The authors express their sincere gratitude for the cooperation and information provided to the Dyatlov Group Public Memory Fund and personally to Yuri Kuntsevich, as well as to Vladimir Askinadzi, Vladimir Borzenkov, Natalya Varsegova, Anna Kiryanova and Yekaterinburg photo processing specialists.

Introduction

In the early morning of February 2, 1959, dramatic events took place on the slope of Mount Holatchakhl in the vicinity of Mount Otorten in the Northern Urals, which led to the death of a group of tourists from Sverdlovsk led by a student of the Ural Polytechnic Institute, 23-year-old Igor Dyatlov. Many circumstances of this tragedy have not yet received a satisfactory explanation, giving rise to many rumors, conjectures, which gradually developed into legends and myths, based on which several books have been written and a number of feature films have been shot. We think we have succeeded in reconstructing the true course of these events, which puts an end to this protracted history. Our version is based on strictly documentary sources, namely on the materials of the Criminal Case of the history of the death and search for Dyatlovites, as well as on some everyday and tourist experience. We offer this version to the attention of all interested persons and organizations, insisting on its reliability, but not claiming a new coincidence in details.

Prehistory

On the night of February 1-2, 1959, a number of events occurred with the Dyatlov group before arriving at the place of a cold overnight stay on the slope of Mount Holatchahlv. So, the very idea of ​​​​this hike III, the highest category of difficulty, Igor Dyatlov arose long ago and took shape in December 1958, as told by Igor's senior comrades in tourism. All further references to sources, unless otherwise stated, refer to the materials of the official Criminal Case on the death of the Dyatlov group.

The composition of the participants in the planned hike changed in the process of its preparation, reaching up to 13 people, but the backbone of the group, consisting of students and graduates of the UPI with experience in hiking, including joint ones, remained unchanged. It included:

• Igor Dyatlov - leader of the campaign, 23 years old;
• Lyudmila Dubinina - supply manager, 20 years old;
• Yuri Doroshenko - 21 years old;
• Alexander Kolevatov - 22 years old;
• Zinaida Kolmogorova - 22 years old;
• Georgy Krivonischenko - 23 years old;
• Rustem Slobodin - 22 years old;
• Nikolai Thibault - 23 years old
• Yuri Yudin - 22 years old
• two days before the hike, 37-year-old Semyon Zolotarev, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, a front-line soldier who graduated from the Institute of Physical Education, and a professional tourism instructor, joined the group.

At the beginning, the campaign went according to plan, with the exception of one circumstance: on January 28, Yuri Yudin left the route due to illness. The group traveled the rest of the way with nine of them. Until January 31, the campaign, according to the general diary of the campaign, the diaries of individual participants, the photo given in the Case, went well: difficulties were overcome, and new places gave young people new impressions. On January 31, the Dyatlov group made an attempt to overcome the pass separating the valleys of the Auspiya and Lozva rivers, however, having met with a strong wind at a low temperature (about -18 ° C), they were forced to retreat to spend the night in the forested part of the Auspiya river valley. On the morning of February 1, the group got up late, left some of the food and things in a specially equipped storage shed (it took a long time), had lunch, and at about 3 pm on February 1 set out on the route. In the materials on the termination of the Criminal Case, apparently expressing the collective opinion of the investigation and the interviewed specialists, it is said that such a late exit to the route was the first mistake of Igor Dyatlov. At the beginning, the group most likely followed its old trail, and then continued to move in the direction of Mount Otorteni, at about 17:00 they stopped for a cold overnight stay, on the slope of Mount Kholatchakhl.

To facilitate the perception of information, we present a wonderfully drawn up diagram of the place of events, given by Vadim Chernobrov (Fig. 1).

ill. 1. Scheme of the scene

The materials of the criminal Case say that Dyatlov "came to the wrong place," making a mistake in the direction and taking much more to the left than was required to pass to the pass between heights 1096 and 663. This, according to the compilers of the Case, was the second mistake of Igor Dyatlov.

We do not agree with the version of the investigation and believe that Igor Dyatlov stopped the group not by mistake, by accident, but specially in the place previously marked in the previous transition. Our opinion is not alone - this was also stated during the investigation by an experienced tourist student Sogrin, who was part of one of the search and rescue teams that found Igor Dyatlov's tent. The modern researcher Borzenkov also speaks about the planned stop in the book “Dyatlov Pass. Research and materials”, Yekaterinburg 2016, p. 138. What prompted Igor Dyatlov to do this?

Cold overnight

Arriving, as we believe, at the point predetermined by Dyatlov, the group proceeded to set up a tent, according to all "tourist and mountaineering rules." The question of a cold overnight baffles the most experienced specialists and is one of the main mysteries of the tragic campaign. Many different versions are put forward, up to the absurd, they say it was done for "training".

Only we managed to find a convincing version.

The question arises whether the participants in the campaign knew that Dyatlov was planning a cold overnight stay. We think that they did not know (this is indicated by the fact that the fire accessories - an ax, a saw and a stove - were not left at the site of the storehouse, moreover, a dry log for kindling was even prepared), but they did not argue, according to previous campaigns and stories about them, knowing about the difficult temper of his leader and forgiving him in advance.

Taking part in general works on the arrangement of an overnight stay, only one person expressed his protest, namely, a professional tourism instructor, 37-year-old Semyon Zolotarev, who went through the war. This protest was expressed in a very peculiar way, testifying to the high intellectual abilities of his applicant. Semyon Zolotarev created a very remarkable document, namely the Combat Sheet No. 1 "Evening Otorten".

We consider Battle Sheet No. 1 "Evening Otorten" the key to unraveling the tragedy.

The authorship of Zolotarev is evidenced by the very name "Combat Leaflet". Semyon Zolotarev was the only veteran of the Great Patriotic War among the participants in the campaign, and a very well-deserved one, having four military awards, including the medal "For Courage". In addition, according to the tourist Axelrod, reflected in the File, the handwriting of the handwritten "Evening Otorten" coincides with the handwriting of Zolotarev. So, at the beginning of the “Combat Leaflet” it is said that “according to the latest scientific data, Bigfoot live in the vicinity of Mount Otorten.”

It must be said that at that time the whole world was engulfed in a fever of searching for Bigfoot, which has not died down to this day. Such searches were also carried out in the Soviet Union. We think that Igor Dyatlov was aware of this "problem" and dreamed of meeting Bigfoot for the first time in the world and photographing him. It is known from the materials of the Case that Igor Dyatlov met with old hunters in Vizhay, consulted with them on the forthcoming campaign, perhaps it was also about Bigfoot. Of course seasoned hunters(this is how the evidence of Chargin, 85 years old, is given in the case, that in Vizhay a group of Dyatlovites addressed him as a hunter) they told the “young” the whole “truth” about Bigfoot, where he lives, what his behavior is, what he loves.

