In this article, I want to start considering the versions of who could have killed the guys from the Dyatlov group. And let's start with the Mansi-related version.
Already from the interrogations of representatives of the Mansi people who took part in the search for the group, one can understand that the investigators asked questions about some kind of "savages".
For example, here is what we can read in the protocol of interrogation of witness Nikolai Anyamov dated April 2, 1959:
What "other people" is the witness talking about? And why does he mention savages? Apparently the investigator asked him: did Anyamov see wild people in the immediate vicinity?
Now a reasonable question arises for me: why did they ask about this at all if it was assumed that people died from a natural cataclysm or possibly from rocket tests?
From the interrogation protocol of March 23, 1959, another Anyamov, uncle Nikolai Anyamov, you can find out the following information:
Here we even see a specific number of representatives of some other people of whom for some reason the Mansi should be afraid.
It is hard to imagine who the people who hunted in these places and knew every corner for sure could be afraid. They certainly didn’t walk through the forest without a gun.
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It is even stranger that the investigator is so persistently trying to find out, and even naming a specific amount. Where does he have a suspicion that some five "wild" people who are afraid of the Mansi may be involved in this incident?
From the protocol of interrogation of Nikita Bakhtiyarov dated March 10, 1959, it can be understood that the Mansi were still under suspicion:
In the interrogation protocol of March 10, 1959, Nikolai Bakhtiyarov again we see hints of Mansi:
I think you also need to pay attention to the interrogation protocol of March 20 of the operative Artemiy Gorbushin:
It is in the testimony of Gorbushin that some five "savages" appear to be living near the prayer mountain.
But the protocol of Kurikov's interrogation of March 23, 1959 contradicts Gorbushin's testimony:
The question arises: who to believe? And another reasonable question arises: why did the investigator not believe the operative? After all, if he believed him, he had to close Kurikov on suspicion of perjury and conduct a confrontation. At least somehow investigate why such discrepancies, and who is telling a lie. If an operative gives false testimony, then you also need to react. And then no action. One said the other refused and goodbye.
And this behavior of prosecutors certainly raises questions and suspicions.
What do I think about this? I believe that if the Dyatlovites did not go further than the height of 1079, then there was no point for the Mansi to kill them. It means only if they went not only to Mount Otorten, but even further and got to some holy places, where they misbehaved could lead to tragedy. Dyatlov's group was quite capable of covering 30 kilometers. Moreover, this could be done in a day.
But in the version related to Mansi, I am confused by several moments that make me doubt that the guys were killed by the "wild" Mansi. I will write about this another time.
I would be grateful for your reposts on social networks to attract people to the discussion.