"Ziegel Readings" - an international scientific and public conference, named after the famous in the USSR and the world popularizer of science, astronomer, associate professor of the Moscow Aviation Institute, pioneer of domestic ufology Felix Yurievich Ziegel (1920-1988).

 

The first Siegel Readings took place in 1990. Since then, they are held twice a year and are dated to March 20 and November 20 - the dates of birth and death of F.Yu. Siegel. The venue for the Readings is the Central Russian House of Knowledge, the «Moskvich» Cultural Center, the «Meridian» Center for Culture and Art.

 

Initially, the Readings were collected by researchers and scientists, most of whom were engaged in the study of the so-called abnormal phenomena, including the phenomenon of unidentified flying objects. Over the years, the scope of the issues discussed at the Readings has expanded significantly. Nowadays, the conference has actually become a unique platform in the country for discussing new hypotheses and projects concerning breakthrough scientific discoveries, bold technical projects, extraordinary philosophical ideas, mysterious expeditionary finds, etc. The audience of the Readings is about 300 participants, including researchers and enthusiasts studying disputed problems of natural sciences, scientists from candidates of sciences to academicians, specialists in many fields of knowledge, representatives of public, departmental and state structures, foreign researchers, senior army officials and cosmonauts, public figures and journalists.

 

Over the three decades of the Readings, more than 1,500 reports have been heard; their total audience has exceeded 25,000 participants. Researchers and scientists from more than 70 cities, representatives of almost two dozen countries, including Bulgaria, Germany, Iran, Italy, Mexico, the USA, Sweden, South Korea, and Japan made speeches from the rostrum of the conference.

 

The main goal of the Siegel Readings is to demonstrate the relevance and importance of taking into account and using in the scientific, technical and state spheres of life of society and civilization as a whole the factor of still unknown phenomena and processes. In 2013, the conference received the second, official name, "Natural Science and Geopolitics".