Of course, everything that was said was in the spirit of traditional hunting tales, but Igor Dyatlov believed what was said and decided that the surroundings of Otorten were just the perfect place for Bigfoot to live, and it was only a matter of small things - to get up for a cold night, namely cold, as Bigfoot loves cold, and out of curiosity, he himself will approach the tent. The place for a possible overnight stay was chosen by Igor in the previous transition on January 31, 1959, when the group actually reached the pass separating the basins of the Auspiya and Lozva rivers.

ill. 2. The dispute between Dyatlov and Zolotarev about the further route.
At about 5 p.m. January 31, 1959

A photo of this moment has been preserved, which allowed Borzenkov to accurately determine this point on the map. The picture shows that, obviously, Igor Dyatlov and Semyon Zolotarev are arguing very hard about the further route. It is obvious that Zolotarev expresses himself against the logically difficult to explain decision of Dyatlov to return back to Auspiya and offers to “take the pass”, which was a matter of about 30 minutes and go down to spend the night in the Lozva river basin. Note that in this case the group would have stopped for the night just approximately in the area of ​​​​the same ill-fated cedar.

Everything becomes logically explainable, if we assume that already at that moment Dyatlov was planning a cold overnight stay, just on the slope of mountain 1096, which, in the event of an overnight stay in the Lozva basin, would be on the sidelines. This mountain (1096), called Mount Holatchakhl in Mansi, in translation is called "Mountain of the 9 Dead". Mansi consider this place "unclean" and bypass it. So from the Case, according to the testimony of student Slabtsov, who found the tent, the Mansi guide who accompanied them flatly refused to go to this mountain. We think that Dyatlov decided if it’s impossible, then everyone needs to prove that it’s possible and he’s not afraid of anything, and he also thought that if they say it’s impossible, then it means that the notorious Bigfoot lives here.

So, at about 17 pm on February 1, Igor Dyatlov gives an unexpected command to the group that had a rest in the afternoon to get up for a cold overnight, explaining the reasons for this decision to the scientific problem of finding Bigfoot. The group, with the exception of Semyon Zolotarev, took this decision calmly. For the time remaining before sleep, Semyon Zolotarev made his famous “Evening Otorten”, which is actually a satirical work, sharply critical, the orders that have developed in the group.

There is, in our opinion, a reasonable point of view on the further tactics of Igor Dyatlov. According to the experienced tourist Axelrod, who knew Igor Dyatlov well from joint trips, Dyatlov planned to raise the group at dusk, at about 6 o'clock in the morning, then go on the assault on Mount Otorten. Most likely that is what happened. The group was preparing to get dressed (more precisely, to put on shoes, because people slept in clothes), while having breakfast with breadcrumbs and lard. According to numerous testimonies of participants in the rescue work, crackers were scattered all over the tent; they fell out of crumpled blankets along with pieces of lard. The situation was calm, no one, except Dyatlov, was seriously upset that the Bigfoot did not come and that, in fact, the group suffered such significant inconvenience in vain.

Only Semyon Zolotarev, who was located at the very entrance to the tent, was seriously outraged by what had happened. His dissatisfaction was fueled by the following circumstance. The fact is that Semyon had a birthday on February 2. And it seems that already from the night he began to “celebrate” him by taking alcohol, and it seems that he is alone, because. according to Dr. Vozrozhdenny, no alcohol was found in the body of the first 5 tourists found. This is reflected in the official documents (in the Acts) cited in the Case.

About a feast with chopped lard and empty flask with the smell of vodka or alcohol at the entrance to the tent where Semyon Zolotarev was located, the prosecutor of the city of Indel Tempalov directly points out in the Case. A large flask of alcohol was confiscated in a discovered tent by student Boris Slobtsov. This alcohol, according to the testimony of student Brusnitsyn, a participant in the events, was immediately drunk by the members of the search group who found the tent. That is, in addition to a flask with alcohol, there was a flask with the same drink in the tent. We think that we are talking about alcohol, not about vodka.

Warmed up with alcohol, Zolotarev, dissatisfied with a cold and hungry night, left the tent for the toilet (a trace of urine remained at the tent) and outside demanded an analysis of Dyatlov's mistakes. Most likely, the amount of alcohol drunk was so significant that Zolotarev turned out to be very drunk and began to behave aggressively. Someone had to come out of the tent at this noise. At first glance, this should have been the leader of the campaign, Igor Dyatlov, but we think that he was not the one who came out to talk. Dyatlov was located at the farthest end of the tent, it was inconvenient for him to climb through everyone and, most importantly, Dyatlov was significantly inferior in his physical data to Semyon Zolotarev. We believe that tall (180 cm) and physically strong Yuri Doroshenko came to Semyon's demand. This is also supported by the fact that the ice ax found at the tent belonged to Yuri Doroshenko. So, in the materials of the Case, there was an entry made by his hand "go to the trade union committee, take your ice ax." Thus, Yuri Doroshenko, the only one from the whole group. as it turned out later, it was time to put on the boots. The footprint of a single man in boots was documented in the Act by prosecutor Tempalov.

Data on the presence or absence of alcohol in the body of 4 people, found later (in May), and specifically, in Semyon Zolotarev, are not available in the Acts of Doctor Vozrozhdenny, because. bodies at the time of the study had already begun to decompose. That is, the answer to the question: “Was Semyon Zolotarev drunk or not?” in the materials of the Case is not.

So, Yuri Doroshenko, shod in ski boots, armed with an ice ax and taking with him a Dyatlov flashlight for illumination, because. it was still dark (it was getting light at 8-9 in the morning, and the action took place around 7 in the morning), gets out of the tent. A short, sharp and unpleasant conversation took place between Zolotarev and Doroshenko. Obviously, Zolotar'v expressed his opinion about the Dyatlov and the Dyatlovites.

From the point of view of Zolotarev, Dyatlov makes gross mistakes. The first of them was the passage by Dyatlov of the mouth of the Auspiya River. As a result, the group had to make a detour. It was also incomprehensible to Zolotarev that the group’s departure on January 31 to the bed of the Auspiya river instead of going down to the bed of the Lozva and, finally, the absurd and, most importantly, fruitless cold overnight. The dissatisfaction hiddenly expressed by Zolotarev in the Evening Otorten newspaper spilled out.

We think that Zolotarev offered to remove Dyatlov from the post of leader of the campaign, replacing him with someone else, meaning himself first of all. It is difficult to say in what form Zolotarev proposed this to us now. It is clear that after drinking alcohol, the form should be sharp, but the degree of sharpness depends on the specific reaction of a person to alcohol. Zolotarev, who knew the war in all its manifestations, of course, was mentally disturbed, and could simply be aroused to alcoholic psychosis, bordering on delirium. Judging by the fact that Doroshenko left an ice ax and a flashlight and preferred to hide in a tent, Zolotarev was very excited. The guys even blocked his way to the tent, throwing the stove, backpacks, food at the entrance. This circumstance, up to the term “barricade”, is repeatedly emphasized in the testimonies of the participants in the rescue operation. Moreover, at the entrance to the tent stood an ax, absolutely superfluous in this place.

Obviously, the students decided to actively defend themselves.

Perhaps this circumstance enraged the drunken Zolotarev even more (for example, in the tent at the entrance, the canopy from the sheet was literally torn). Most likely, all these obstacles only infuriated Zolotarev, who was rushing into the tent to continue the showdown. And then Zolotarev remembered the gap in the tent from the “mountain” side, which was repaired all together at the previous parking lot, and decided to get inside the tent through this gap, using “psychological weapons” so that he would not be hindered, as was done at the front. Most likely he shouted something like "Throwing a grenade".

