The Dark Side Of The Cold War: Russian Sleep Experiment

An Era Of Loose Morals And High Curiosity

Long before the Soviets conducted the Russian Sleep Experiemnt during the cold war, it was a well-established fact that German scientists during World War II became infamous for some of the creepiest experiments ever conducted. Hitler was obsessed with the occult, paranormal, and pushing the boundaries of humans with live test subjects. Some of the most horrible studies ever studied in a lab had trials involving prisoners of war or Jews. But the 1940’s were an era of extreme curiosity. Everyone wanted to get the upper hand in the war, or even upcoming wars if possible. The fall of the Nazi Party in 1945 didn’t bring an end to the dark sciences. If anything, the Cold War further pushed sinister tests to get the edge in a possible World War III. Although the Soviet Union became a black hole for information, there is a lot of evidence proving Moscow was heavily involved in some disturbing experiments after WWII. Even the United States has been alleged to get involved in some truly disturbing scandals to figure out mind reading, teleporting, and the creation of super soldiers.

The Soviet Union’s Relentless Pursuit Of Fringe Science

It is a widely accepted fact that both the Russians and Americans rushed towards Berlin at the end of the war to enjoy the spoils of war. Among the spoils were the German scientists that made Germany one of the most technologically advanced civilizations in world history. After Berlin was split down the middle, the Russians and Americans took a fair amount of scientists back to Moscow and Washington. The space age that pitted the USA vs the USSR, which ended with NASA putting a man on the moon was a huge result of German intelligence on both sides. But the Cold War was also popular for pushing humanity to the outer edges of Fringe Sciences. Of course, there are many theories that include outrageous accusations, but among them, some have to certainly be true. The CIA and KGB have a long history of being ruthless in acquiring a means to an end.

The Russian Sleep Experiment

During the late 1940’s, Russian researchers had captured five political prisoners for the most unusual and cruel punishment. The Russians wanted to see if they could keep soldiers awake for extended periods of time, hence making them much more efficient during combat. So it was only nature to them to try to keep these five men awake for 15 days using an experimental gas based stimulant. The gas itself was toxic in high concentrations, so they were kept in a sealed chamber while researchers carefully monitored their oxygen intake. The inmates were viewed by thick five-inch glass portholes and were only able to communicate via microphones. The chamber was stocked with books, cots to sleep on, running water and toilet, and enough dried food for over a month.

Everything was fine for the first five days as the inmates were promised freedom if they subjected to the experiment and didn’t sleep for 30 days. As the days went on, though, it was observed that they kept talking about traumatic events in their lives. After the four day mark, the conversations started to take a dark turn. After five days they appeared very paranoid and would often complain about the events that led them down this road. After some time, they completely stopped talking to each other and would only whisper to the microphones. They would often try to turn on each, trying to turn in their comrades so they can escape captivity. The scientists believed this could have been a result of the gas messing with their minds. Nobody could prepare them for what was next.

USSR’s Cruel Experimentation On Political Prisoners

After 9 days of no sleep inside the chamber, one of them began to scream while running across the chamber for 3 hours straight. After screaming at the top of his lungs for this duration, he eventually was reduced to quiet squeaks. The man had physically torn his vocal cords. The other inmates did not react to the madness of this man, which surprised the Soviet scientists. After a while, two other inmates started screaming in the same fashion while tearing apart books and rubbing their own feces on the pages. They would go on to block the portholes with the poop covered pages to block any visibility into the chamber. Then suddenly the screaming and even whispering the mic had stopped. Three days passed with no noise, which was impossible for having five inmates inside the chamber. The oxygen levels seemed to indicate all five were alive, in fact, it would appear there was intense exercise occurring from multiple individuals due to the oxygen levels.

On the morning of the 14th day, the scientists decided to do something they agreed they wouldn’t. They would use the intercom to get a reaction from the individuals they feared may be dead or had become vegetables. They announced “We are opening the chamber to test the microphones; step away from the door and lie flat on the floor or you will be shot. Compliance will earn one of you immediate freedom.” They were shocked when they heard a calm voice respond with the following “We no longer want to be freed.” The researchers and military personnel at the site had no clue how to proceed since they could no longer prompt any responses. On the 15th day, they decided to open the chamber, so they flushed out the gas stimulant and filled it with fresh air. Almost immediately the voices began to beg for the gas to be turned back on as if they were begging for the mercy of a loved one.

