Viktor Stepanovich Grebennikov ( rus, Виктор Степанович Гребенников; 23 April 1927 in

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

– 2001 in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...

) was a self-proclaimed

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

and

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...

researcher best known for his claim to have invented a

levitation Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...

platform which operated by attaching dead

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

body parts to the underside. Grebennikov wrote detailed accounts of his experiences flying over the Russian countryside using his levitation device. These flying experiences as well as his reported observations of other paranormal phenomena, usually involving insect nests or parts, appear in his self-published book ''My World'' (''Moi Mir''.

, Russia: Sovetskaya Sibir, 1997).

Early life

Viktor Grebennikov was born in

. His mother was a

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy (class), aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below Royal family, royalty. Nobility has often been an Estates of the realm, estate of the realm with many e ...

, his father was a mechanic.

Activity

Krasnoobsk Krasnoobsk (russian: Краснообск) is an urban locality (a work settlement) in Novosibirsky District of Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia, located southeast of Novosibirsk's Kirovsky City District. Krasnoobsk is a Science town (Naukograd Nauko ...

, Grebennikov worked as a junior researcher at the Research Institute of Soil Management and Chemicalization of Agriculture. In 1976, he founded the Museum of

Agroecology Agroecology (US: a-grō-ē-ˈkä-lə-jē) is an academic discipline that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems. Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems. The ...

and

Environmental Protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

. Although once popular with readers who dreamed of human

unpowered flight Unpowered flight is the ability to stay airborne for a period of time without using any power source. There are several types of unpowered flight. Some have been exploited by nature, others by humankind, and some by both. Unpowered aircraft are ae ...

, Grebennikov's flight and other paranormal claims were promptly rejected by

skeptics Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...

and scientists outside of the paranormal community as his reports were devoid of conclusive proof or public demonstration. He claimed that his camera shutter was jammed during the flights due to a time-warping force-field generated by the secret "geometric" power of

chitin Chitin ( C8 H13 O5 N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is probably the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chit ...

. Translation posted on KeelyNet.com. He was granted a Russian patent in 1993 on a device containing

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

cells (dry

honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic Beeswax, wax cells built by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. beekeeping, Beekee ...

) that is claimed to enhance the effectiveness of

therapeutic drugs Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemica ...

in a patient.
Copy
with abstract in English at RexResearch.com. The paranormal author Brian Snellgrove cites some of Grebennikov's ''My World'' claims in his books.

References

External links

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Grebennikov Viktor Stepanovich. Novosibirsk Local History Portal. Гребенников Виктор Степанович. Новосибирский краеведческий портал.
New Age writers Russian entomologists 1927 births Scientists from Simferopol 2001 deaths Paranormal investigators Levitation Soviet entomologists Soviet painters 20th-century Russian painters Soviet writers 20th-century Russian writers Entomological artists {{Russia-scientist-stub