley was initiated into several occult Orders.
In terms of his level of fame and the resonance he made on culture, he can be compared to rock stars.
In his community (the Abbey of Thelema), Crowley promoted absolute liberation from bodily and spiritual shackles; community members performed magical rituals, indulged in promiscuity, and used drugs.
In his teaching, Crowley combined the teachings of various cultures; even Russian Khlystyism had a serious influence on his worldview and system. Crowley visited Russia more than once and admitted that Russian culture expanded his consciousness.
There is a widespread version that one of Crowley's devoted fans was Adolf Hitler. The influence of the magician's teachings on Hitler was undeniable, but one cannot call him a direct follower. Crowley himself more than once denied involvement with Hitler, calling him a magician who did not understand the true meaning of the sacrament. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, was fond of Crowley's books.
Ungern von Steinberg
The Mongols called Baron Ungern the “white god of war.” He dreamed of restoring the empire of Genghis Khan and saving the monarchy throughout the world.
Ungern said that the blood of famous warriors flows in his veins, that his ancestor was almost Attila himself. The baron also had Teutonic knights in his family, and, as he himself assured, a knight-errant nicknamed “Axe,” the robber knight Ralph Ungern and the 17th-century alchemist Wilhelm Ungern, who was called only “the brother of Satan.”
Roman Ungern approached questions of faith with his characteristic originality.
In the interrogation report of Baron Ungern, he calls himself a man who believes in God and the Gospel and practices prayer. This is indirectly confirmed by Ungern’s letters; they often contain quotations from the Holy Scriptures.
However, during a conversation with the occultist writer Ferdinand Ossendowski, Ungern said: “I spent my life in battles and studying Buddhism. My grandfather became familiar with Buddhism in India, and my father and I also recognized the teaching and professed it.”
Baron Ungerni professed the Buddhist philosophical teaching of Chittamatra, one of the Mahayana movements, widespread among Tibetan lamas. One of its provisions is that reality is a game of the mind and a figment of the imagination.
Ungern distinguished himself with valor in the First World War. They said about him: “Either he wants to die, or he is absolutely sure that the bullets will not kill him.” For his exploits, the baron was awarded five orders, including St. George 4th degree with the inscription “For bravery”.
The baron did not accept the revolution; he believed in the monarchy.
The black baron dreamed of creating a power that would unite the nomads of the East from the shores of the Indian and Pacific oceans to Kazan and Astrakhan. Its first grain was to be Mongolia, its support was China, the ruling dynasty was the House of Qin, which the Chinese overthrew during the Xinhai Revolution of 1911-1913.
Ungern even succeeded in something. When Ungern took Urga on February 2, 1921, he received a lot of gold and the titles: Qing-wan, prince of the 1st rank, and the highest, khan, with the title “Great Bator, commander who revived the state.”
He didn't sit still for a long time. That same spring, he went north to fight the Bolsheviks and restore the empire of Genghis Khan.
He was betrayed by his own officers of the Asian Division. September 15, 1921, despite the moratorium on death penalty, he was shot. They say that before his death, Robert-Nicholas-Maximilian von Ungern-Sternberg chewed his Order of St. George so that it would not go to his enemies.
Casey
Edgar Cayce can be called one of the most effective predictors of the 20th century. Rare abilities were passed on to him by inheritance. Casey's mother heard voices whispering to her what to do in a given situation, and her grandfather was completely an unusual person: “Everything he touched grew. It was like magic. Moreover, all the wells in the area were dug where grandfather showed, and they always found water.”
Edgar had special genes. According to his researcher Sugr, in the soothsayer’s gene code, two rare braids of double helices of DNA molecules were intertwined into a single braid, each of which was charged in its own way with paranormal information.
One of them went to Edgar Cayce from his mother, who heard whispers from other worlds, and the other from his grandfather.
Being an excellent doctor, a great predictor and a world-famous person, Edgar himself gave all his advice, diagnoses and methods of treatment in a state of trance, but he himself did not remember anything that was said. According to the recollections of his relatives, in his normal state he was not distinguished by his sharp mind, insight and education.
We must give him his due; Casey did not seek to make money from his gift, refusing the most attractive scams.
Cayce made many prophecies, he predicted both world wars, the rise of China, the discovery of the Qumran scrolls, and much more. He planned his reincarnation for the year 2100.
Gurdjieff
In his youth, George Gurdjieff studied at the same theological seminary as Stalin. IN mature years became one of the masters of thought in Europe. Here there was a real fashion for the teachings of magicians and teachers.
Gurdjieff founded the nomadic Institute for Harmonious Development here.
