Case file · Apparition / miracle
Zoya's Standing in Kuibyshev
In January 1956 rumour spread through Kuibyshev (Samara) that a girl, Zoya, had danced at a New Year party with an icon of Saint Nicholas and been turned to stone, standing frozen for 128 days in house no. 84 on Chkalov Street.
1956 CE · 53.19, 50.12 · status: legend
The account
Crowds besieged the house, mounted police were called, and the city paper published a mocking exposé on 24 January 1956. The story lived on in Orthodox circles and was made into the film 'Miracle' (2009). Church officials in Samara have said there is no evidence it happened.
The sceptical view
Investigations found no petrified girl; the case is a classic example of a rumour panic.