In May 1938, geologist Igor Solovyov worked in Kamchatka and studied active volcanoes. One of the routes Igor and his teammate Nikolai Melnikov followed along the shore of the lake. It was named on the map Great Kalygir.

No trails or trails beaten by animals did not find geologists. For some reason, the animals strolled around the side of the lake, while large fish swam in the water. People had to go along the shore along the belt in the water to avoid the hanging branches of the alder. The weather was sunny. Hot water did not cause any trouble.

Cave

I saw a rock near which no alder grew, Solovyov reminded. There was a cave. I thought there would be a drought and we would rest. I bent down and stepped inside. I looked around and saw that the cave was filled with water. In the deep darkness, a rocky island could be seen, with a bright blue-white light shining in the center. Two minutes later, behind me, I heard Melnikov's footsteps, and as I looked back, the cave plunged into darkness. I found out I was blind. I fell into the water and shouted hysterically, "Nikolai, help! Help!" I don't see! ”Melnikov grabbed my arms and pulled me to the entrance. Then he carried me on his back for several kilometers, waist up in the water.
I was lying unlucky about 10 hours on the shore before some bouncing white, green and yellow spots blinked in front of my eyes. An hour later my vision returned slowly. Nikolai also saw the light inside, but not for long, just for a few seconds. It saved him from temporary blindness.

Great Kalygir Lake on satellite photos

Lost Section

The magazine "Technika mládeži" published an article (see the picture in the appendix), which caused an extensive response from the former inhabitants of Kamchatka. It turned out that there was once a fishing village by the lake Kalygir, built on the site of the Itelmen residence Kynnat. It was abandoned long before the war. The locals knew about the cave and were afraid to approach it. At the beginning of 1920, a small cavalry detachment of the rest of Kolchak's defeated army appeared there. The White Guards heard stories about the cave and thought there would be a hidden treasure, and the ominous rumors told by the Itelmen were to discourage those who wanted to take this gold in their hands.

There was nothing to hear about the section that was looking for the treasure for a few days. Then one of the White Guards appeared in the village, ragged and emaciated. The soldier was clearly not completely sane. He mumbled something about the fire that burned his friends. His face and hands were covered with blisters. They tried to cure him, but after a few days the soldier died of terrible suffering. Even quite minor burns could cause his death. The White Guard must have been killed by something.

Expedition "Kalygir-80"

The first expedition to the lake was organized in 1980 by the Far Eastern branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Its commander, Valery Dvuzhilyny invited Solovyov to participate in the expedition. However, Solovyov refused to participate, because the geographers were not able to get a helicopter on the way and the walking march in the deep water belt would no longer be many by his age.
An expedition of five people set out on a steamer "Soviet Union" and on August 3, arrived in Petropavlovsk - Kamchatsky. It was only there that it became clear that there was no permanent connection with the Kalygir area. Border guards embarked on the passing ship "Sinagin".

As "Sinagin" passed Kalygiru Bay, the captain said he would not drop anyone off because the water was too shallow. Only after a long debate and comments on who is deciding here did the captain launch the boat. His fears were justified - near the shore, the boat hit a rock and broke through the bottom. Geographers had to jump into the water. Fortunately, on the shore stood a fishing hut with a stove, which was marked on the map.

The researchers spent the first day in a cabin, preparing food and checking equipment. The next day - 7. August, set off on the right bank of the lake. Solovjov told them what he knew, the shore was so overgrown with alders that they could only go on their knees in the water. They pulled a rubber boat on the rope, loaded with tents, sleeping bags, and food. Valerij watched the dosimeter, but he showed only the normal radiation background. Everyone soon became aware that no natural cave could be here, except a small hollow dug by the waves. If there is a cave, it means that somebody artificially excavated it.

Underwater object

There were a lot of dead fish around the coastline, with gray eyes and bulges on their backs. Live fish barely fluttered in the water, staring blindly. The raccoons did not even try to peck into easy prey and kept away from the water.

What happened here? It could not have been caused by the release of poisonous gases: the salmon was quietly drawn across the lake to wither. The dosimeter showed only 25 to 30 microtrengens per hour. The fish apparently destroyed a strong, short-lived flash of energy that for a moment changed the bowl at the lake to a deadly trap.

It was almost evening and we had only gone half a kilometer, Dvuzilnyj recalled. Going further in the dark would not make sense. We pitched a tent, set up sleeping bags, and began preparing dinner. After the meal, we sat by the fire, drying our clothes and sharing our impressions of the day we had just had. At 10 p.m., there was a loud roar and rumble on the opposite bank. It came from the bottom rather than the surface. A blue light flashed and a loud splash came as a huge body emerged from the water. After a while, eight huge waves approached our shore. Our boat repeatedly jumped on the waves.

Monstrous force

It was clear that something huge had emerged from the water, but what was it? I was very surprised, this monstrous force aroused inexplicable fear in me. I wanted to run up the hill and escape upwards. Unexplained fear also manifested itself in animals. We worked hard to stay put and not run in all directions. After the body took off from the bottom of the lake and disappeared, fear quickly passed over us. Then yellow dots flashed on the water on the opposite bank. After 2-3 seconds, a large blue hemisphere with a radius of about 30 to 50 meters appeared on the shore, towering over the treetops. This was repeated several times at intervals of about five minutes.

First the yellow dot followed by the blue hemisphere. The dots were not very clear. But the hemisphere seemed clear and firm. There was no shore over her. We had cameras, but nobody thought about taking a picture. People then exclaimed that the Black and White Soviet film could not capture this unprecedented spectacle.

Was it underwater the UFO?

Where the hemisphere appeared, most dead fish could be seen. Maybe there was some connection between the body and the blinding flash when it left. The lake is perhaps 90 meters deep, it can hide anything.

We visited a place where a strange object flew from below the surface, but we did not see anything interesting, said Valerij. He finished the third day of the lake survey, but the results were zero. We watched the western bay of the lake closely with binoculars. There were steep mountain slopes, but no signs of a cave. We were very tired of the endless marches, but we did not approach any solution. Time was short. In the end, a fishing boat was supposed to take us on board, but we didn't see that. Geographers had to go for three days in the taiga to Cape Županova, where fishermen regularly went.

Expedition

The "Kalygir-81" expedition was prepared by researchers much more carefully. The researchers had at their disposal an inflatable boat with an engine, scuba diving, a portable compressor for refilling cylinders and a whole barrel of petrol. In just a few days, the group circled the entire perimeter of the lake in a motorboat, carefully scanning the south bay, but finding no cave. Maybe she disappeared underwater after a strong earthquake. The expedition, in any case, also explored the nearby lakes Malý Kalygir, Velká and Malá Medvěžka, but found no sign of the entrance to the cave.

If the cave actually disappeared underwater, they could explore the bottom and shores with echolocation. Echolot would not only find the underwater entrance, but also check whether there are strange buildings in the depths of the lake.

Participants in the next expedition will need heavy suits, but without transparent masks. What is happening outside is to be watched by eyes only with a video camera with protective filters that will protect the eyes of the divers from the blinding light and their body from destructive radiation. The cost of the equipment will not be cheap, but the result of research can justify all efforts and resources.
Michael Gerstein