The mystery of the death of the "Dyatlov group" still gives rise to new versions and hypotheses, becomes the object of media speculation - but it never comes close to a solution
The tragedy that took place in 1959 on Mount Kholatchakhl was forgotten for many years. Nine young Soviet people, led by Igor Dyatlov, died under mysterious circumstances. What exactly happened on the "mountain of the dead" (as the name of the mountain is translated from Mansi) is still unknown.
All versions, of which there are many - from "natural" like an avalanche to "mystical" and "spy" - have obvious inconsistencies. Or did the then authorities not tell everything, and the modern ones are also not eager to shed light on those events, despite the statute of limitations long ago?
As you know, the unknown gives rise to the most unthinkable fantasies. These days in the Russian box office there is a film by Renny Harlin "The Secret of the Dyatlov Pass" - an absurd, in truth, "horror story" on a given topic. Let's leave all speculation on the conscience of filmmakers - after all, that's what cinema is for - and let's try to understand the death of the "Dyatlov group" seriously, fortunately, there is an opportunity for this: in the summer of 2012, this story was investigated by employees of the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda". One of the enthusiasts, NikolayVarsegov, kindly agreed to answer the questions of the Eurasia portal.
This story by the "tenth" years of the XXI century has almost been forgotten. Why did you decide to contact her?
- The fact is that on June 11, 2012 in the Northern Urals, the An-2 plane disappeared without a trace. And with him and 13 people on board, including the pilot. The plane was searched for several months by large forces from the air and on the ground, but they were not found. As it turned out, the plane flew to about the place where in 1959, for unknown reasons, nine tourists died under the leadership of the UPI student Igor Dyatlov.
That's when my colleague from "Komsomolskaya Pravda" Natalia KoStudying the mysterious disappearance of this aircraft, they were carried away by the no less mysterious story of the death of tourists in the Northern Urals. A number of articles were printed, and soon this story was very actively picked up by various media. Several recent documentaries have already been filmed on this topic. But, surprisingly, the more information you get about that tragedy with tourists, the more incomprehensible and confusing it seems.
There are many versions of what happened - from mysticism and aliens to a collision with the Americans, if I'm not mistaken. What version can be called official at the moment?
- There is no official version. There are fans of one version or another who fiercely defend their line. For example, there are people who claim that the tourists were killed by a snowboard that came down the slope and crushed part of the tent, crippled four tourists. As a result, Lyudmila Dubinina 's ribs were broken on both sides, Semyon Zolotarev's ribs were broken on one side, Rustem Slobodin had a 6 cm crack in the skull, Nikolai Thibaultlarge fatal dent in the skull. According to this version, the tourists were frightened by the suddenly descended snow board, cut the tent and ran away in what they were, taking the wounded. They ran away, fearing the next avalanche.
But this version is inconclusive. Firstly, in the snow, rescuers clearly saw and photographed 8-9 pairs of legs. There is disagreement here. Let there be 8 pairs. But there were three seriously wounded. Therefore, there should be only 6 pairs on the snow. Tourists had to carry three comrades. Secondly, if the tourists had the courage and composure to pull the wounded comrades out of the tent, therefore, they would have had enough thought to at the same time pull out shoes and clothes from the tent, and only then retreat into the forest. Thirdly, for example, Semyon Zolotarev (ribs are broken), the search engines found with a camera around his neck. This suggests that he was injured at the place of death, and not in the tent. For it is impossible to imagine that a person with broken ribs was carried or led by the arms with a camera around his neck.
Further, Nikolai Thibault (a fatal skull injury) was found to have a second watch on his hand - comrade Yuri Krivonischenko, who, according to the conclusion, died of cold. The comrades took off his clothes to warm themselves. And Nikolai Thibault, apparently, also took off his watch to give it to his parents. Consequently, Thibault received a fatal skull injury not in a tent from an avalanche, but much later in the forest. Who killed, or what killed Thibault? Riddle. Well, there are also a number of similar riddles.
UFO? But in history there are no cases of UFOs killing people. What for?
American spies should not be taken seriously at all - this is the most ridiculous of all theories. If, theoretically, spies could still be thrown there by parachute, then they could not get out of the deep taiga unnoticed.
And the KGB archives? After all, the "Secret" stamp has probably been removed from them. So many years have passed … Did someone lift them completely? Or is it impossible to draw an unambiguous conclusion from them?
