The scientific era and the rise of Parapsychology: 1930 - 1969 gives a detailed overview of some of the earliest modern day parapsychological research.

Russia

The Russian research predates all American research by at least 20 years. As far as Ican tell it started in the early 20s. But the first papers published on it date back to just 7 years after the infamous hypnotist and shaman, Rasputin , was murdered.

Amplified Mind Power Research In The Former Soviet Union by Martin Ebon, on Ingo Swann's page, is THE definitive article, written anywhere on the web, regarding early parapsychology research done in the USSR. It not only gives fascinating details and findings of their research, but also explains how certain incidents brought this research to the attention of the world at large, and to the intelligence community within the U.S. 

Another excellent article detailing the early days of remote viewing and parapsychological research in Russia, and the U.S. is in the Academy of Remote Viewing through Space and Time REMOTE VIEWING ARCHIVES.

Between 1963 and 1968 Dr. Eduard Naumov arranged meetings in Russia to share their research with the world. Sheila Ostrander and  Lynn Schroeder were two of the people who were invited to those meetings in 1968. It was the publication, in 1970, of their book Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain which, further, raised public interest in the USA on the subject. In "1974 the Soviet parapsychologist Edward Naumov, mentioned above, their key Soviet contact, was sentenced to two years hard labour for a semi-related petty offence and remanded to a psychiatric 'treatment facility'."

A primary area of study, in parapsychology, for the Russians, was Psychokinesis (PK). Micro-PK gives an overview of research in this area.

America

THE PENTAGON'S PSYCHIC RESEARCH by Armen Victorian gives a great overview of the early American research. 

"In the course of their famous mind control projects code named ARTICHOKE, BLUEBIRD and MKULTRA, the CIA allocated a small portion of the budget to study the use of mediums in seeking intelligence from the dead, and called for a scientific study of the use of psychics for intelligence work." - is an excerpt from the above article.

STAR GATE [Controlled Remote Viewing] is a, seemingly, unbiased look at remote viewing, and though, not so favorable, is a great links page and FAQ concerning the art. It's a good place to begin your search.

18 SPOONBENDER is a far more favorable, and, probably more accurate, and quite detailed, as well as enthralling look at the remote viewing program in the U.S. from the years of Ingo Swann through the retirement of Joe McMoneagle. It is an enthralling, and quite detailed, inside look at how they all worked together, and disagreed as well. It's THE best treatise on the early years, in the U.S.'s remote viewing programs that I've seen anywhere on, or off, the web.

In the beginning the research was into general parapsychology and powers of the mind. The different occurrences of the late 60s and early 70s mentioned, in the above Russian section, led the CIA to fund, in 1973, of the first remote viewing experiments, in the U.S. at the Stanford Research Institute. This is where the protocols which, today, are called, remote viewing, in the U.S., began.  SRI - The beginning tells, briefly, the story of how the Stanford Research Institute became SRI International under Russel Targ and Hal Puthoff.  It tells about their first, star, remote viewer Ingo Swann and another outstanding natural psychic, Pat Price.  The Death of Pat Price talks about his unusual demise.

The claims of an extrasensory tie between all creatures was strengthened by research, on plants, in the U.S. done by the lie detection expert Cleve Backster of THE  BACKSTER SCHOOL OF LIE DETECTION in N.Y. Ingo Swann, considered the father of the U.S. remote viewing program did some brief work with Mr. Backster. This is detailed in his CLEVE BACKSTER - SEPTEMBER, 1971. Sacrifice For Science and Our Intelligent Companions, the Plants give further information regarding numerous studies done, of this nature, with non-human subjects, since that time. This work is further detailed in the book The Secret Life of Plants by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird.