I came across an unusual post on a Russian Telegram channel. The text associated with it said (in translation):

“Similar glows have already been seen in Murmansk, Belgorod, Moscow and Omsk. Coordinated work on the use of the “peresvet” laser complex or the even newer “Luchezar” is very likely. I do not rule out training in blinding satellites in order to mask the routes of movement of our complexes with nuclear weapons, as well as training in hiding the potential moment of launching a nuclear missile. More terrible than the nuclear attack itself can only be the threat of a nuclear attack.”

This shows a variety of pictures. I sent copies to a well known blogger who replied in a very offhand way that they were rays of sunshine aka “sun pillar“, which I grant you is just possible if you only look at the following picture and ignore the fact that the brightest part of a sun beam is at the sun, not a strong spot on the cloud as shown.

But that explanation becomes impossible to sustain if you look at the following image which shows two parallel columns of light:

This is even harder to sustain, if you look at the following video which shows that the two vertical columns, from this different viewpoint are nearly 90 degrees apart (so if one is east the other is north). Sun rays, caused by clouds, all go toward a single point, namely the sun. What we are seeing in these images are vertical and do not head to the sun.

Which leaves me wondering what they are. I will go through a few possible explanations:

Visible laser display

This is an obvious possibility, but when I have seen visible lasers being shone into the sky, they have a much more distinct form. However, I don’t think this can be ruled out. But the local people commenting are not aware of lasers being used for show. One possibility is that it is part of some propaganda or psychological campaign.

Visible laser to obscure the ground

Another possibility is that they are deliberately using the cloud to as a “projector” to block out imaging from above. Much in the way of shining a bright light at someone. If so, the lasers are too narrow as they clearly form a single spot on the cloud. If you were wanting to block out satellite or other imaging, you would want light to cover the area being obscured. However, it is possible they are aiming to stimulate something much higher in the atmosphere. It may also be the optics of spy satellites are incredibly sensitive and even a bit of extra light will blind them.

Non-visible laser to obscure ground

Generally, if you want to block visible imaging, you need to shine visible light toward the camera. But at night time you would be using IR. So perhaps this is an IR laser and the yellow glow is a secondary effect of a very strong IR laser.

Bizarrely the diffuse nature of the light could indicate that they are focussed way above the atmosphere. In other words, they are a laser, but in the first kilometres of the atmosphere the beam is very wide and it is only focussed when it gets to space. This might improve beam transmission.

Beam to damage spy satellite

To get a lot of energy through cloud when these images do not show a lot of visible light would require that the light is a secondary effect. So there is a primary energy beam which is then stimulating light emission. This would make some sense as visible light does not easily pass through clouds. So, perhaps it could be explained by either long IR, or perhaps x-ray/gamma rays. Neither of these form “lasers” in the conventional sense, as a laser uses energy jumps within the valence bands of an atom and these are all way above long IR and below x-ray. But there were x-ray lasers that were proposed under the “star wars” program. There are similar ideas that have been suggested under the title of “Directed-energy weapon (DEW) programs”.

I am not saying these are impossible, but I am not aware of them ever being practically implemented.

Particle beams

And finally, thinking outside the box, in (science fiction) theory it might be possible to make what I suppose might be called a naser (nuclear amplification by stimulated emission and radiation) which would be a nuclear reaction that is not just directional, but highly directional, and which creates a beam of alpha, beta, gamma or neutrons. However, the stimulated emission I’ve seen from nuclear (such as at Chernobyl) has been blue. Even if it were not incredibly unlikely, it still doesn’t fit.

A hoax

Finally perhaps the images and videos are themselves a hoax or black ops?

Conclusion

I do not know what it is. At any other time, I would have to opt for a “light display” even though it doesn’t look like it. But in this context, given the way they are said to have been deployed, I cannot rule out the possibility of a new technology to blind or even destroy spy satellites.