On January 7, 1990, about 8:40 a.m., Mr. A.M.Vorontsov, a resident of the little town of Merefa, about 30 km SSW of Kharkov, saw a big rotating top-shaped object over the frozen river Mzha. The diameter of its base was approximately 25 meters, and the height about 5–6 meters. The object was situated on the ice or slightly above it in a small bay. After the UFO flew away, there remained a distinct landing trace representing three regular circles of a diameter of some 21 m (please see the photograph above). Dr. Vladimir V. Rubtsov, Director of the Kharkov-based Research Institute on Anomalous Phenomena (RIAP) and Dr. Pyotr I. Kutnyuk, a member of RIAP Scientific Council, came to the site two days after the event. They sampled the ice which proved to contain a slightly higher platinum content as against the background. The circles were thoroughly investigated. On December 5, 1995, another local resident has found at the same place a similar trace. The investigation has restarted... You can read in detail about these and other UFO cases in the territory of Ukraine, as well as other CIS countries, in RIAP Bulletin, which is the official newsletter of the Research Institute on Anomalous Phenomena. This institute has been established by the Aerospace Company "Vertical". The Institute aims at scientific studies in the fields of the UFO problem and nonclassical SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The Institute makes its investigations in close collaboration with the CIS Academy of Cosmonautics and the Russian Academy of Sciences.  RIAP has been conceived as a kind of "crystallization center" of problem-oriented teams of researchers and scientific trends. When carrying out its investigations, it also involves scientists from universities and research institutions in cooperation under contracts. All this provides combination of flexibility with ability to concentrate specialists in various disciplines on chosen directions of research.  The UFO problem consists of two main subproblems: that of real existence of the "genuine UFOs" (GUFOs), i.e. of objects and phenomena which do defy conventional explanations, and that of their origin. Some specific features of this problem essentially distinguish it among the problems usually dealt with by science. The principal "tool" here is man detecting by his sense-organs anomalous and pseudoanomalous objects. The individual characteristics of a witness, his (her) quality of sight, attention, ability to remember the essential traits of a phenomenon witnessed and to correctly and consciously relate them have certainly a bearing on the informativeness and precision of a report. In general, the whole body of reports on UFOs is highly heterogeneous in these respects.  Equally, if not more, heterogeneous is the researchers' community. This does not mean, of course, that science and scientists are always right in their reluctance to examine the data available, but makes such attitude more understandable. The "anomalistic" studies are lacking in the "quality standards", and those still existent do not conform, as a rule, to the general scientific criteria.  In the past few decades an evident progress has been made in collecting and analyzing raw data on UFO observations. There are good reasons to assume that genuine UFOs really exist. However, their nature still remains an open question which can hardly be solved under the present circumstances. The existing body of UFO reports simply does not allow specialists to come to any definite conclusion.  To open the way to the solution of the UFO problem, it should be posed as a normal scientific problem, in complete conformity to the cognitive standards of science. However the problem of unidentified flying objects is not wholly in the scope of any of the established scientific disciplines. Therefore, it is to be divided into narrow monodisciplinary problems which could be developed methodologically rigorously with providing efficient interdisciplinary coordination. Elaboration of these problems can and will be of much use for science and technology even irrespective of whether or not GUFOs represent a fundamentally new phenomenon indeed.  This is the purpose for which RIAP has been set up. The founders of the Institute proceed from the concept of physical reality of genuine UFOs and our ability to investigate them with "normal" scientific methods and equipment. Detailed investigation of GUFOs by means of radiolocation, atmospheric optics, etc., and that of supposed anomalous object landing sites by methods of geology, geophysics, geochemistry is expected to yield data on various aspects of the phenomenon. It is very essential to organize efficient gathering and processing of instrumental ("regularized") information on UFO sightings. This information will provide basis for a complete picture of the phenomenon and its theoretical models.  The principal trends of researches of the Institute in the UFO field are as follows:  Development of methods and strategies of active monitoring of UFOs by means of radar, optical, infrared and other detection systems. Instrumental studies of supposed landing sites, impacts on biological systems, and UFO samples. Creation of an efficient system of reconstruction of a real anomalous event on the basis of witnesses' testimonies. Creation of a unified UFO data base and a computer expert system to identify GUFOs. Development of physical models of GUFOs. Psychophysiological investigations of contactees and abductees. Studies in the history of the Soviet ufology. The term "paleovisit" designates any presence of extraterrestrials on Earth in the geologic, prehistoric, or historic past. "Paleocontact" between extraterrestrials and Earthmen might be a significant part of a paleovisit. Since we know a paleovisit was possible, but we do not know for a fact whether it really happened, there appears before science the problem of paleovisit. The problem may be solved only by searching for the traces of a paleovisit. Such traces may be: direct (the remains of a spaceship, for instance), or indirect (any alteration of a terrestrial object that appeared as a result of a paleovisit — for example: evidences of genetic manipulations in living beings; images of extraterrestrials in various paintings; descriptions of them in oral or written texts; etc.).  The Paleovisitological Department of RIAP is engaged, in particular, in analysis of the Dogon "mythological astronomy", which can turn out to be an indirect trace of an ancient visit of an extraterrestrial expedition to Earth. The most important source of information on this mythology — the book "Le Renard Pale" ("The Pale Fox") by the famous French ethnologists M.Griaule and G.Dieterlen — is now being translated into Russian.  But the major research program of the Institute in the field of paleovisitology is the program "Direct Traces". It is a common opinion that searches for ETAs — ancient extraterrestrial artifacts (as well as for ETMs — extraterrestrial monuments) should be the main task of paleovisitology. Yet there is in fact no real search; there have been only a few attempts to apply rather vague ideas of extraterrestrial artifacts to certain enigmatic finds. A real ETA may be accidentally discovered any moment. One can even suppose that such a discovery has been made more than once. But to understand it, we have to set up an efficient system for gathering and evaluating reliable information. This system would enable us to accumulate a data bank and to develop well-founded theoretical models and systematic experimental procedures in this field.  RIAP has at its disposal the so-called "Kassimov ball" — a small (diameter some 4.5 cm) black ball of unknown origin, found in 1983 on the depth 7 meters, in a layer of pure red clay, in Central Russia. Judging from tentative conclusions of several geologists and paleontologists, this ball is very unusual and worthy of deep investigation.  The program "Direct Traces" includes:  Creation of a unified PDT (Possible Direct Traces) data base. Development of a computer expert system that would allow to eliminate pseudo-ETAs and pseudo-ETMs, taking as a basis results of their investigations. Development of methods and strategies of ETA/ETM identification. Search for and further investigation of those PDTs which were found and then fell in oblivion, such as "The Moonshaft", "The Object from Aiud", etc. Detailed instrumental studies of the "Kassimov ball". Creation of a collection of possible ETAs that would be available for investigations and reinvestigations by specialists.