What is the story about?
A little-known episode from the life of former Russian regional leader and chess administrator Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has re-entered public debate after clips from a recent interview began circulating widely on social media. In the interview, Ilyumzhinov repeats his long-standing claim that he was abducted by aliens in 1997 and told that chess was invented by extraterrestrials.
The renewed attention follows his appearance on the American Alchemy Podcast hosted by Jesse Michaels. Excerpts from the interview have gone viral on X, bringing back a story that first surfaced more than a decade ago and has since followed Ilyumzhinov across media platforms in Russia and the West.
Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is a Russian businessman and politician best known for his 17-year rule as president of Kalmykia, once Europe’s only Buddhist republic, and for serving as president of the world chess governing body FIDE from 1995 to 2018. Born in 1962 in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, he developed an early interest in chess and won the Kalmykian national championship at the age of 14.
Before entering politics, Ilyumzhinov worked as a factory mechanic, served two years in the Soviet Army, and later studied at MGIMO in Moscow. He accumulated wealth during the collapse of the Soviet Union, serving as president of SAN Corporation from 1990 to 1993. At 31, he won Kalmykia’s presidential election in 1993, becoming one of Russia’s youngest regional leaders. During his tenure, he funded salaries at times from his own pocket, pushed infrastructure projects, and made chess compulsory in schools, turning Elista into an international chess centre.
His leadership of FIDE expanded the game into new regions but was marked by controversy, including US sanctions imposed after his 2012 visit to Syria, where he played chess with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
Ilyumzhinov first publicly shared his account of an alleged alien encounter in 2010 during an interview on the Russian television programme ‘Pozner’ on Channel One. He claimed that in 1997, while standing on the balcony of his Moscow apartment, he was abducted by humanoid beings wearing yellow spacesuits and taken aboard a spaceship.
“They put a spacesuit on me, told me many things and showed me around. They wanted to demonstrate that UFOs do exist,” says Kirsan.
According to him, the beings communicated telepathically. “I am often asked which language I used to talk to them. Perhaps it was on a level of the exchange of the ideas,” says Kirsan.
In his latest interview, he said the discussion focused on observation rather than intervention, describing the extraterrestrials as peaceful and nonhostile. He claimed he was told that Earth had hosted five civilisations before humanity, that aliens were responsible for the creation of humans, that human civilisation was still at an embryonic stage, and that chess was an extraterrestrial invention. He also said there was no discussion of politics, military affairs, technology, or state secrets, and that he received no instructions or predictions about Earth’s future.
The 2010 interview sparked widespread disbelief in Russia, with television channels and newspapers treating the account as a curiosity rather than serious news. Comedians and tabloids mocked the claims, while political circles reacted more uneasily. Andrei Lebedev, a member of Russia’s Parliament, wrote to then President Dmitry Medvedev asking that Ilyumzhinov be interrogated, citing concerns that sensitive information may have been shared with aliens.
Despite the reaction, Ilyumzhinov has consistently repeated the same account over the years and has never retracted his statements. His latest appearance on the American Alchemy Podcast has once again brought the story into public view, with viral clips fuelling renewed interest in one of the most unusual claims made by a high-profile political figure.
The renewed attention follows his appearance on the American Alchemy Podcast hosted by Jesse Michaels. Excerpts from the interview have gone viral on X, bringing back a story that first surfaced more than a decade ago and has since followed Ilyumzhinov across media platforms in Russia and the West.
The former President of a Russian Republic just revealed that he was taken on a UFO in 1997.
And aliens told him the truth about the pyramids and ancient civilizations.
This is the shocking truths about humanity’s origins that he was told by ETs:
Kirsan Ilyumzhinov: “All these… pic.twitter.com/VgxvuZzuLZ
— Holden Culotta (@Holden_Culotta) December 14, 2025
Who is Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
Kirsan Nikolayevich Ilyumzhinov is a Russian businessman and politician best known for his 17-year rule as president of Kalmykia, once Europe’s only Buddhist republic, and for serving as president of the world chess governing body FIDE from 1995 to 2018. Born in 1962 in Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, he developed an early interest in chess and won the Kalmykian national championship at the age of 14.
Before entering politics, Ilyumzhinov worked as a factory mechanic, served two years in the Soviet Army, and later studied at MGIMO in Moscow. He accumulated wealth during the collapse of the Soviet Union, serving as president of SAN Corporation from 1990 to 1993. At 31, he won Kalmykia’s presidential election in 1993, becoming one of Russia’s youngest regional leaders. During his tenure, he funded salaries at times from his own pocket, pushed infrastructure projects, and made chess compulsory in schools, turning Elista into an international chess centre.
His leadership of FIDE expanded the game into new regions but was marked by controversy, including US sanctions imposed after his 2012 visit to Syria, where he played chess with Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.
The alien abduction claim and its fallout
Ilyumzhinov first publicly shared his account of an alleged alien encounter in 2010 during an interview on the Russian television programme ‘Pozner’ on Channel One. He claimed that in 1997, while standing on the balcony of his Moscow apartment, he was abducted by humanoid beings wearing yellow spacesuits and taken aboard a spaceship.
“They put a spacesuit on me, told me many things and showed me around. They wanted to demonstrate that UFOs do exist,” says Kirsan.
According to him, the beings communicated telepathically. “I am often asked which language I used to talk to them. Perhaps it was on a level of the exchange of the ideas,” says Kirsan.
In his latest interview, he said the discussion focused on observation rather than intervention, describing the extraterrestrials as peaceful and nonhostile. He claimed he was told that Earth had hosted five civilisations before humanity, that aliens were responsible for the creation of humans, that human civilisation was still at an embryonic stage, and that chess was an extraterrestrial invention. He also said there was no discussion of politics, military affairs, technology, or state secrets, and that he received no instructions or predictions about Earth’s future.
The 2010 interview sparked widespread disbelief in Russia, with television channels and newspapers treating the account as a curiosity rather than serious news. Comedians and tabloids mocked the claims, while political circles reacted more uneasily. Andrei Lebedev, a member of Russia’s Parliament, wrote to then President Dmitry Medvedev asking that Ilyumzhinov be interrogated, citing concerns that sensitive information may have been shared with aliens.
Despite the reaction, Ilyumzhinov has consistently repeated the same account over the years and has never retracted his statements. His latest appearance on the American Alchemy Podcast has once again brought the story into public view, with viral clips fuelling renewed interest in one of the most unusual claims made by a high-profile political figure.