The basis of training was the principle of the pendulum, or more precisely, the removal of the pendulum from a state of equilibrium. Gurdjieff argued that any development begins in struggle, that effective growth requires taking a person out of his comfort zone. Well-groomed aristocratic women at the Gurdjieff Institute washed and hammered nails; a man, afraid of the sight of blood, was sent to slaughter cattle.
It is believed that Gurdjieff influenced Stalin to change his date of birth. The rectification of the date allowed him to take and maintain power. Both magicians chose the same year, 1879, as the year of their new incarnation. This year's totem is the spider.
IN recent years In his life, Gurdjieff introduced himself as a dance teacher and claimed that each of his “sacred dances” contained a secret meaning inaccessible to the uninitiated.
There is even a version that Gurdjieff with his ballet “Battle of the Magicians” provoked the Second World War.
One of Gurdjieff's students in the 1920s was Karl von Stülpnagel. Already in the 30s, when a former student was walking down the street accompanied by two SS men with dogs, Gurdjieff gave him a kick with the words “Recollection!” (Remember!). Gurdjieff behaved like a Zen teacher beating a student with a stick to awaken him. In 1944, Stülpnagel, already a colonel general of the infantry, became a participant in a conspiracy against Hitler. According to recollections, before the execution, Gurdjieff’s student retained his “soldier’s bearing.”
The magician died on October 29, 1949 in an American hospital near Paris. Got into a car accident.
Nikola Tesla
The fact that Tesla was a genius is not even discussed today. Without his inventions we would not have electricity, fluorescent lamps, wireless communications, aircraft with vertical take-off, hovercraft... He predicted that soon the world will be filled with smart machines, robots, various sensors and autonomous systems.
Tesla invented the first radio-controlled model.
When demonstrating the boat in one of the parks, it caused some people to panic. His invention seemed like a miracle at the time, but now it is believed that Tesla was at the foundation of robotics.
In 1931, Tesla showed the public a mysterious car. The gasoline engine was removed from the luxury limousine and an electric motor was installed. Then Tesla, in front of the public, placed a nondescript box under the hood, from which two rods protruded, and connected it to the engine. Having said: “Now we have energy,” Tesla got behind the wheel and drove off.
The car was tested for a week. It reached speeds of up to 150 km/h and did not seem to need recharging at all. Everyone asked the scientist: “Where does energy come from?” He answered: “From the ether.” The mystery of that box has not yet been solved, but it is no coincidence that the first serious electric car, released recently, was named after the great scientist.
The “Death Ray” is perhaps the most famous invention of the brilliant Serb.
Tesla invented the charged particle beam emitter after studying the Van de Graaff generator. To implement his developments, Tesla needed money, but he did not want to sell the invention into the hands of one state, reasonably believing that this could forever change the balance of power on Earth.
The inventor sent proposals around the world to construct a “super weapon”, intending to establish a balance of power between different countries and thus avert the onset of World War II. The mailing list included the governments of the USA, Canada, England, France, Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. The USSR became seriously interested in Tesla's discovery.
In 1937, Tesla held negotiations with the Amtorg company, which represented the interests of the USSR in the United States, and gave it some plans for a vacuum chamber for its “death rays.” Two years later, Tesla received a check for $25,000 from the USSR.
The Second World War confused the cards, and the Tesla Tower was destroyed by the Americans themselves.
It was believed that it could be used by the Nazis. But the world has not forgotten about Tesla's developments. They were used in the program Star wars(US Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).
Tesla seemed strange to those around him. While walking, he could do a somersault on the spot for no apparent reason, and often walked while talking to himself. Tesla spoke eight languages fluently, was active in sports, wrote poetry, and went through an addiction to gambling, smoking and coffee. IN later years the inventor became a vegetarian. In an article for Century Illustrated Magazine, he wrote: “Surely it makes more sense to grow vegetables. I think that vegetarianism is a worthy way to get rid of barbaric habits.”
Bobby Fischer
Perhaps the most mysterious of the athletes of the twentieth century was Bobby Fischer. From his youth, he was distinguished by eccentric behavior, demanded special conditions for himself, and easily refused sponsorship.
After his first defeat to Spassky at the legendary meeting in Reykjavik in 1972, Fischer began to demand that there be no red traffic lights anywhere while he was being taken to the gaming room, and demanded that all television cameras be removed, as he was annoyed by their noise.
And then he put forward an ultimatum: to play the next part in the back room, and not on stage. Otherwise he is removed from the match.
The organizers thought that Bobby was bluffing, but Fischer did not show up for the second game and was given a technical defeat. Spassky agreed to play the 3rd game behind the scenes. Bobby won it beautifully, seized the initiative in the match and eventually became the world champion.
