Nerekhta, a small provincial Russian town, is celebrating its 775th anniversary. The reason for this celebration is the legend of the local craftsman Krikutniy, who in 1731 was the first in the world to rise into the air in a balloon. Was he really this balloonist or was this story invented by the provincial official Sulukadzev? Who should we believe?
Can we trust the text that describes this first balloon flight or the historians who deny the reality of this event?