The fact is that in 1959 the country was still overflowing with weapons, despite all the Government Decrees on its surrender. Getting a grenade at that time was not a problem, especially in Sverdlovsk, where weapons were brought for remelting. So the threat was very real. And in general, it is very likely that it was not only an imitation of a threat.

Might have been a real live grenade.

Apparently, investigator Ivanov had this in mind when speaking about a certain "piece of iron" that he underinvestigated. A grenade could really come in handy on a campaign, in particular, for killing fish under ice, as was done during the war, since part of the route passed along rivers. And, quite possibly, the front-line soldier Zolotarev decided to take such a “necessary” object on a campaign.

Zolotarev did not calculate the effect of his "weapon". The students took the threat seriously and left the tent in a panic, making two cuts in the canvas. This happened at about 7 am, as it was still dark, as evidenced by a lit flashlight dropped by students and subsequently found by searchers 100 meters from the tent down the slope.

Zolotarev walked around the tent and, continuing to imitate the threat, decided to drunkenly teach the "young". He formed the people in a line (as witnessed by all the people who observed the footprints) and commanded "Down", setting the direction. He gave one blanket with him, they say, keep yourself warm with one blanket, as in that Armenian riddle from Evening Otorten. This is how the cold overnight stay of the Dyatlovites ended.

Tragedy in the Ural Mountains

People went down, and Zolotarev climbed into the tent and apparently continued to drink, celebrating his birthday. The fact that someone remained in the tent is evidenced by a subtle observer - student Sorgin, whose testimony is given in the File.

Zolotarev settled down on two blankets. All the blankets in the tent were crumpled, with the exception of two, on which they found skins from the loin, which Zolotarev ate. It was already dawn, the wind had risen, which passed through the gap in one place of the tent and cutouts in another. Zolotarev closed the breakthrough with Dyatlov’s fur jacket, and had to deal with the cutouts in a different way, since the initial attempt to plug the cutouts with things, following the example of a hole, failed (for example, according to Astenaki, several blankets and a padded jacket stuck out of the cutouts of the tent). Then Zolotarev decided to lower the far edge of the tent, cutting the rack - a ski pole.

The weight of the fallen snow (the fact that there was snow at night is evidenced by the fact that the Dyatlov lantern lay on the tent on a layer of snow about 10 cm thick) the stick was rigidly fixed and it was not possible to pull it out immediately. The stick had to be cut with the long knife used to cut the fat. The cut stick was pulled out, its parts were found cut from the top of the backpacks. The far edge of the tent sank and closed the cutouts, and Zolotarev settled down at the front post of the tent and, obviously, fell asleep for a while, having finished drinking alcohol from a flask.

The group, meanwhile, continued to move down, in the direction indicated by Zolotarev. It is attested that the tracks were divided into two groups - to the left of 6 people, and to the right - two. Then the tracks converged. These groups apparently corresponded to the two cutouts through which the people crawled out. The two on the right are Thibault and Dubinina, who were located closer to the exit. On the left is everyone else.

One person was walking in boots (Yuri Doroshenko, we believe). Let us recall that this is documented in the Case file by Prokur Tempalov. It also says that there were eight tracks, which documents our version that one person remained in the tent.

It was dawning, it was difficult to walk because of the snow that had fallen and, of course, it was desperately cold, because. the temperature was around −20 °C with wind. Approximately by 9 o'clock in the morning a group of 8 tourists, already half-frostbitten, found themselves next to a high cedar. Cedar as a point around which they decided to make a fire was not chosen by chance. In addition to the dry lower branches for the fire, which we managed to “get” with the help of cuts, an “observation post” was equipped with great difficulty on it to monitor the tent. For this, several large branches obstructing the view were cut out by the Finnish Krivonischenko. Below, under the cedar, with great difficulty, a small fire was lit, which, according to the concurring estimates of various observers, burned for 1.5-2 hours. If we ended up at the cedar at 9 am, it took an hour to build a fire, and plus two hours, it turns out that the fire went out at about 12 o'clock in the afternoon.

Still taking Zolotarev's threat seriously, the group decided not to return to the tent for the time being, but to try to "hold on" by building some kind of shelter, at least from the wind, for example, in the form of a cave. It turned out to be possible to do this in a ravine, near a stream that flowed towards the Lozva River. For this shelter, 10-12 poles were cut. What exactly the poles were supposed to serve for is not clear, maybe they planned to build a “floor” from them by throwing spruce branches on top.

Zolotarev, meanwhile, "rested" in a tent, forgetting himself in an anxious drunken dream. Having woken up and sobered up a little, at about 10-11 o'clock he saw that the situation was serious, the students had not returned, which means that they were "in trouble" somewhere and realized that he "went too far". He followed the tracks down, realizing his guilt and already without weapons (the ice ax remained at the tent, the knife in the tent). True, it remains unclear where the grenade was located, if it really was. At about 12 o'clock he approached the cedar. He walked dressed and in felt boots. The trace of one person in felt boots was recorded by the observer Akselrod 10-15 meters from the tent. He went down to Lozva.

The question arises: "Why is the ninth track missing or not seen?". The issue here is most likely the following. The students descended at 7 o'clock in the morning, and Zolotarev at about 11. By this time, a strong wind had risen at dawn, a drifting snow, which partly blew off the snow that had fallen at night, and partly compacted it, pressed it to the ground. It turned out a thinner, and most importantly, a denser layer of snow. In addition, felt boots are larger in area than boots, and even more so feet without shoes. The pressure from the boots on the snow, per unit area, is several times less, so the traces of the descending Zolotarev were hardly noticeable and were not recorded by observers.

The people at the cedar, meanwhile, met him in a critical situation. Half-frostbitten, unsuccessfully trying in turn to keep warm by the fire, bringing freezing hands, legs and faces close to the fire. Apparently from this combination of frostbite and mild burns, an unusual coloration of the skin of red tones of exposed parts of the body was observed in five tourists found in the first phase of the search.

People put all the blame for what happened on Zolotarev, so his appearance did not bring relief, but served to further escalate the situation. Moreover, the psyche of hungry and freezing people worked, of course, inadequately. Possible apologies from Zolotarev, or vice versa, his command orders, obviously, were not accepted. The lynching has begun. We think that at first Thibaut demanded to take off his felt boots as an initial measure of "retaliation" and then demanded to give the Pobeda watch, which reminded Zolotarev of his participation in the war, which, obviously, was the subject of his pride. This seemed to Zolotarev extremely offensive. In response, he hit Thibaut with a camera, which he may have demanded to give. And again, “didn’t calculate”, obviously the alcohol was still in the blood. He used the camera as a sling (this is evidenced by the fact that the camera strap was wound around Zolotarev's hand), he hit Thibaut in the head, actually killed him.

In the conclusion of Dr. Vozrozhdenny, it is said that Thibaut's skull is deformed in a rectangular area measuring 7 × 9 cm, which approximately corresponds to the size of the camera, and a torn hole in the center of the rectangle is 3 × 3.5 × 2 cm. This approximately corresponds to the size of the protruding lens. The camera was, according to numerous witnesses, found on the corpse of Zolotarev. Photo saved.