After the championship match, Bobby left chess and, according to eyewitnesses, began to turn into paranoid. The chess crown passed to Karpov without a fight. However, Bobby said that he and no one else is the real world champion.
Fischer came out of the shadows only 20 years after the last match. He said that he still considers himself a world champion and gives Boris Spassky the right to a rematch. The chess community was delighted! Sponsors were quickly found. They decided to hold the match in Belgrade.
It was at that time that the United States introduced economic sanctions against Yugoslavia. The American government sent Fischer official letter, in which he was banned from participating in the match.
Fischer spat on this letter in front of journalists and tore it up. This act meant that upon returning to the USA, Bobby would face prison, so he never returned to his homeland.
He commented on the current situation as follows: “Because I played chess, should I go to jail? I’ve never seen greater idiocy in my life.” By the way, Bobby won the match again.
Houdini
The name Harry Houdini has become a household name. Until now, a person who is able to get out of insoluble situations is called “Houdini”.
The future “king of castles” was born in Budapest, into a poor Jewish family, his father was a rabbi. Houdini claimed that at the age of 11 he ran away from home, wandered with circus troupes, and was an apprentice to blacksmiths and metalworkers.
In fact, all that is known for certain is that he actually did not finish school, but earned his living at a tie factory.
Having already become famous, Houdini visited his first place of work and gave a speech to members of the trade union. After the speech, his former colleague approached him. “Eric,” he said, “the greatest liberation of your life was the liberation from making ties.”
Eric was inspired to take up magic tricks by a book by the illusionist Robert-Houdin. The boy read it in one sitting and was so inspired that he began to devote all his free time to practicing card tricks. Showing them on the streets of New York, Eric began to earn his first, albeit tiny, fees.
Houdini devoted most of his life to exposing charlatans. To prove he was right, he took “spirit photographs” with his own hands and sculpted artificial hands, similar to those with which messages “from the other world” were tapped out at the sessions of mediums. He loved to attend seances and loudly declare: “I am Harry Houdini, and you are swindlers!”
Houdini was the "King of Castles." Houdini was interested in their device since childhood. According to him, when he was still a boy, he managed to pick the locks of kitchen cabinets, eat candy, and then leave everything “as it was.”
During his life, Harry had studied thousands of types of locks and could open almost any of them with a simple wire. These skills were acquired by him during training in a locksmith's workshop, while studying the archives of Scotland Yard, which he became acquainted with while visiting London. Everywhere he visited, Houdini studied locks and made miniature master keys with his own hands.
Despite early death, Houdini lived full life: acted in films and was one of the first aeronauts. So far no one dares to repeat a large number of the great Houdini’s “tricks.”
Nowadays, it is quite difficult to completely hide information about yourself, because all you have to do is type a few words into a search engine - and secrets are revealed and secrets come to the surface. With the development of science and the improvement of technology, the game of hide and seek becomes more and more difficult. It was, of course, easier before. And there are many examples in history when it was impossible to find out what kind of person he was and where he came from. Here are a few such mysterious cases.
15. Kaspar Hauser
May 26, Nuremberg, Germany. 1828 A teenager of about seventeen wanders aimlessly through the streets, clutching a letter addressed to Commander von Wessenig. The letter states that the boy was taken in for training in 1812, taught to read and write, but was never allowed to "take one step out of the door." It was also said that the boy should become a "cavalryman like his father" and the commander could either accept him or hang him.
After meticulous questioning, we were able to find out that his name was Kaspar Hauser and he spent his entire life in a “darkened cage” 2 meters long, 1 meter wide and 1.5 meters high, in which there were only an armful of straw and three toys carved from wood (two horses and dog). A hole was made in the floor of the cell so he could relieve himself. The foundling hardly spoke, could not eat anything except water and black bread, called all people boys, and all animals horses. The police tried to find out where he came from and who the criminal was that made a savage out of the boy, but they could not find out. For the next few years, he was cared for by one person or another, taking him into their home and caring for him. Until December 14, 1833, Kaspar was found with stabbed breasts A purple silk wallet was found nearby, and inside it was a note made in such a way that it could only be read in a mirror image. It read:
“Hauser will be able to describe to you exactly what I look like and where I came from. In order not to bother Hauser, I want to tell you myself where I come from _ _ I came from _ _ the Bavarian border _ _ on the river _ _ I’ll even tell you my name: M . L. O."
14. Green children of Woolpit
Imagine that you live in the 12th century in the small village of Woolpit in the English county of Suffolk. While harvesting in a field, you find two children huddled in an empty wolf's hole. The children speak an incomprehensible language, are dressed in indescribable clothes, but the most interesting thing is that their skin is green. You take them to your home where they refuse to eat anything other than green beans.
