The Kyshtym Dwarf
An elderly woman in the Urals said she found a tiny creature in the woods and cared for it. Its remains became 'the alien of Kyshtym'.
What was reported
In August 1996, according to her neighbours, Tamara Prosvirina, an elderly woman in the village of Kalinovo near Kyshtym, brought home a tiny, strange creature she said she'd found in the forest, named it Alyoshenka and cared for it. After she was taken into hospital it died, and its small mummified body was found.
Its large head and unusual features led to claims that it was an alien, fuelled by the region's history of secret nuclear sites. The body later disappeared.
Explanations offered
Experts who examined the body and photographs, including forensic doctors, concluded it was most likely a premature human infant with severe deformities. Reported DNA tests found human material, though they were never formally published.
- When
- August 1996
- Where
- Kalinovo, near Kyshtym, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia
- Witnesses
- An elderly villager, her neighbours, and investigators
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.