After that, of course, everyone present attacked Zolotarev. Someone was holding hands, and Doroshenko, the only one with boots, kicked him in the chest in the ribs. Zolotarev desperately defended himself, hit Slobodin so that his skull cracked, and when Zolotarev was immobilized by collective efforts, he began to fight with his teeth, biting off the tip of Krivonischenko's nose. So, apparently, they were taught in front-line intelligence, where, according to some information, Zolotarev served.

During this fight, Lyudmila Dubinina, for some reason, was ranked among the "supporters" of Zolotarev. Perhaps at the beginning of the fight she sharply objected to lynching, and when Zolotarev actually killed Thibaut, she fell into disgrace. But, most likely, the fury of those present turned to Dubinina for this reason. Everyone understood that the beginning of the tragedy, its trigger point, was Zolotarev's intake of alcohol. The case contains the testimony of Yuri Yudin that, in his opinion, one of the main shortcomings in the organization of the Dyatlov campaign was the lack of alcohol, which, it was he, Yudin, who could not get it in Sverdlovsk, but, as we already know, alcohol in the group still was. This means that alcohol was bought on the way to Vizhay, in Indel, or, most likely, at the last moment before going on the route from lumberjacks in the 41st forest area. Since Yudin did not know about the presence of alcohol, it was obviously kept secret. Dyatlov decided to use alcohol under some emergency circumstances - such as the assault on Mount Otorten, when his strength was running out, or to mark the successful end of the campaign. But the supply manager and accountant Dubinina could not help but know about the presence of alcohol in the group, since it was she who allocated public money to Dyatlov to buy alcohol on the road. People or Dyatlov personally decided that it was she who blabbed about this to Zolotarev, who was sleeping nearby and with whom she willingly communicated (photos have been preserved). In general, in reality, Dubinina received the same, even more severe injuries than Zolotarev (10 ribs were broken in Dubinina, 5 in Zolotarev). In addition, her "talkative" tongue was torn out.

Considering that the “opponents” are dead, one of the Dyatlovites, fearing responsibility, squeezed out their eyes, because. there was and still is a belief that the image of the murderer remains in the pupil of the victim of a violent death. This version is supported by the fact that Thibault, who was mortally wounded by Zolotarev, had his eyes intact.

Let's not forget that people acted on the verge of life and death, in a state of extreme excitement of passion, when animal instincts completely turn off acquired human qualities. Yuri Doroshenko was found with frozen foam at the mouth, which confirms our version of his extreme degree of arousal, which reached rage.

It is very likely that Lyudmila Dubinina suffered without guilt. The fact is that with almost 100 percent probability Semyon Zolotarev was an alcoholic, like many of the direct participants in the hostilities in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. A fatal role here was played by the “People's Commissar's” 100 grams of vodka, which were issued at the front every day during the hostilities. Any narcologist will say that if this continues for more than six months, then dependence of varying severity inevitably arises, depending on the physiology of a particular person. The only way to avoid the disease was to abandon the "People's Commissar", which, of course, a rare Russian person can do. So, it is unlikely that Semyon Zolotarev was such an exception. Indirect confirmation of this is the episode on the train on the way from Sverdlovsk, described in the diary of one of the participants in the campaign, which is given in the Case. A "young alcoholic" turned to the tourists, demanding the return of a bottle of vodka, stolen, in his opinion, by one of them. The incident was hushed up, but most likely Dyatlov “figured out” Zolotarev and, when buying alcohol, strictly forbade Lyudmila Dubinina to talk about this to Zolotarev. Since Zolotarev nevertheless took possession of the alcohol, Dyatlov, and then everyone else, decided that the supply manager Dubinina, who let it out, blabbed, was to blame for this. Most likely it was not so. Students in their youth did not know that alcoholics develop a supernatural "sixth" sense for alcohol, and they successfully and accurately find it in any conditions. Just by intuition. So Dubinina here, most likely, had nothing to do with it.

The described bloody tragedy occurred around 12 noon on February 2, 1959, near the ravine where the shelter was being prepared..

This time of 12 noon is determined as follows. As we already wrote, the tourists in a panic left the tent through the cutouts at about 7 am on February 2, 1959. The distance to the cedar is 1.5-2 km. Taking into account the "nudity" and "barefoot" and the difficulties of orientation in the dark and at dawn, the group reached the cedar in an hour and a half or two. It turns out 8.5-9 o'clock in the morning. It's dawn. Another hour to prepare firewood, cut branches for an observation post, prepare poles for flooring. It turns out that the fire was lit at about 10 o'clock in the morning. According to numerous testimonies of search engines, the fire burned for 1.5-2 hours. It turns out that the fire went out when the group went to sort things out with Zolotarev to the ravine, i.e. at 11:30-12 noon. It comes out around 12 noon. After the fight, having lowered the bodies of the dead into the cave (dropping them), a group of 6 people returned to the cedar.

And the fact that the fight took place near the ravine is proved by the fact that, according to the expert opinion of Dr. Vozrozhdenny, Thibault himself could not move after the blow. It could only be carried. And to carry even 70 meters from the cedar to the ravine, dying, half-frozen people were clearly beyond their strength.

Those who retained their strength (Dyatlov, Slobodin and Kolmogorova) rushed to the tent, the path to which was now free. Exhausted in the fight, Doroshenko, the fragile Krivonischenko and Kolevatov remained at the cedar and tried to rekindle the fire near the cedar, which had gone out during the fight in the ravine. So, Doroshenko was found fallen on dry branches, which he obviously carried to the fire. But they didn't seem to be able to rekindle the fire. After some time, perhaps a very short time, Doroshenko and Krivonischenko froze to death. Kolevatov lived longer than them and, finding that his comrades were dead, and the fire could not be re-lit, he decided to meet his fate in the cave, thinking that one of those who were in it might still be alive. He cut off some of the warm clothes of his dead comrades with a Finn and carried them to the “hole in the ravine”, where the rest were. He also took off Yuri Doroshenko's shoes, but apparently decided that they were hardly useful and threw them into the ravine. The boots were never found, as well as a number of other things of the Dyatlovites, which is reflected in the File. In the Kolevatov cave, Thibaut, Dubinina and Zolotarev met their death.

Igor Dyatlov, Rustem Slobodin and Zinaida Kolmogorova met their death on the difficult path to the tent, fighting to the last for their lives. This happened around 13:00 on February 2, 1959.

The time of the death of the group, according to our version, is 12-13 hours of the day. It coincides with the assessment of the remarkable medical examiner Dr. Vozrozhdenny, according to which the death of all the victims occurred 6-8 hours after the last meal. And this reception was breakfast after a cold night at about 6 in the morning. 6-8 hours later gives 12-14 hours of the day, which is almost exactly the same time as we indicated.

A tragic ending has come.

Conclusion

It is difficult to find right and wrong in this story. Pity everyone. The greatest fault, as it sounded in the materials of the Case, lies with the head of the UPI Gordo sports club, it was he who had to check the psychological stability of the group and only after that give the go-ahead to the exit. It’s a pity for the provocative Zina Kolmogorova, who loved life so much, the romantic, dreaming of love Luda Dubinina, the foppish handsome Kolya Thibault, the fragile Georgy Krivonischenko with the soul of a musician, the faithful comrade Sasha Kolevatov, the mischievous home boy Rustem Slobodin, sharp, strong, with his own concepts of justice, Yuri Doroshenko. It's a pity for a talented radio engineer, but a naive and narrow-minded person and a useless leader of the ambitious campaign Igor Dyatlov. It is a pity for the well-deserved front-line soldier, scout Semyon Zolotarev, who did not find the right ways for the campaign to go as he probably wanted, as best as possible.