After a while, these children - brother and sister - begin to speak a little English, eat more than just beans, and their skin gradually loses its green tint. The boy gets sick and dies. The surviving girl explains that they came from "St. Martin's Land", an underground "world of darkness" where they looked after their father's cattle when they heard a noise and found themselves in wolf's den. The inhabitants of the underworld are green and dark all the time. There were two versions: either it was a fairy tale, or the children escaped from the copper mines.
13. The Man from Somerton
On December 1, 1948, police discovered the body of a man on Somerton Beach in Glenelg (a suburb of Adelaide) in Australia. All the labels on his clothes were cut off, he had no documents or wallet on him, and his face was clean shaven. Even the teeth could not be identified. That is, there was not a single clue at all.
After the autopsy, the pathologist concluded that “death could not have occurred due to natural causes” and assumed poisoning, although no traces of toxic substances were found in the body. Apart from this hypothesis, the doctor could not guess anything more about the cause of death. Perhaps the most mysterious thing in this whole story was that a piece of paper was found on the deceased, torn from a very rare edition of Omar Khayyam, on which only two words were written - Tamam Shud (“Tamam Shud”). These words are translated from Persian as “finished” or “completed”. The victim remained unidentified.
12. The Man from Taured
In 1954, in Japan, at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, thousands of passengers were rushing about their business. However, one passenger seemed to be taking no part in it. For some reason, this outwardly completely normal man in a business suit attracted the attention of airport security, they stopped him and started asking questions. The man answered in French, but was also fluent in several other languages. His passport contained stamps from many countries, including Japan. But this man claimed to come from a country called Taured, located between France and Spain. The problem was that none of the maps offered to him showed any Taured in this place - Andorra was located there. This fact greatly saddened the man. He said that his country had existed for centuries and that he even had its stamps in his passport.
Discouraged airport staff left the man in hotel room with two armed guards outside the door, while they tried to find more information about this man. They didn't find anything. When they returned to the hotel for him, it turned out that the man had disappeared without a trace. The door did not open, the guards did not hear any noise or movement in the room, and he could not leave through the window - it was too high. Moreover, all of this passenger’s belongings disappeared from the airport security premises.
The man, simply put, dived into the abyss and did not return.
11. Lady Grandmother
The 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy has given rise to many conspiracy theories, and one of the most mystical details of this event is the presence in photographs of a certain woman who was dubbed Lady Granny. This woman in a coat and sunglasses was in a bunch of pictures, moreover, they show that she had a camera and was filming what was happening.
The FBI tried to find her and establish her identity, but to no avail. The FBI later called on her to turn over her videotape as evidence, but no one ever came. Just think: this woman, in daylight, in full view of at least 32 witnesses (photographed and videoed by her), witnessed and videotaped a murder, and yet no one, not even the FBI, could identify her. It remained a secret.
10. D.B. Cooper
It happened on November 24, 1971 at Portland International Airport, where a man who had bought a ticket using documents in the name of Dan Cooper boarded a plane bound for Seattle, clutching a black briefcase. After takeoff, Cooper gave the flight attendant a note saying that he had a bomb in his briefcase and his demands were $200,000 and four parachutes. The flight attendant notified the pilot, who contacted authorities.
After landing at Seattle Airport, all passengers were released, Cooper's demands were met and the exchange was made, after which the plane took off again. As he flew over Reno, Nevada, the calm Cooper ordered all personnel on board to remain seated as he opened the passenger door and jumped into the night sky. Despite large number no witnesses were ever found who could identify him. Only a small portion of the money was found in a river in Vancouver, Washington.
9. 21-faced monster
In May 1984, a Japanese food corporation called Ezaki Glico faced a problem. Its president, Katsuhiza Yezaki, was kidnapped for ransom from his home and held for some time in an abandoned warehouse, but then managed to escape. A little later, the company received a letter stating that the products were poisoned with potassium cyanide and there would be casualties if all products were not immediately recalled from food warehouses and stores. The company's losses amounted to $21 million, 450 people lost their jobs. The Unknowns - a group of people who took the name "21-faced monster" - sent mocking letters to the police, who could not find them, and even gave hints. The next message said that they had “forgiven” Glico, and the persecution had stopped.
Not content with playing with one large corporation, the Monster organization has its eyes on others: Morinaga and several other food companies. They acted according to the same scenario - they threatened to poison the food, but this time they demanded money. During a botched money exchange operation, a police officer almost managed to capture one of the criminals, but still let him go. Superintendent Yamamoto, who was responsible for investigating this case, could not bear the shame and committed suicide by self-immolation.
Soon after this, "Monster" sent his last message in the media, ridiculing the death of a police officer and ending with the words: "We are the bad guys. That means we have something else to do besides harass companies. Being bad is fun. A monster with 21 faces." And nothing more was heard about them.
