Conversion: Navigation Institute

This document, a JPRS report from November 1992, details the transition of the Scientific-Research Navigational-Hydrographic Institute (NINGI MO RF) in St. Petersburg from a secretive military-subordinate facility to a more open, commercially-oriented research entity. Located on Vasilyevskiy Island, the institute has historically focused on national research in navigation and hydrography, including the development of onboard apparatus for ships and the use of artificial satellites for tracking objects. Notably, the report explicitly states that the institute has conducted research into UFOs for many years, accumulating a substantial amount of material on the subject. The deputy chief of the institute, Captain 1st Rank Sergey Alekseyev, acknowledges that the previous culture of excessive secrecy hindered the institute's potential and led to unnecessary duplication of research efforts between civilian and military sectors. In response to the changing political and economic landscape of the early 1990s, the institute held a conference titled 'The Modern Status and Problems of Naval and Air Navigation' to foster collaboration with civilian and industrial partners. The institute is now tasked with creating a federal radio-navigation plan for Russia, integrating marine, air, and ground navigation systems.