The Soviet Union and its successor Russian Federation have never published a public, searchable, official digital archive of UAP records. Unlike the United States — which has the CIA FOIA Reading Room, NARA Record Group 615, and the PURSUE portal — or France, which published its GEIPAN files through CNES, Russia has no equivalent public disclosure infrastructure. What exists is scattered, leaked, translated, and physically archived in Western repositories.
The KGB Blue Folder
The primary Russian classified UAP file is known as the “Blue Folder” — a KGB intelligence dossier on the Soviet UFO phenomenon. It was not officially declassified. It was physically extracted from Russia, most notably by journalist George Knapp, who removed classified cover sheets from documents to move them across the border. The contents document a systematic, secret investigation running parallel to the Soviet public dismissal of UFOs as Western propaganda. Key search terms for related documents in the CIA FOIA system: “KGB,” “Siberia,” “Soviet Military.”
Soviet Ministry of Defence Records
Separate from KGB records, the Soviet Ministry of Defence ran its own UAP tracking programme. This programme intersected heavily with Soviet naval encounters — particularly USO (Unidentified Submerged Object) reports from submarine operations in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Lake Baikal. Soviet naval commanders documented these encounters in operational logs that were classified at the time and remain partially unavailable. Researcher Paul Stonehill, working from translated Soviet materials, has published the most comprehensive English-language account of Soviet naval UAP encounters.
Where to Find Russian UAP Files
- CIA FOIA Reading Room: cia.gov/readingroom/collection/ufos-fact-or-fiction — The CIA holds a large library of translated Soviet intelligence documents. Many relate to Soviet tracking of UAP. Search “KGB,” “Siberia,” “Soviet Military.”
- AFU Sweden (afu.se): The Archives for the Unexplained in Norrköping, Sweden is the primary Western repository for European and Russian case files not held on government servers. Physical archives, digitised holdings, and translated Soviet materials.
- US Naval Institute (usni.org): Hosts analysis of Soviet Navy UAP/USO encounters, often drawing on translated Russian command records and commander testimonies.
- Paul Stonehill’s Research: Stonehill, a Ukrainian-American researcher, has translated and published accounts of Soviet Lake Baikal USO encounters and Pacific submarine incidents not available through any official Western archive.
The Lake Baikal Encounters: “The Swimmers”
Among the most extraordinary Soviet USO records are the Lake Baikal incidents. Soviet divers and military personnel reported encounters with humanoid figures at extreme depth — operating without visible equipment, moving at speeds that ruled out human physiology. These became known in Soviet military records as “The Swimmers.” The encounters occurred at depths that would require decompression stops spanning hours for human divers. The reported figures operated without apparent restriction. These records remain outside any official declassification process and are known primarily through translated Soviet naval documents and researcher testimony.
“Quackers” — Kvaker: The Soviet Submarine Acoustic Phenomenon
Soviet submarines operating in the Atlantic and Pacific through the 1970s and 1980s tracked an acoustic phenomenon their crews named “Kvaker” — rendered in English as “Quackers.” The sound resembled a biological call but matched no known marine species. It tracked submarines operationally — moving to maintain proximity rather than simply passing through. Soviet naval intelligence formally investigated Kvaker without resolution. After the Cold War ended, Russian submarine crews confirmed the phenomenon was real, widespread across multiple vessel types and ocean sectors, and never explained. AARO’s “all-domain” classification — which explicitly includes undersea — is the first official US framework that would encompass Quackers as a UAP category.
Sources: CIA FOIA Reading Room. AFU Sweden afu.se. USNI Naval History Magazine. George Knapp / NewsNation February 2026. Paul Stonehill research.