8. The Man in the Iron Mask
The "man in the iron mask" had the number 64389000, as follows from prison archives. In 1669 the minister Louis XIV sent a letter to the head of the prison in the French city of Pignerol, in which he announced the imminent arrival of a special prisoner. The minister ordered the construction of a cell with several doors to prevent eavesdropping, to provide for this prisoner's every basic need, and finally, if the prisoner ever spoke of anything other than this, to kill him without hesitation.
This prison was known for incarcerating "black sheep" from noble families and the government. It is noteworthy that the "mask" received special treatment: his cell was well furnished, unlike the rest of the prison cells, and two soldiers were on duty at the door of his cell, who were ordered to kill the prisoner if he removed his iron mask. The imprisonment lasted until the prisoner's death in 1703. The same fate befell the things he used: the furniture and clothes were destroyed, the walls of the cell were scraped and washed, and the iron mask was melted down.
Many historians have since fiercely debated the identity of the prisoner in an attempt to find out whether he was a relative of Louis XIV and for what reasons he was destined for such an unenviable fate.
7. Jack the Ripper
Perhaps the most famous and mysterious serial killer in history, London first heard about him in 1888, when five women were killed (although it is sometimes said that there were eleven victims). All the victims were connected by the fact that they were prostitutes, and also by the fact that all of them had their throats cut (in one of the cases, the cut went right up to the spine). All victims had at least one organ cut out of their bodies, and their faces and body parts were mutilated almost beyond recognition.
What's most suspicious is that these women were clearly not killed by a novice or amateur. The killer knew exactly how and where to cut, and he knew the anatomy perfectly, so many immediately decided that the killer was a doctor. The police received hundreds of letters in which people accused the police of incompetence, and there appeared to be letters from the Ripper himself, signed “From Hell.”
None of the many suspects and none of the countless conspiracy theories have been able to shed any light on the case.
6. Agent 355
One of the first spies in US history, and a female spy, was Agent 355, who worked for George Washington during the American Revolution and was part of the Culper Ring spy organization. This woman provided vital information about the British army and its tactics, including plans for sabotage and ambushes, and if not for her, the outcome of the war might have been different.
Supposedly in 1780, she was arrested and sent aboard a prison ship, where she gave birth to a boy, who was named Robert Townsend Jr. She died a little later. However, historians are suspicious of this story, stating that women were not sent to floating prisons, and there is no evidence of the birth of a child.
5. The Zodiac Killer
Another serial killer who remains unknown is the Zodiac. This is practically an American Jack the Ripper. In December 1968, he shot and killed two teenagers in California - right on the side of the road - and attacked five more people the following year. Only two of them survived. One victim described the attacker as a pistol-waving man wearing a cloak with an executioner's hood and a white cross painted on his forehead.
Like Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac maniac also sent letters to the press. The difference is that these were ciphers and cryptograms along with crazy threats, and at the end of the letter there was always a crosshair symbol. The main suspect was a man named Arthur Lee Allen, but the evidence against him was only circumstantial and his guilt was never proven. And he himself died of natural causes shortly before the trial. Who was the Zodiac? There is no answer.
4. Unknown rebel (Tank Man)
This photograph of a protester facing a column of tanks is one of the most famous anti-war photographs and also contains a mystery: the identity of this man, called Tank Man, has never been established. An unidentified rebel single-handedly held off a column of tanks for half an hour during the Tiananmen Square riots in June 1989.
The tank was unable to avoid the protester and stopped. This prompted Tank Man to climb onto the tank and talk to the crew through the vent. After some time, the protester got down from the tank and continued his standing strike, preventing the tanks from moving forward. Well, then he was carried away by people in blue. It is unknown what happened to him - whether he was killed by the government or forced into hiding.
3. Woman from Isdalen
In 1970, the partially burned body of a naked woman was discovered in the Isdalen Valley (Norway). More than a dozen sleeping pills, a lunch box, an empty liquor bottle and plastic bottles that smelled like gasoline were found on her. The woman suffered serious burns and carbon monoxide poisoning, 50 sleeping pills were found inside her, and she may have been hit in the neck. The tips of her fingers were cut off so that she could not be identified by her prints. And when the police found her luggage at a nearby train station, it turned out that all the labels on the clothes had also been cut off.
Upon further investigation, it turned out that the deceased had a total of nine aliases, a whole collection of different wigs and a collection of suspicious diaries. She also spoke four languages. But this information did not greatly help in identifying the woman. A little later, a witness was found who saw a woman in fashionable clothes walking along the path from the station, followed by two men in black coats - towards the place where the body was discovered 5 days later.