In principle, we agree with the conclusions of the investigation that "the group encountered natural forces, which they were unable to overcome." Only we believe that these natural forces were not external, but internal. Some could not cope with their ambitions, Zolotarev did not make a psychological allowance for the young age of the participants in the campaign and its leader. And, of course, a huge role was played by the violation of the "dry law" during the campaign, which, obviously, officially acted among the students of the UPI.

We believe that the investigation eventually came to a version close to that voiced by us. This is indicated by the fact that Semyon Zolotarev was buried separately from the main group of Dyatlovites. But, publicly voicing this version in 1959, the authorities considered it undesirable for political reasons. So, according to the memoirs of investigator Ivanov, “in the Urals, probably, there will not be a person who did not talk about this tragedy in those days” (see the book “Dyatlov Pass”, p. 247). Therefore, the investigation limited itself to the abstract formulation of the cause of the death of the group given above. Moreover, we believe that the materials of the Case contain indirect confirmation of the version of the presence of a combat grenade or grenades from one of the participants in the campaign. So in the Acts of Doctor Vozrozhdenny it is said that multiple fractures of the ribs of Zolotarev and Dubinina could result from the action of an air shock wave, which is precisely what the grenade explosion generates. In addition, the forensic prosecutor Ivanov, who conducted the investigation, as we have already written about this, spoke about the “under-investigation” of some piece of iron found. Most likely we are talking about Zolotarev's grenade, which could be anywhere, from a tent to a ravine. It is obvious that the people who conducted the investigation exchanged information and, perhaps, the “grenade” version also reached Dr. Vozrozhdenny.

We also found direct evidence that already in early March, that is, in the initial phase of the search, the version of the explosion was considered. So investigator Ivanov writes in his memoirs: “There were no traces of an explosion wave. Maslennikov and I carefully considered this ”(see in the book “Dyatlov Pass”, article by Ivanov L.N. “Memories from the Family Archive”, p. 255).

This means that there were grounds for searching for traces of the explosion, that is, it is possible that the grenade was nevertheless found by sappers. Since in the memoirs we are talking about Maslennikov, this determines the time - the beginning of March, so later Maslennikov departed for Sverdlovsk.

This evidence is very significant, especially if we remember that at that time the “Mansi version” was the main one, that is, that local Mansi residents were involved in the tragedy. The Mansi version completely collapsed by the end of March 1959.

The fact that by the time the bodies of the last four tourists were discovered in early May, the investigation had come to certain conclusions, is evidenced by the complete indifference of prosecutor Ivanov, who was present when the bodies were dug up. The head of the last group of search engines Askinadzi speaks about this in his memoirs. So, most likely, the grenade was found not near the cave, but somewhere on the stretch from the tent to the cedar in February-March, when a group of sappers with mine detectors worked there. That is, by May, by the time the bodies of the last four dead were discovered, everything was already more or less clear to the forensic prosecutor Ivanov, who was conducting the investigation.

Obviously, this tragic incident should serve as a lesson for tourists of all generations. And for this, the activities of the Dyatlov Foundation, as we believe, should be continued.

Fireball add-on

The monster is oblo, mischievous, huge, staring and barking.

It is not by chance that we cited this epigraph from the wonderful story of the educator A.N. Radishchev Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow. This epigraph is about the state. So how was the "evil" Soviet state 1959, and how did it "bark" at tourists?

That's how. Organized a tourist section at the institute, where everyone studied for free and received a scholarship. Then such an "evil" one allocated money in the amount of 1,300 rubles for the trip of his students, gave them the most expensive equipment for the duration of the trip - a tent, skis, boots, windbreakers, sweaters. Helped with the planning of the trip, the development of the route. And even issued a paid business trip to the leader of the campaign, Igor Dyatlov. The height of cynicism in our opinion. This is how our country, in which we all grew up, “barked” at tourists.

When it became clear that something unforeseen had happened to the students, they immediately organized an expensive and well-organized rescue and search operation involving aviation, military personnel, athletes, other tourists, as well as the local Mansi population, who showed their best side.

What about the famous fireballs? Which tourists were allegedly so afraid of that they barricaded the entrance to the tent, and then cut it open in order to urgently get out of it?

We also found the answer to this question.

Finding this answer helped us a lot with the images that a group of researchers from Yekaterinburg obtained by processing the film from the camera of Semyon Zolotarev with the help of a unique technique. Recognizing the significant importance of this work, we wish to draw attention to the following easily verifiable and obvious facts.

It is enough just to rotate the resulting images to see that they do not depict mythical "fireballs" at all, but real and understandable stories. So, if you rotate one of the images from the book “Dyatlov Pass” and called “Mushroom” by the authors by 180 degrees, then we can easily see the dead face of one of the Dyatlovites found last, namely Alexander Kolevatov. It was he who, according to eyewitnesses, was found with his tongue hanging out, which is easily "read" in the photo. From this fact, it is obvious that the film of Zolotarev, after the frames he shot on the campaign, was filmed by a group of search engines Askinadzi.

ill. 3. "Mysterious" photo No. 7 - Kolevatov's face

Photos 6 and 7 are given in the article by Valentin Yakimenko “Tapes of the Dyatlovites”: Searches, finds and new mysteries” in the book “Dyatlov Pass”, p.424. From there, the numbering of the pictures. This position is additionally proved, this frame is called by the authors "Lynx".

Let's rotate it 90 degrees clockwise. In the center of the frame, the face of a man from the Askinaji search group is clearly visible. Here is a photo from his archive.

ill. 4. Asktinadzi group

By this point, people already knew where the bodies were and made a special “pictured” dam to hold them in the event of a flash flood. A snapshot of late April - early May 1959.

ill. 5. "Mysterious" photo No. 6 (object "Lynx" in the terminology of Yakimenko)
and an enlarged image of the search engine

We see in the center of the frame from Zolotarev's film a man from Askinadzi's group. We think that this person is not accidentally in the center of the frame. Perhaps it was he who played the key, main, central role in the search - he figured out where the bodies of the last Dyatlovites were located. This is also evidenced by the fact that he feels like a winner in the group picture of the search engines and is located above all.

We believe that all the other pictures given in Yakimenko's article have a similar, purely earthly origin.

So, thanks to the joint efforts of specialists from Yekaterinburg, primarily Valentin Yakimenko, and ours, the mystery of the "fireballs" was resolved by itself. She just never existed. As well as the "fireballs" themselves in the vicinity of Mount Otorten on the night of February 1-2, 1959.

Sources

1. The book edited by Yuri Kuntsevich “Dyatlov Pass. Research and materials”, Yekaterinburg, 2016.

Everyone knows this story. Fifty years ago, a group of tourists, young students of UPI, consisting of seven guys and two girls, went on a hike. There was nothing remarkable about the trip. Only on the appointed day, the students did not return home. Their camp in the mountains was found empty. It was evident that the frightened people from the inside cut open the tent to jump out.

