Famed Soviet era psychic Alan Chuma Fails to Foresee arrest of his son in Moscow

[Ian David]

Famed Soviet era psychic's son arrested in Moscow

The son of Soviet-era psychic Alan Chumak has been arrested after allegedly stabbing a security guard during a brawl at a cafe in Moscow.

"A dispute broke out between clients at a cafe in Malaya Sukharevskaya Square {in central Moscow}, during which a security guard at the establishment received a hand injury," police said.

Dmitry Chumak, 25, could face between two and seven years behind bars if found guilty of the charges.

Alan Chumak rose to fame during the final years of the Soviet Union, when his healing sessions on state television were watched by millions. During his show, Chumak would "charge" with energy the jars and saucepans full of water that his viewers had placed around their flats.

More:
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100108/157492481.html?utm_medium=twitter

[Silent3]

1. Since open politcal debate was difficult to impossible...

...in the old Soviet Union, I wonder how much people could comment on something like Chumak's "healing" being bullshit, if the authorities saw fit to give him air time?

After Stalin, slowly, the country got to a point where people could more openly reject nonsense like Lysenkoism, but I don't have a good sense for how that spirit of debate did or did not carry over into other areas of science and pseudoscience.