It turns out that some members of the famous group of Igor Dyatlov were recorded on the newsreel of the times of the USSR. In particular, I discovered, of course, not without the help of the researcher of the Dyatlov tragedy, Pyotr Semiletov, an archive video of 1955. That year, Indira Gandhi and her father Jawaharlal Nehru came to Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg). Dozens of cameramen filmed the official visit. From the moment the Douglas DC-3 passenger plane landed at Koltsovo airport. The extensive visit lasted several days, starting on June 18, 1955. I managed to find a rare copy in the archives of the Sverdlovsk Film Studio. Fortunately, it is freely available, like all unclassified, historical documents of that era.
In one moment of the newsreel, the visit of Indira Gandhi and Nehru to the pioneers, to the palace of pioneers on Voznesenskaya Gorka, is recorded. Now there is the residence of the Metropolitan of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Sverdlovsk and Kurgan regions. It is located next to the Church "On Blood", built on the site of the murder of Emperor Nicholas II and his family. At the time of the passage of the guests of honor, two young girls got into the frame. In one I recognized Lyudmila Dubinina, in the second Zinaida Kolmogorova. There is no doubt about Zina, since she was wearing the same dress that I found in one of her photographs. In addition, it was shot in close-up, but I just enlarged this fragment. It seems to me that the girls could well have been at this event. Since Lyudmila Dubinina just graduated from school and entered the UPI, and Zina Kolmogorova already studied at the same UPI. Lyudmila was 17 years old,Zina is already 18. Probably, at that time, they were unfamiliar with each other. It's amazing to see them alive, happy and empathic about the historic moment. Unfortunately, these are the only footage with our heroes.
I found the second film on my own. Berlin, summer 1945. Soldiers are marching along the streets of the defeated city. Two companies. No weapons. In one of the fighters, I recognized Semyon Zolotarev. True, his mustache was much more magnificent than in his other photographs. However, there is a medal on the chest, most likely received for the defense of Stalingrad, or for Bravery. There is information that he received it precisely in 1945. Semyon ended the war in Berlin. Having thus gone through the whole war to the end. I also found these frames in the archive of historical films. It was filmed by cameramen from the United States, now there is a color version of it.
You can bet that Semyon is far from there. But, imagine that he could well have been in these frames. Because in those days in Berlin there were many cameramen from different newspapers and magazines. Not only front-line, but also ordinary civilians. Nazism was defeated, the country was moving away from a nightmare and trying to establish a peaceful life. And it was Soviet soldiers and officers who helped them in this, oddly enough. Including the pontoon engineer Semyon Zolotarev.
An instant touch of history is like a sudden burn. Remains in the memory of pain and regret, if only because these people are no longer with us. But each of them individually, and together they left their own mark. It seems to me that this information of mine deserves to be, at least, simply viewed and appreciated.
Promotional video:
Author: Valentin Degterev