Then they found corpses - some had broken ribs, and one of the participants in the campaign did not have a lower jaw. Several people, left without clothes and shelter, fled further into the forest. For some time they tried to warm themselves by a frozen fire, and then they still froze to death. The search for the cause of the disaster, the research of both Russian and foreign groups did not give any result.

As it turned out, the old tale for a long time excited the minds of not only Russians, but also Americans. The father of "Die Hard" found the story worthy of a film adaptation, quickly sketching out the script. Well, we turned for a review to the head of the Dyatlov Group Memory Foundation, Yuri Kuntsevich, who over the years managed to study every stone on the pass and find more than 60 causes of the disaster.

As expected, Yuri and the Fonda went to cinemas on the premiere day, February 28, to deliver their verdict: a little artistic nonsense, filmed according to classic American standards, with jokes below the belt and sex, which tries to hint at all versions of the disaster at once. Why? Let's consider in detail.

The Russian-American film begins with our Innokenty Sheremet. The title video imitates the Vesti 24 channel, which tells about the secret of the pass. It also contains shots from the room with the archives of the real fund "In Memory of the Dyatlov Group", in which we talked with Kuntsevich. True, they say, the Americans were not at all interested in this. We looked and asked a few very general issues.

Renny Harlin is sure that the Dyatlov campaign could look like this if it took place in our time. Kuntsevich assures that no - they say that even today's young people have a slightly higher level of development. And the one who decided to take it off has never seen a real hike in which the main goal is not to freeze, and not to have sex. Indeed, every second dialogue of the Americans rolls below the waist (and one of the expedition members gives the main character a dildo carved from wood).

Of course, not without Russian stamps. In the village of Izhai, it turns out that every second resident knows English, and the bartender in the local village club is happy to pour moonshine to students.

However, in the plot of the film there are many clues and references to existing versions of the death of the Dyatlovites, and a reference to the group. Three guys and a girl put on snowshoes (spectators at this moment, of course, are touched by the absence of hats on many participants) and set off along the route of the “same” group. After the first night they see bare footprints of people around the tents.

Yuri Kuntsevich, head of the Dyatlov Group Memory Foundation:

Indeed, there are several versions, according to which this place was a military training ground. And there were the so-called forest brothers - a fugitive military group that we inherited from the Baltic states. The prisoner version just recently came from Israel. We received a letter from a man who is already 80 years old, he says that he was the tenth in the group. He remembers how he walked and ate chocolate (indeed, chocolate was never found among the bodies, although it was known that they had it). So, the author of the letter claims that the damaging factors suffered by the prisoners fell on the group.

The American participants now and then recall facts about a group of Russian students. Much of this is true. In the evening, looking at the sunset, one of the guys says that a few days before the death of the group, yellow lights were seen in the sky. When a group gets into an emergency situation, they themselves launch a flare. There is also a grain of truth in this.

Yuri Kuntsevich:

Holly and her friend go on reconnaissance - explore the area. A simple Geiger counter shows the presence of radiation. The guy recalls that one of the members of the Dyatlov expedition also had traces of radiation on his body.

Yuri Kuntsevich:

Curiously, some plot scenes also echo reality - in addition to the campaign, American students are trying to establish personal relationships.

Yuri Kuntsevich:

Horror for Holly and the group begins that very night, on that very pass. At dawn, the expedition members hear distant explosions and a terrible noise. Undressed, they hardly run out of the tents and run down towards the forest. An avalanche descends on the camp, which is considered one of the most popular versions of the death of the Dyatlovites. For years, people have been looking for the reason that made people leave the warm tent and sleeping bags in fear before they had time to get dressed. Something scared them.

Yuri Kuntsevich:

After the avalanche, only three men remain in Holly's group, one of them is injured - a broken ankle.

Yuri Kuntsevich:

However, before a group of Americans die of cold and hunger, military men with weapons appear on the horizon and try to kill the group. Yes, military base- this is also a fairly popular version of the death of students. Experts believe that it was chosen because the foreigners really wanted to focus on the Russian military. Be that as it may, the Americans, frightened by the military, decide to seek salvation in the bunker that Holly and her operator friend found the day before.

Yuri Kuntsevich:

The film resonates with reality: we do have evidence in the archives about underground bunkers in the area of ​​the pass. They are already calling us from abroad, saying: “We are no longer yours and we can say: there are points in the mountains where we served.” Moreover, taking advantage of the fact that the Ural Mountains are quite high, tunnels were laid there with shields. Maybe for a strategic purpose. Exactly the same bunkers are found in Tomsk, in the Altai Territory. They can be used as bunkers for the production of weapons or food storage.

Well, then director Renny Harlin gives his version of the development of events, it can rather be classified as completely fantastic - scientists do not seriously consider it. Only the last minutes of the film reveal the intrigue, so it’s pointless to tell in detail, otherwise you won’t get a drop of pleasure from watching.

Yuri Kuntsevich:

So what really happened at the Dyatlov Pass?

We asked this question to our specialist, offering to choose one of the 60 versions that is closest to him. The choice of Yuri Kuntsevich fell on the man-made version, and here's why. Firstly, the people who found the expedition did not manage to blame everything on the animals. There was not a single trace around the camp. The place was calm, open, safe. Injuries also speak for the man-made version - fractures of the skull, ribs. In addition, there are eyewitness accounts. Some of those who served in the Urals at the time talk about military exercises planned for that day for pilots who were preparing to drop a nuclear projectile. When a nuclear warhead without a charge is dropped down, it flies on a parachute, and in order to see where it has fallen, a luminous projectile - a marker - lights up on it. This substance burns and thereby supports the canopy of the parachute with hot air jets. During the fall of the rocket, the plane flies to a safe distance.

Yuri Kuntsevich:

I saw a picture from the search of the group: on it there is a helicopter next to the pass, and next to it is a flag. Military red. Well, they didn’t carry such Dyatlovites with them, right?

According to Kuntsevich, it could be like this: a bomb is falling. Several people are injured, the rest are still alive. A group of military men flies to the place and reports to the center that there are civilians at the site of the missile's fall. And then - think for yourself, keeping in mind that the investigation was conducted in order to close it, and not to find the truth. There is another interesting inconsistency. The death happened on February 1-2, the criminal case was opened four days later, on the sixth. And the bodies were found only on the 28th. The first investigator Korotaev was removed from the case - the secretary of the Ivdel party made a "suggestion" to him, saying pointedly: "What do you understand about this."

Verdict

The film by Renny Harlin is frankly weak, looking at him, doubts torment: did this person shoot the second “nut”? The acting is completely unimaginative. The Russians in the film are all lovers of moonshine. True, there are no stupid mistakes in the film, but the joint Russian-American production still affects. If you are a fan of this mystery, this movie is a must see. True, you will never see real pictures from the legendary pass.

We thank KKT Cosmos for the invitation to the premiere show. Tickets can be booked by calling 253–88–27 or on the website kosmos-e.ru.

