In October 1955, US Senator Richard B. Russell Jr. — chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the most powerful defense oversight position in Congress — personally witnessed two disc-shaped craft take off from a location in the Soviet Union while traveling on a train through the region. His CIA debrief report, obtained via FOIA and documented in the UFO Evidence database, confirms the encounter. Russell told his staff: “I don’t want to talk about this.” He never spoke publicly about what he saw.
Who Russell Was
Richard Brevard Russell Jr. was the senior senator from Georgia who chaired the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1951-1969, with brief interruptions. He was Lyndon Johnson’s mentor and one of the most powerful legislators of the 20th century. He had the highest security clearances available to a civilian in the US government. He was not a fringe character. His word was taken seriously at the highest levels of national security.
The Sighting — October 1955
Russell was traveling through the Soviet Union on a legislative delegation trip. He and two other witnesses — Colonel E.U. Hathaway and Ruben Efron — observed two disc-shaped craft rise from the ground near the train’s route. The craft were described as saucer-shaped, metallic, and silent. Russell immediately reported the sighting through intelligence channels. The CIA debriefing document confirms the encounter and records Russell’s description of the craft.
The Silence and Its Implications
Russell refused to discuss the encounter publicly. His statement to staff — “I don’t want to talk about this” — is consistent with someone who has seen something that would conflict irreconcilably with official positions he was required to maintain in his public role. The CIA document was classified at the time of the encounter and only later declassified. It is now in the public domain at ufoevidence.org and the CIA reading room.
Source: UFO Evidence database, ufoevidence.org. CIA debrief document, declassified. October 1955.