But this evidence was not very helpful.
2. Grinning Man
Usually paranormal events are difficult to take seriously and almost all phenomena of this kind are exposed almost immediately. However, this case seems to be of a different kind. In 1966, in New Jersey, two boys were walking along the road towards the barrier at night and one of them noticed a figure behind the fence. The towering figure was dressed in a green suit that shimmered in the lantern light. The creature had a wide grin or a grin and small prickly eyes that constantly followed the frightened boys with their gaze. The boys were then questioned separately and in great detail, and their stories matched exactly.
Some time later, reports of such a strange Grinning Man appeared again in West Virginia, and in large quantities and from different people. Grinning even talked to one of them, Woodrow Dereberger. He identified himself as "Indrid Cold" and asked if there had been any reports of unidentified flying objects in the area. In general, he made an indelible impression on Woodrow. Then this paranormal entity was still encountered here and there until he disappeared completely.
1. Rasputin
Perhaps no other historical figure can compare with Grigory Rasputin in terms of the degree of mystery. And although we know who he is and where he comes from, his personality is surrounded by rumors, legends and mysticism and is still a mystery. Rasputin was born in January 1869 into a peasant family in Siberia, where he became a religious wanderer and “healer,” claiming that a certain deity gave him visions. A number of controversial and bizarre events led to the fact that Rasputin, as a healer, found himself in royal family. He was invited to treat Tsarevich Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia, in which he even succeeded somewhat - and as a result acquired enormous power and influence on royal family.
Rasputin, associated with corruption and evil, suffered countless unsuccessful assassination attempts. Either they sent a woman with a knife to him under the guise of a beggar, and she almost gutted him, or they invited him to the house of a famous politician and tried to poison him there with cyanide mixed into his drink. But that didn't work either! In the end, he was simply shot. The killers wrapped the body in sheets and threw it into the icy river. It later turned out that Rasputin died from hypothermia, and not from bullets, and was even almost able to extricate himself from his cocoon, but this time luck did not smile on him.
Russian history is rich mysterious personalities. Their life gave rise to rumors; popular rumor supplemented the images with unique features. After death, their names became surrounded by new myths and legends, excluding any hope of a solution.
The prerequisites for the appearance of False Dmitry I in Russia are associated with the mysterious death under unclear circumstances of the son of Ivan the Terrible, Tsarevich Dmitry. The impostor, who pretended to be the heir who miraculously escaped death, chose a good time: taking advantage of the unrest in the country, False Dmitry took possession of the Moscow throne for almost a year.
The most popular version of the origin of False Dmitry I, which is still supported by many historians, was put forward by the government of Boris Godunov. In correspondence with the Polish king Sigismund, Godunov identified the impostor with the fugitive monk of the Chudov Monastery, Grigory Otrepyev.
However, historian Nikolai Kostomarov suggested that False Dmitry could have come from Western Rus', being the son of a nobleman or boyar. Some researchers put forward the version that the impostor’s courage can be explained by a sincere belief in his royal origin. He turned out to be a blind tool in the hands of the boyars, who, having overthrown Godunov, destroyed him.
Jacob Bruce (1669-1735)
One of the associates of Peter I, a native of a noble Scottish family, Jacob Bruce, was a very extraordinary person. A statesman, diplomat, military man, scientist and engineer - he left behind a bright mark. But he also gained a reputation as a warlock, “the sorcerer from the Sukharev Tower” and the first Russian Freemason.
The creation of the magical image of Jacob Bruce was greatly facilitated by the Russian romantic literature. Candidate of Philological Sciences Irina Gracheva writes that “judging by some data, Yakov Vilimovich had a skeptical rather than a mystical mindset.”
Contemporaries noted that Bruce did not believe in anything supernatural. When Tsar Peter showed the relics of the holy saints to the Scotsman, he “attributed this to the climate, to the properties of the land in which they were previously buried, to the embalming of bodies and to abstinent life.” Yakov Bruce should go down in the history of Russia primarily as a talented military engineer who was involved in improving artillery guns and a scientist who contributed to the development of Russian science.
Monk Abel (1757-1841)
No official documents about the life of monk Abel (in the world of Vasily Vasiliev) have survived. The only exception is the Case of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Empire in 1796, in which a monk was accused of distributing a book of his prophecies.
Historians do not question the identity of Abel, but the authenticity of the prophecies attributed to him is not recognized by most of them. In particular, the Orthodox interpreter Nikolai Kaverin notes that many of Abel’s predictions were constantly updated, and this indicates the formation of the “heresy of Tsardom”, the main sin of which is the equation of Nicholas II and Christ.