On January 12, a special investigative-operational group of employees of the TFR, police and rescuers went to the infamous Dyatlov Pass in the Northern Urals. On January 8, a group of tourists killed a 50-year-old man in a tent near the place where nine skiers from the Dyatlov group died under mysterious circumstances in February 1959. Yury Kuntsevich, head of the Dyatlov Group Memory Foundation and one of the leaders of the boy scout movement in the Urals, shared his versions of the recent incident and events half a century ago with Lenta.ru.

"Lenta.ru": Who and why went on a winter hike in the Northern Urals alone? Or is it necessary to look for his comrades next to the deceased?

A frame from the film "The Death of the Dyatlov Group" (from the series "Dark Matter")

I think it might have been some scorcher on a snowmobile. The equipment failed, and the man was trapped in the snow. A tourist who has skis and appropriate equipment will not die like that. And there are a lot of cheaters. They act alone, relying on the power of technology. Ride around the suburbs on weekends. They dream of defeating everyone.

A snowmobile expedition will start soon, the participants of which plan to reach the Arctic Ocean by passing through the Dyatlov Pass. Could it be one of the organizers?

No. This project is being carried out by an experienced tourist and a connoisseur of technology Konstantin Kuznetsov. But he will wait until March, when the snow settles. Now snowmobiles get stuck in loose snow. He knows it and wouldn't risk it.

And what are the weather conditions at the pass now?

At the top, on the pass itself, the snow is quite dense. You can go without skis. But there the wind is 30 meters per second. Very difficult conditions. You need to have special shoes, ice axes. In this case, ours would immediately go down into the forest and sit there. There is a lot of snow, no wind. A fire would be lit, the stove would be lit. Dried out. Ours do not have such a hatred to go through at all costs and conquer ...

Does the weather change quickly there?

Literally in an hour. The wind picks up and visibility is lost. Ground is coming. She cuts the face, open areas of the body freeze instantly. You need special equipment. Thoughtful. The same masks that warm the breath. Freeze mass. A dead person seems to have none of these.

What do you know about the group that found the frozen tourist? Do you need to worry about them?

The guys from this group told me about the upcoming expedition. They are from Perm - the Meridian club, it seems. These are serious people, not some teenagers. They have a well-coordinated team, good training. You don't have to worry about them. By the way, my group was already at the pass in early January, and everyone returned safely.

The tourists themselves could not take the body out of the pass?

They will not touch him, because everyone knows that this can only be done after the investigation team has examined the scene of the incident. Otherwise, you can screw up, as happened in the case of members of the Dyatlov expedition in 1959, when 30 search engines came to the place of their death and trampled everything there.

Are there many tourists striving for the ill-fated pass?

Lots of. Recently there were groups from Ufa, Chelyabinsk, three from Yekaterinburg at once. In February, students from the Ural Federal University will go there, their vacations will begin.

In other words, the path leads there wide.

Yes, thanks to Kuznetsov. From Ushma, he broke a good ski track there with snowmobiles, our tourists no longer need to plow their way in deep snow, as the Dyatlovites did in 1959. But they will go up only in clear weather.

Ski tracks for modern tourists are laid by snowmobiles. In the 1950s, things were different.

In a few weeks, the Ural Federal University will host a conference dedicated to the investigation into the death of the Dyatlov expedition in 1959. Can anything new be expected?

Participants will present who found what, dug up this year, put together some puzzles. A collection of a thousand pages with the results of a criminal investigation is being prepared for publication. objective versions. Without any mysticism. A certain conclusion from what has been read suggests itself, but this is up to the readers.

Yevgeny Buyanov's version that the Dyatlov group died under an avalanche may soon become official. At least, it was to him that the ICR handed over the materials of the criminal case.

Many have a desire to close the "case of the Dyatlov Pass" - to hush it up, put it in the archive. Evgeny Buyanova got stuck on an avalanche. He has never been there in winter, he has not seen real conditions (the slope angle, according to many experts, is insufficient for an avalanche to come down - approx. "Tapes.ru"). Now he is pulling up global geophysical processes to his version. There, solar activity already begins to take effect - as if in other years this activity did not exist. Doesn't listen to opponents at all. At the conference on February 2, Buyanov's representatives will announce his conclusions.

In your opinion, is there a real opportunity to shed light on the circumstances of that tragedy, or are there only speculations now?

We are waiting for some documents from the secret archives to be opened. And in order to claim them, you need to resume the investigation. But if the Dyatlovites were removed as unnecessary witnesses to nuclear tests, it is clear that there is no reason to tell the relevant state structures about this.

Do you still stick to this version?

The final factor influencing tragic fate expedition Dyatlov, really became a banal cold. But before that, they were crippled. The picture of the scene of the incident was staged by specialists under the version of an avalanche - the clothes were removed and so on. However, the only surviving member of the expedition, Yuri Yudin, who, due to a cold, did not go out with the others to the active part of the route, had no doubt that this was a crime.

In 1959, an international treaty banning nuclear testing was already in force. If his violation had been made public, there would have been a huge scandal. And we saw huge fields, 200 meters in diameter, round, right in the taiga, near the pass. Significant radioactive traces were found on the clothing of the Dyatlovites. There are other arguments in favor of this version.

The administration of the Russian Investigative Committee for the Sverdlovsk Region confirmed to Lente.ru that “taking into account the distance and the need to conduct search activities and inspect the scene, the return to the city of Ivdel is planned in a few days, approximately up to three days.”

The pass was named in honor of Igor Dyatlov, the leader of the expedition who planned to climb to the height of 1079 in the Subpolar Urals. On the night of February 1-2, 1959, on the nameless pass, Dyatlov and eight members of his group died under unclear circumstances. People were found frozen, with multiple bodily injuries, without outerwear and shoes. Over the years, dozens of versions of what happened have appeared, up to completely fantastic ones - for example, an attack by a Bigfoot and a meeting with aliens.

On February 8, an interesting and unusual event took place at the Novouralsk Public Library - a meeting with the chairman of the public fund "In Memory of the Dyatlov Group" Yuri Konstantinovich Kuntsevich.
Of course, the topic is already worn out and, perhaps, fed up with someone, but it was very interesting to meet live with a person who has been dealing with the secret death of the Dyatlovites for many years. I will not talk here about the death of tourists, but simply present the information that Yury Kuntsevich shared with us.
Yury Kuntsevich (right) with Novouralsk local historians and tourists

