(Woo) Igor Bourtsev
Igor Bourtsev (sometimes spelled "Burtsev") is a Russian researcher who works at the Darwin Museum in Moscow, Russia, along with Dmitri Bayanov. Both men have pursued research in Russia for many years concerning an undocumented bipedal primate known as the Almasty or Almas.
In 1971 Rene Dahinden took a copy of the Patterson-Gimlin film to Russia to present to scientists, including Darwin Museum researchers Bayanov and Bourtsev, as well as Dmitri Donskoy, a specialist in biomechanics at the State Institute of Physical Culture. They pronounced the film as a genuine record of an undocumented hairy bipedal hominid. [1]
Bourtsev is also known for his investigations concerning Zana, purportedly a representative of a relict hominid species who lived in the late nineteenth century in the Abkhazia region of Georgia. Supportive physical evidence sent to New York University's "Center for the Study of Human Origins" proved to be of modern human origin. (See Zana article.)
In spite of widely critical assessments by American sasquatch researchers, Bourtsev became convinced of the probable validity of the assertions made by Janice Coy regarding sasquatch activity on her family’s farm in Tennessee, as presented in ‘’Fifty Years With Bigfoot’’ (2002), a self-published book written by Mary Green in association with Coy. In September 2004 Bourtsev traveled to the farm where he spent weeks in hopes of seeing and photographing Fox, a male sasquatch, but he was unsuccessful.
The National Geographic Society spent time with Bourtsev at the Tennessee farm and featured his activities in the nationally televised documentary "Behind the Mysteries: Bigfoot” (Jan. 2005). Bourtsev was reportedly hopeful that his efforts would be presented in a manner similar to that in “Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science" to sustain objective and serious treatment of the subject, but the resultant National Geographic special received universally poor reviews from those investigating the bigfoot phenomenon, who felt that Bourtsev and others in the program were presented in a poor light, if not ridiculed.
In later years, Igor has been a dedicated proponent of Janice Carter and the events at her former home, and has since ventured into the woo side of Bigfooting.
