Servus zusammen,
wie ich KaiMailLeon schon geschrieben habe, liegt meine intensive Beschäftigung mit dem Thema schon zurück. Werde gleich mal den Artikel lesen.
Hier mal die Textdatei, die ich beim Lesen der Akte angelegt habe. Da habe ich Zeugenaussagen rauskopiert und thematisch gegliedert:
Zelt- Camp site is located on the northeast slope of mountain 1079 (Kholat Syakhl - ed.) at the source of Auspiya river. Camp site site is located 300 meters from the top of the mountain 1079 on a slope of 30°.
- On the second day we found the tent of the tourists which was located in the upper reaches of rivers Auspiya and Lozva at the height of the mountain verhuspiya. It was badly drifted by snow. We did not go inside. We couldn't see any ski tracks of the tourists around the tent. Mansi ski tracks we have seen 10 km from where the tent of the of the tourists was found. One kilometer from the camping site of the tourists we found new Mansi stand. (Cheglakov)
- As a result of the search we found a tent with belongings that was not clearly seen since it was covered with snow, we did not go into the tent. The Mansi ski trail was 10 km from the tent of the tourists and there were no ski tracks near the tent, Mansi or toursits, since the tent was drifted with snow. (Popov)
- Camp site consists of a pad of flattened snow, on the bottom are stacked 8 pairs of skis (for tent support and insulation, red). Tent is stretched on ski poles and fixed with ropes, at the bottom of the tent 9 backpacks were discovered with various personal items, jackets, rain coats, 9 pairs of shoes. There were also found men's pants, and three pairs of boots, warm fur coats, socks, hat, ski caps, utensils, buckets, stove, ax, saw, blankets, food: biscuits in two bags, condensed milk, sugar, concentrates, notebooks, itinerary and many other small items and documents, camera and accessories to a camera.
- The tent was found on the slope of the peak "1079", 100-150 m north-east from the top. At first glance, the tent seemed snowbound, but when we looked at it closer, we saw that the tent entrance was supported by the central peg and was well fortified with ropes. The other edge were also kept at their poles, but because the middle of the tent was piled up with snow, and the slopes of the tents on the windward side were severely damaged, the edge had fallen and was under the snow. It was impossible to get into the tent, as all of it was covered with snow, and the layout of the items inside was revealed only after digging it up. The tent was set properly. The snow was trampled, on the snow were lying the skis with their sliding surface up, on top of them was the floor of the tent. At the very bottom of the tent were laid jackets (on the side of the slope), empty backpacks were spread on the bottom. At the same side of the tent (the slope) each lay their personal belongings. In the right side of the entrance were found the products: cans with condensed milk, concentrates, etc. along the tent on the side of the slope were 8 pairs of shoes, and 7 pairs of felt boots (valenki). The stove was located approximately in the middle of the tent in a disassembled state in its case. Almost all personal belongings of tourists and university equipment: bucket, axes, mugs, bowls. Whose backpack was lying where I couldn't tell, comrades, who knew them called the owners of things, but I wasn't familiar. At the top of the tent allegedly was lying Chinese flashlight, and a camera, but I didn't see it. On examination, the impression was that the tourists left the tent orderly. (Chernyshov)
- There were no other tracks or objects on this site, except for a roll of film about 15 m below the tent, which rolled out from there during the preliminary inspection of the tent the day before. This was untouched except for one backpack in which small things were gathered around the tent. They did not make a detailed inspection of the tent, because they explained that they were afraid to see their comrades in it. The tent stood sideways to the slope by the entrance to the east, the entrance was unbuttoned but piled in half with buckets, stove and backpacks, so that at first there was an impression that people tried to barricade the entrance by stacking the corner of the tent with a load so that it will not be torn by the wind. The tent was laid on skis, straps were tied to ski poles, and most of them were not damaged. On the slope of the tent we found a flashlight, and a little ice-ax was thrown a little lower, there was a pair of skis stuck in the snow, the windy (north) side of the tent was torn and some blankets and a quilted jacket were protruding out. The other side of the tent was heaped with bulging snow and lay on the bottom of the tent, overlaying all the contents in it. Before we started the search we decided to check if there was anyone left in the tent. Snow was removed, the fallen side of the tent was raised, and we carefully removed the blankets and quilted jackets. There were no people in the tent. Inspected the contents. The bottom of the tent lay on skis, then quilted jackets, backpacks, gaiters and other small equipment. Towards the heads on the south side were felt boots and boots, in the far right corner we found a field bag with the documents of the group, a box of films and money, a camera and a few small objects, everything was packed in a backpack, except for the diary and documents sent to the base camp. To continue the further dismantling of the things there was no point, and so they packed everything into place before the investigator arrived, after raising the tent and pulling out three pairs of skis, because dog guides went on foot, and the rest of the skis were used by us to mark the places where the bodies of the dead were found. There were no traces around the tent, because digging around the tent we threw a lot of snow, which was subsequently carried away by the wind, destroying all traces. Abandoned flashlight and traces of urine at the tent suggested that someone had gone outside at night, was stormed by the wind and carried away and that the others, hurrying to help, were also charged down the mountain by the bad weather. However, later going up to the place where the tent stood we were convinced that with any wind you can stay on the slope and go back. (Atmanaki)