Yu. Kuntsevich relates his first memories related to the Dyatlovites to their funeral. He was 12 years old and lived near a cemetery where tourists were buried. Curiosity led him to a place of congestion of a large number of people (and hundreds of people came to the funeral), and then he even managed to see those who were buried. And the first thing he noticed was that the skin of the tourists was brick-colored. Then, of course, Yuri did not even imagine that later he would devote all his free time to the search for truth. And in general, as Yu. Kuntsevich said, for him "truth is dearer than anything."
For the first time, the Dyatlovites were talked about intensely on the 30th anniversary of their death. no, of course, not for the first time, but before that this issue had not been resolved so deeply. And then, in 1989, when there was perestroika and glasnost, they decided to hold the first conference dedicated to the mystery of the death of the Dyatlov group. It was then that the versions fell down one after another, and one another was "more beautiful".
To date, more than 20 books and a huge number of articles have been written on this topic. By the way, I really liked Anna Matveeva's book "Dyatlov Pass", in which she considers different versions from a documentary point of view, but, being a fiction writer, she still brings artistry to the text.
Naturally, Yuri Konstantinovich was asked the main question, what version does he himself adhere to. But... No response was received. It turns out that in order to achieve the goal and find out which version is the only true one, it is necessary to "dig through" many more documents. For this, by the way, the fund was created. To have access to documents. If a person acts as a private person, walks through archives and offices, then he is denied access to documents. And if there is an official organization that has a legal address, a chairman, a seal, etc., then it is easier to get information.
It cannot be said that the documents simply float into the hands of search engines. In fact, they have to be literally torn out of each archive. And if we take into account that a considerable part of the information is classified as "secret", then no one is allowed to access such documents.
Many documents are in the FSB, which, while still being the KGB, dealt with the death of a group of tourists. And here the snag is that you need to appoint an investigator who would deal with this case and provide information to the fund. They do not feel sorry, but what kind of investigator will deal with this? ..
Yuri Kuntsevich complained about another difficulty in obtaining information about the Dyatlovites. Many of the documents associated with this shady business have lost numbers. That is, there is a document, but the number in the corner is somehow strangely erased. Search engines request a document. It is in the database, but they cannot find it in the archival fund. So researchers have to collect information literally bit by bit.
For these reasons, Yuri Konstantinovich did not reveal to us the secret of which version he himself adheres to. Moreover, when he was asked questions about specific versions, he answered everything unambiguously: "Yes, this could be." It seemed to me that Yu. Kuntsevich simply did not want to reveal his version until the truth was found. Maybe it's true...
Such information seemed interesting. It is known that the bodies of the Dyatlovites were found quite far from the tent, but they all died next to the tent. The proof is the fact that one of the tourists severely sprained his leg (there is a photograph where Zina Kolmogorova is bandaging the wounded man's leg) and definitely could not go further than the tent. The tent was pitched precisely because of this accident. They wanted to leave the wounded man with someone from the group, and then go to Otorten in a reduced composition. But it didn't work out...
They also recalled at the meeting the version of missile testing. Indeed, in the late 50s of the twentieth century, rockets were tested in the USSR in large numbers, and it is quite possible that tourists ended up in the place where the rocket (or part of it) fell. As you know, in this version there is an explanation of why the Dyatlovites are so far from the tent: they were "pulled away" by the so-called mopping up group, which came to the place where the rocket fell to collect its remains, but found dead people. But, once again, there are many versions, and none of them has been proven one hundred percent.
At the meeting, everyone present was shown documentary about the Dyatlov group, as well as about the last conference, where each of the speakers either presented his version or told about new documents found. And there are still oh so many of them - secret, undisclosed. Perhaps at least one of them will someday shed at least a little light on this mystery of the twentieth century.

The Dyatlov Group Memory Foundation every year leads everyone on an expedition to the famous pass. According to Yuri Konstantinovich, even children of 12 years old go on a hike, it is so safe. This year, a group of amateur tourists will go to the Dyatlov Pass led by Kuntsevich on August 1. The route is something like this: to Ivdel by train, then by bus, then on foot to the pass. It costs about 7-8 thousand rubles, of which the fund does not take a penny for itself. This amount includes travel and food for 12-14 days. And the trip itself is free, because it is really important for Yuri Kuntsevich and the rest of the fund's employees that as many people as possible know the history of the Dyatlov Group.
Interestingly, every year the fund's employees bring something unusual from the expedition. Either they found an aluminum bowler hat of tourists from the Dyatlov group, or a fragment of a rocket. The fund has accumulated a lot of items related to the Dyatlovites. You can already make a museum, but so far there is no such possibility. Y. Kuntsevich already gave half of his apartment to the public fund.
Finally, I will tell the story that Yuri Konstantinovich told us. Once an unusual boy went with them to the pass. His unusualness was that he was a Negro. Mom is Russian, dad is African. The boy is black. It was quite warm, and the boy ran around in his shorts. Moreover, apparently, African blood leaped from him, because he made himself a bow and arrows. One day, local residents saw him and from afar, from the bushes, they mistook him for a bear. What was their surprise when an almost naked Negro with a bow in his hands jumped right at them (in the Northern Urals!)!

A tourist group led by Igor Dyatlov, all nine members of which died on the night of February 1-2, 1959 in the vicinity of Mount Otorten in the Northern Urals under unclear circumstances, could carry out a special task of the USSR State Security Committee. About it NSN told head of the public fund "In memory of the Dyatlov group" Yuri Kuntsevich.

According to the interlocutor of NSN, a former KGB officer contacted him and said that two members of the Dyatlov group were in the service of the committee. However, he refused to disclose his first and last name.

“He says that the Dyatlov tour group was an escort group, and there were two KGB agents in it. One of them is Zolotarev, the second is someone whose last name begins with "k" - Krivonischenko or Kolevatov, ”said Kuntsevich.

Alexander Kolevatov

Yuri Krivonischenko

According to Kuntsevich, at that time, each tourist group sought to get some kind of task, "so as not to go idly."

“And the Dyatlov group is no exception. They took the task, but where and what - one can only guess. They had 10 cameras with them, while only four films are in public access, and six more are not known where. On January 30, they went to the pass, then returned to the forest, spent the night there, and the next day, leaving food and excess equipment, they went to the pass. They had firewood for two or three hours of stove operation, but they took with them several hundred meters of film in a large cassette. Everyone had a diary, but only three of them are available,” says Kuntsevich.

Semyon Zolotarev (in the foreground)

According to Kuntsevich, while on the pass, the Dyatlov group was performing some kind of task using their cameras. Perhaps the members of the group were supposed to observe and capture on film some kind of phenomenon, the nature of which is unknown.

“Now all archives are closed, and access to them will be available only when investigative actions are resumed. Now we are trying to achieve this. If it succeeds, then all that remains is to wait - the rest will be done by specialists. But there is no reason to resume these actions, to raise materials, ”explains Kuntsevich.
New data on the connection of tourists with the KGB will be included in the almanac, which the Dyatlov Group Memory Foundation will publish in early September.

The pass was named in honor of Igor Dyatlov, the leader of the expedition who planned to climb to the height of 1079 in the Subpolar Urals. On February 1, 1959, the group equipped a storehouse in the valley of the Auspiya River - a warehouse for things and parts of products that would not be needed when climbing Mount Otorten. After that, the Dyatlovites climbed the slope of Mount Holatchakhl and decided to stay there for the night, setting up a tent. Something forced everyone in the tent to leave in a hurry, cutting it from the inside. As a result, all nine people died from frostbite and mysterious injuries.

Their corpses were discovered only on March 5. The investigation into the case of the Dyatlov group lasted three months, but could not establish why the tourists left the tent. The event that prompted the Dyatlov group to leave their only shelter could be an avalanche or a pile of snow. None of these versions appeared convincing enough to the official investigation. “The cause of their death was an elemental force, which people were not able to overcome,” the decision to dismiss the criminal case says.

Among other things, among the reasons that forced the Dyatlovites to leave the tent, conspiracy theorists name the testing of secret weapons in this region, as well as attacks on a group of representatives of the local population (Mansi), poachers and foreign intelligence agents.