- We have applied to the FSB more than once and received official answers: the KGB did not deal with this matter. This is, of course, rather strange. After all, initially, when the tourists disappeared, there were persistent rumors that the guys left (or tried to leave) abroad. It's absurd, but it soared even in the party circles of Sverdlovsk. Then there was also a suspicion that the guys were killed by some enemy elements on the eve of the XXI Congress of the CPSU and on the eve of the opening of the first international student speed skating competition in Sverdlovsk. And here you are … the KGB did not deal with this matter! This is also very mysterious and suspicious.
What do you think happened there?
- I believe that somewhere nearby a rocket stage with the poisonous fuel heptyl fell, or some poisonous shell fell. There could be night exercises of military aviation, for example. The plane could deviate or some kind of air-to-air missile. And it seems to me that it was some kind of poisonous substance that drove them out of the tent. Foam from the mouth was found on other corpses, indicating poisoning.
Maybe that's why they very quickly curtailed the investigation if the military was to blame for the tragedy. I looked at the case. It's kind of very formal. It can be seen that this case was conducted not at all in order to find the truth, but in order to close it as soon as possible. For example, there is the testimony of the father of the deceased tourist Yuri Krivonischenko. He is a great housekeeper. A party member by itself, and he gives an account of his testimony.
So, the father tells the investigator something like this. Like, I had a group of students at a commemoration for my son, who on the day of the death of the Dyatlovites were also on a hike and were 10 kilometers from the site of the tragedy. So, these guys say that on the night of February 1-2, they saw a powerful flash over Mount Kholatchakhl (where the Dyatlovites died). Then we heard thunder. The father asks to investigate this testimony. But … the investigators for some reason do not pay attention to this statement of the father. No one is interrogated about the outbreak over the place of death of tourists.
It is very likely that the guys were accidentally poisoned by some kind of shell. They ran away and froze. However, it is not clear where such serious injuries in four tourists came from.
I do not presume that they, as witnesses, were finished off by the military. Although there is such a version. But I don't want to even discuss this version (murder by the military). In my opinion, it is too absurd! However, it is possible that the fleeing guys stumbled upon drunken poachers from among the camp guards in the forest. There are many camps in those places to this day. And in the dark, the drunken camp guards could mistake tourists for escaped convicts. They began to beat them with rifle butts and legs … Hence such injuries. But this is my personal assumption, and very shaky.
So far, no one has established a clear picture of events. We continue to find out the truth bit by bit …
Did they try to threaten you - directly or indirectly? Have you encountered something similar while investigating this tragedy?
- No, nobody threatened us. But we have not yet plunged very deeply into the investigation of this drama. They did not cling to any specific people. However, in the future, specific individuals may appear who can be suspected of involvement in the tragedy. More recently, we were contacted by a retired KGB investigator who served in the Northern Urals during Soviet times. According to him, after the war, a lot of all bad people settled in that region: Bandera, Vlasov, policemen, deserters and the like who were hiding in this wilderness from the investigation. Others, under false names, got jobs in camps and even received high positions. Many in the taiga washed gold illegally.
And this KGB investigator pointed out some interesting facts, pointed out some of the defendants. But this is still, as you know, classified materials. If only because they are secret, they are not confirmed, and we cannot yet cast a shadow on someone unreasonably.
Now on the screens of Russian cinemas there is a joint Russian-American film "The Secret of the Dyatlov Pass". Have you already watched it? In general, your investigation and the filming of the film are somehow connected - or is it a coincidence?
- I don't know if the creators of this film were inspired by our publications, or relied on other materials. I watched the film, I really didn't like it. I would not recommend associating it with that tragedy of 1959. There is nothing like that. Just as if based on the tragedy of the Dyatlovites. In fact, everything is very far from those realities. The usual set of cliches on the Soviet theme: the terrible Russian life under the hood of the KGB, darkness, hopelessness, a madhouse, mud, snow, moonshine … Special troops put on some kind of diabolical experience over people, as a result of which tourists die. In general, all this is for the amusement of an immature audience.
Together with Channel One, we also planned to make a film on this topic. We will try to recreate the situation and thoroughly understand the details. For example, in the criminal case it is written: a flashlight was found on the roof of the tent, slightly covered with snow. They turned on, the flashlight came on. Personally, I doubt very much that the battery of the flashlight, after lying in the cold for almost a month, has not been discharged. This moment must be checked and filmed. It is very likely that the flashlight (since it worked) was abandoned shortly before the arrival of the search engines by some unknown persons. Well, there is still a lot of all sorts of mysterious details that need to be studied in detail.
Interviewed by Natalia Makeeva