The Soviets in real life were as crazy as they're described in the movies. By crazy we mean, experimenting on some unconventional science. From telekinesis to mind control.

According to Russian publications and recently declassified documents, Serge Kernbach at the Research Center of Advanced Robotics and Environmental Science in Germany talks about the unconventional research from 1917 to 2003. The government funded research fell into the paranormal segment. All that research also racked up a huge bill: $1 billion dollars.

The research team studied mind control in the area of psychotronics - the Soviet term for parasychology. According to the ArXiv blog, "The work built on a long-standing idea in Soviet science that the human brain could receive and transmit a certain kind of high frequency electromagnetic radiation and that this could influence other objects too." They had some sort of "success" too - the Soviet researchers reported electromagnetic radiation could stimulate the immune systems of plants and humans. They also tried to weaponize psychotronic weapons with the purpose of altering people's minds.

The research mostly dried up in the 21st century, but this is probably not the last time you'll hear of such fringe science research.

In 2007, Wired reported that the Department of Homeland Security was interested in working with a contractor connected to Igor Smirnov, a Rasputin-like character dubbed the "father of psychotronic weapons."

For now, nothing has been reported. Or are our minds being wiped of that sort of memory? Guess we'll never know. Yet. [Physics ArXiv Blog]