Abel's prophecies, in the form in which they exist now, predict destinies with amazing accuracy Russian emperors from Paul I to Nicholas II. In addition, the prophecies predict the end of the monarchy in Russia, the civil war and two world wars, the appearance of aircraft and underwater vehicles, as well as the use of asphyxiating gases.
Princess Tarakanova (1745?-1775)
Princess Tarakanova is one of the most famous adventurers in Europe. According to Vice-Chancellor Alexander Golitsyn, “her resourceful soul is capable of great lies and deception.” She changed lovers, names, places of residence like gloves, each time inventing new story of its origin.
The princess claimed the Russian throne under the name of Elizaveta Vladimirskaya, posing as the daughter of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna and Alexei Razumovsky.
According to historians, the decision to impersonate a grand ducal person is largely connected with the sensational story in Europe of the impostor of Emelyan Pugachev.
Princess Tarakanova refused to recognize herself as an “ordinary woman” until the very end. According to one version, the impostor died of tuberculosis in the Peter and Paul Fortress, according to another, she died there during the flood of 1777.
Count Palen (1745-1826)
Count Peter Palen entered Russian history primarily not as an excellent officer who advanced highly in military service, but as a cunning diplomat and intriguer who played main role in the overthrow of Paul I.
For some, he is a hero who saved the Fatherland from a tyrant tsar, for others he is Judas, who betrayed the sovereign who trusted him infinitely.
But for most historians, Palen is nothing more than a puppet in the hands of the Russian nobility, who wanted to quickly get rid of the unpopular courtier.
Some researchers are convinced that Masonic roots should be sought in the conspiracy against the Tsar organized by Palen. However, in lately In the motives of Palen’s actions, they increasingly see an “English trace”: perhaps this is how British diplomacy, through the count, took revenge on Paul for his alliance with Napoleon and for colonial interests in India.
Alexander I (1777-1825)
The Emperorship of Alexander I can be called one of the most mysterious in history. national history: he scandalously ascended to the Russian throne and mysteriously left it. Publicly declaring his reluctance to reign, Alexander I was the Russian autocrat for a quarter of a century.
In 1825, when the health of the wife of Alexander I worsened, the imperial couple left for the south. After visiting Crimea, the tsar himself fell ill, which led to his sudden death. That's what the official version says.
But there are also legends, one of which says that the emperor did not die, but faked his death in order to retire from worldly affairs. According to the most common version, he went to Siberia, where, under the name of Elder Fyodor Kuzmich, he spent the rest of his days.
Of course, this version has no documentary evidence. A story appeared in the Russian emigrant press that after the autopsy empty coffin Alexander I, in the presence of Alexander II, placed the body of a long-bearded old man there. However, the mystery of the victorious tsar could be clarified by genetic examination, which specialists from the Russian Forensic Science Center do not exclude.
Grigory Rasputin (1869-1916)
The personality of Grigory Rasputin is shrouded in so many myths and legends that it is not easy to discern the real one in him. historical character. In revolutionary and Soviet propaganda, the image of the “old man” was so demonized that it acquired caricature features. Many of the accusations brought against Rasputin - of sectarianism, debauchery, behind-the-scenes influence on politics - were never brought to completion due to the fact that they did not receive proper confirmation. For example, the alleged closeness of Rasputin to the royal family was refuted by many courtiers.
In the 1990s, the time came for another extreme. Religious veneration of Grigory Rasputin gave rise to the idea of canonizing the “elder” as a holy martyr. Such an initiative was categorically rejected by Alexy II, drawing attention to the “dubious morality” of Rasputin, who cast a shadow on the August Family.
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Mysterious murders at the Hinterkaifeck farm
In 1922, the mysterious murder of six people committed in the small village of Hinterkaifeck shocked the whole of Germany. And not only because the murders were committed with horrific cruelty.
All the circumstances surrounding this crime were very strange, even mystical, and to this day it remains unsolved.
More than 100 people were questioned during the investigation, but no one was ever arrested. Not a single motive that could somehow explain what happened was identified either.
The maid who worked in the house ran away six months ago, claiming that there were ghosts there. New girl arrived just a few hours before the murder.
Apparently, the intruder had been on the farm for at least several days - someone was feeding the cows and eating in the kitchen. In addition, neighbors saw smoke coming from the chimney over the weekend. The photo shows the body of one of the dead, found in a barn.
Phoenix Lights
The so-called “Phoenix Lights” are several flying objects that were observed by more than 1,000 people on the night of Thursday, March 13, 1997: in the skies over the states of Arizona and Nevada in the United States and over the state of Sonora in Mexico.
Actually, two strange events happened that night: a triangular formation of luminous objects that moved across the sky, and several motionless lights hovering over the city of Phoenix. However, the latest US Air Force recognized the lights from the A-10 Warthog aircraft - it turned out that at that time military exercises were taking place in southwest Arizona.