The Terrifying Results Of Being Kept Awake So Long

As the chamber was opened, the subjects began to scream louder than ever. The soldiers also started screaming when they saw the horror inside. Four of the five subjects appeared to be alive, although the state they were in was terrifying. The food rations stopped being touched after the 5th day. There were chunks of meat from the dead test subject’s thighs and chest stuffed into the drain in the middle of the chamber, blocking the drain and allowing up to 4 inches of water to accumulate in the room. The water was incredibly bloodied, and all four surviving test subjects also appeared to have large portions of skin and muscle ripped from their bodies. The fingertips had exposed bone, which indicated that the damage was being done by hand and not teeth as originally assumed by the team. They became even more horrified at the sight of the exposed ribcages missing flesh and exposing their lungs. All organs below the ribcage had been removed, while the heart, lungs, and diaphragm remained in place. Their blood vessels and organs that were removed remained on the floor, while the intestines appeared to still be functioning and digesting the pieces of flesh they had been eating.

Most of the soldiers at the site were Russian special forces, yet many of them refused to enter the chamber to remove the test subjects. The subjects continued to scream and beg for the gas to be turned back on. Things became violent when the soldiers tried to forcibly remove the subjects, as one soldier died from having his throat ripped out. Another soldier had his testicles ripped off and an artery in his leg cut by one of the subject’s teeth. The events were so dramatic that 5 surviving soldiers would eventually commit suicide in the weeks that followed. In the struggle, one of the test subject’s spleen had ruptured and bled out almost immediately. The medical team tried to sedate him with ten times the human dose of morphine to no avail. The subject still fought off like a wild animal and broke the ribs and arm of one doctor. The subject’s heart continued to beat for a few minutes while the majority of the blood had been drained. Eventually, he collapsed to his death while running around and screaming the word “More.” Three remaining subjects remained alive, with two of them still having intact vocal cords and begging to be exposed to more gas so they can remain awake.

Absolute Fear And Terror Strikes Crew On Site

The most severely injured of the three remaining test subjects was moved to an operating room. Here he was exposed to sedatives to try to place his organs back within his body. To the surprise of everyone, he had become immune to the sedatives and was fighting furiously against his restraints. He managed to tear through a 4-inch wide leather strap that was being held down by a 200-pound soldier. Eventually, with enough sedatives, his eyelids closed and suddenly his heart stopped as well. The test subject had died once he fell asleep. In the following autopsy, it had been discovered that the subject had torn his muscles of his skeleton and broken 9 bones in his body trying to fight free.

The second test subject which was the first to start screaming and destroyed his vocal cords was next for surgery. As he could not speak, he would just violently shake his head no whenever the doctors tried to bring the sedatives near him. When the idea came up to perform the surgery without anesthetic, the man nodded yes and proceeded to have six hours of surgery to return the organs to his body and repair as much skin as possible. The doctors said it was impossible the man did not die from all this pain, and the nurses claimed the man would smile whenever they locked eyes. When the surgery ended, the man tried his best to speak but couldn’t. When given a pen and paper, the man requested that the doctors “Keep Cutting.”

The third subject had surgery performed without any anesthetic but had to be paralyzed from the hip down because his constant laughing during the surgery proved too difficult for the doctors. Eventually, they were all returned to the chamber, while many of the military forces insisted that these subjects be euthanized. However, the commanding officer who was former KGB wanted to see what would happen if the gas was turned back on. After a debate with the doctors and soldiers, it was ruled that the gas would be turned back on. The subjects were placed back in the chamber connected to an EEG monitor and had padded restraints strapped on them for long confinement. The subjects stopped producing a struggle once it was mentioned they would be placed in the gas. At this point, it was assumed that the struggles were to try to stay awake. The EEG readings were confusing as they would often flatline and return to normal, implying they were temporarily going brain dead before going back to normal. Eventually one of the subject’s brainwaves changed to that of a deep sleep, and then his heart flatlined as if he died.

Insane Ending To The Most Horrifying Experiment Ever Conducted

The only remaining test subject with working vocal cords began to scream and begged to be sealed in. His brainwaves were showing similarities to the man who had just died from falling asleep. The commander gave the order to seal the chamber with both subjects inside, as well as the three researchers who were still inside. One of the three researchers immediately drew his gun and shot the commander in the head, then pointed the gun at the mute subject and blew his brains out. He then pointed his gun at the remaining subject who was still restrained to a bed as the remaining doctors and researchers fled the room. The Russian researcher waving his gun yelled: “I won’t be locked in here with these things, not with you.” He then screamed at the last remaining subject and asked him “WHAT ARE YOU?” I MUST KNOW”. The subject smiled. He replied by saying “Have you forgotten so easily? We are you. We are the madness that lurks within you all, begging to be free at every moment in your deepest animal mind. We are what you hide from in your beds every night. We are what you sedate into silence and paralysis when you go into the nocturnal haven where we cannot thread”. The researcher paused, then aimed at the subject’s heart while crying and fired. The EEG flatlined as the subject weakly choked out and murmured
the words “So…nearly….free….”