By Tim Binnall
A Russian politician who once presided over parts of Siberia has revealed that he had a hand in hoaxing Yeti sightings in the hopes of drawing tourists to the area. Aman Tuleyev, former governor of the Kemerovo Region of the country recounted the remarkable tale this past Thursday on his Instagram account. Responding to the question of whether or not a Yeti still roamed the remote area he once governed, the politician first noted that legends of the creature have long circulated among hunters in the Shoria Mountains and that he had once made a journey of his own to the location in search of the cryptid. That said, Tuleyev then made a rather surprising confession: "it was I who fueled interest in the Yeti."
Specifically, the former governor said that attempts to turn the region, which is ideal for skiing, into a tourist destination had proven fairly successful with over a million people visiting each year. However, Tuleyev argued to one of his subordinates that "this is not enough" and proposed that they declare a resort town in the Shoria Mountains to be "the homeland of Yeti." The idea was apparently well received as the community quickly set about putting it into action. They not only announced an official 'Bigfoot Day' which just so happened to coincide with the start of ski season, but also offered a one million ruble reward (approximately $13,000) for anyone who could catch the creature.
At first, Tuleyev recalled, the plan was a great success as people began flocking to the area in the hopes of encountering the Yeti and taking home the sizable prize. Alas, interest in the proverbial Bigfoot bounty eventually faded, which is what inspired the politician to put forward an even more audacious idea: faking Sasquatch sightings. "Find someone tall," he told an underling, "let him take off his suit, turn his fur coat inside out and run around in crowded places, shouting, so that the tourists took notice, but wouldn't be able to catch him." This faux Bigfoot,who would presumably be a government employee, would then be given a bonus in order to ensure that they kept quiet about the ruse.
Apparently the politician was quite serious about the hoax and his subordinate found someone who could portray a Yeti for them, leading to a renewed interest in the possibility that the creature was lurking in the Shoria Mountains. Despite his role in the elaborate scheme, Tuleyev did not entirely rule out the possibility that the cryptid exists, musing that although no one has found the Russian Bigfoot to date, "maybe he really wanders somewhere" and that perhaps "you will be able to meet the Yeti and write your name in world history." That assuming, of course, that it's not just a guy in a fur suit running around at the behest of local politicians looking to fool tourists into visiting.