Astronaut from Solway Firth
In 1964, the family of Briton Jim Templeton was walking near the Solway Firth. The head of the family decided to take a Kodak photograph of his five-year-old daughter. The Templetons assured that there was no one else in these swampy places except them. And when the photographs were developed, one of them revealed a strange figure peeking out from behind the girl’s back. The analysis showed that the photograph had not been subject to any changes.
Falling body
The Cooper family just moved into their new house in Texas. In honor of the housewarming, a festive table was set, and at the same time they decided to take several family photos. And when the photographs were developed, a strange figure was discovered on them - it seemed that someone’s body was either hanging or falling from the ceiling. Of course, the Coopers didn’t see anything like this during filming.
Too many hands
Four guys were fooling around, taking pictures in the yard. When the film was developed, it turned out that out of nowhere one extra hand appeared on it (peeking out from behind the back of a guy in a black T-shirt).
"Battle of Los Angeles"
This photograph was published in the Los Angeles Times on February 26, 1942. To this day, conspiracy theorists and ufologists refer to it as evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations visiting Earth. They claim that the photo clearly shows that the beams of the searchlights are falling on the alien flying ship. However, as it turned out, the photo for publication was heavily retouched - this is a standard procedure that almost all published black and white photographs were subjected to for greater effect.
The incident itself, captured in the photo, was called a “misunderstanding” by authorities. The Americans had just survived the Japanese attack, and in general the tension was incredible. Therefore, the military got excited and opened fire on the object, which, most likely, was a harmless weather balloon.
Lights of Hessdalen
In 1907, a group of teachers, students and scientists set up a scientific camp in Norway to study mysterious phenomenon, called "The Lights of Hessdalen".
Björn Hauge took this photo one clear night using a shutter speed of 30 seconds. Spectral analysis showed that the object should consist of silicon, iron and scandium. This is the most informative, but far from the only photo of the “Lights of Hessdalen”. Scientists are still scratching their heads as to what it could be.
Time Traveler
This photo was taken in 1941 during the opening ceremony of the South Forks Bridge. The public's attention was attracted by a young man whom many considered a "time traveler" - due to his modern hairstyle, zip-up sweater, printed T-shirt, fashionable glasses and point-and-shoot camera. The whole outfit is clearly not from the 40s. On the left, highlighted in red is a camera that was actually in use at that time.
9/11 attack - South Tower woman
In these two photographs, a woman can be seen standing on the edge of the hole left in the South Tower after a plane crashed into the building. Her name is Edna Clinton and, not surprisingly, she ended up on the list of survivors. How she managed this is beyond comprehension, considering everything that happened in that part of the building.
Skunk monkey
In 2000, a woman who wished to remain anonymous took two photographs of a mysterious creature and sent it to the Sarasota County (Florida) Sheriff. The photographs were accompanied by a letter in which the woman claimed that she had photographed a strange creature in the backyard of her house. The creature came to her house three nights in a row and stole the apples left on the terrace.
UFO in the painting “Madonna with Saint Giovannino”
The painting “Madonna with Saint Giovannino” belongs to the brush of Domenico Ghirlandai (1449-1494) and is currently in the collection of Palazzo Vecchio, Florence. A mysterious flying object and a man watching it are clearly visible above Mary's right shoulder.
Incident at Lake Falcon
Another meeting with an alleged extraterrestrial civilization occurred at Lake Falcon on May 20, 1967.
A certain Stefan Michalak was relaxing in these places and at some point noticed two descending cigar-shaped objects, one of which landed very close. Michalak claims he saw the door open and heard voices coming from inside.
He tried to speak to the aliens in English, but there was no response. Then he tried to get closer, but came across “invisible glass”, which apparently served as protection for the object.
Suddenly, Michalak was surrounded by a cloud of air so hot that his clothes caught fire. The man received serious burns.
Bonus:
This story happened on the evening of February 11, 1988 in the city of Vsevolozhsk. There was a light knock on the window of the house where a woman who was fond of spiritualism lived with her teenage daughter. Looking out, the woman saw no one. I went out onto the porch - no one. And there were no footprints in the snow under the window either.
The woman was surprised, but of great importance didn't give it. And half an hour later there was a bang and part of the glass in the window where the invisible guest was knocking collapsed, forming an almost perfectly round hole.
The next day, at the woman’s request, her Leningrad acquaintance, candidate of technical sciences S.P. Kuzionov, arrived. He examined everything carefully and took several photographs.
When the photograph was developed, the face of a woman appeared on it, peering into the lens. This face seemed unfamiliar to both the housewife and Kuzionov himself.