- The tent of Dyatlov's group was discovered by our group on the afternoon of February 26, 1959. When they approached the tent, they found out: the entrance of the tent came from under the snow, and the rest of the tent was under snow. Around the tent in the snow stood ski poles and spare skis - 1 pair. The snow on the tent was 15-20 cm thick, it was clear that the snow was on the tent, it was hard. Near the tent near the entrance to the snow an ice ax was stuck, on the canvas of the tent, in the snow lay a pocket flashlight, a Chinese make, which, as it was subsequently established, belonged to Dyatlov. It was strange that while there was a layer of snow let say 5-10 cm thick under the flashlight, there was snow on top of it, and it was snowed slightly on either side. I took the flashlight first and found that it was not turned on. When I turned on, the snow came on. I did not notice that day, but then I heard from other people involved in the search that there was a trace of urine in the snow near the tent. In the immediate vicinity of the tent there were no traces. Approximately 15-20 m from the tent in the direction where corpses were subsequently discovered, traces of the person's feet coming from the tent were visible on the snow, and it was evident that the tracks were left by the feet of a man without shoes in boots. The tracks protruded above the surrounding surface of the snow, for near the tracks the snow was blown out by the wind. From the tent in the direction of the wind, i.e. in the direction where there were traces of people's feet, at a distance of about 0.5-1 meter, they found several slippers from different pairs, and ski caps and other small objects were scattered. I do not remember and did not pay attention to how many people were traces, but it should be noted that the tracks were initially left intact, next to each other, and the distant traces diverged, but now they do not remember how they parted. On February 26, 1959, we dug snow over the tent and made sure that there were no people, and the things that were in the tent did not touch. With me was the student Sharavin. From the tent things were taken on February 27 and 28, 1959. At the same time students Brusnitsin and others were present. When I looked under the tent on 26.2.59 I saw the tent itself was torn, there were food in the bucket at the entrance, there was a liquid in the jar-alcohol or vodka, there were food in the bags in the legs, the blankets were unfolded, under the blankets spread out cotton woolen jackets, storm bags, and under them rasstalany were backpacks. At the entrance hung Slobodin's jacket, in whose breast pocket money was about 800 rubles. In the tent, apparently, a sheet was hung, which was torn and part of it protruded outward. (Slobtsov)
- The tent is made of thick cotton fabric of protective color. The total length of the tent /by the top seam/ is 4m.33 cm, the length of the side is 1 m. 14 cm, the total width is about 2 m. The height of the tent depends on its installation. (Expertise)
- From the left end of the tent there is a hole that serves as an entrance. This hole is formed by two non-sewn halves of the fabric and from the inside is creped with a white sheet. From the right end there is a small round hole sewn in the form of a sleeve and intended for ventilation. From the side edges on the tent attached loops with twine, serving to strengthen it. There is no twine at the end of the right skate. The tent is worn down. When inspecting the tent, it is established that on its surface there are numerous damages, especially on the right slant of the canopy forming the roof /see scheme №1/. With a careful examination of these damages, it is established that some of them /and in particular conditionally marked damages №1,2,3/ have a completely different nature compared to all the other damages that are on the tent. The edges of these three lesions have even, not elongated ends of the threads, are damaged at different angles, breaking both the weft threads and the warp threads. As a result of the foregoing, and when examining the edges of all the damages on the tent, one can conclude that three damages /conditionally marked № 1, 2, 3 / came as a result of contact with some sharp weapon /knife/, i.e. are cuts. Yet the rest of the damage is a tear. Damage # 1 is shaped in the form of a broken straight line, its total length is 32 cm. Above it there is a small puncture of the tissue in 2 cm. The corners of the hole are torn. /see photo №4 /. Damage # 2 and 3 have a non-uniform arcuate shape. The approximate length of these lesions is 89 cm and 42 cm. from the right edge of damage # 2 and from both edges of damage # 3 there are no cloth flaps and it is possible that they had their continuation further. In order to determine from which side the indicated cuts were made (from the inner one - from the tent or from the outside), a thorough microscopic examination of the edges of the cuts of the adjacent tissue sections was made / zoom level from 0.6 to 56X / . As a result of the conducted studies it was found that from the inside of the tent in the areas of the cuts close to the edges there are surface damages of the fabric in the form of minor punctures, incisions of the fabric threads and very thin scratches. /see photo № 5-13 /. All scratches and punctures are rectilinear. Scratches are observed in the surface damage of the filaments: the filaments are either cut in half / see photo № 10 /, or with them the dye is simply scratched off and not the colored parts are visible / see photo № 5, 6, 11 /. At the corners of the punctures, on the inside of the tent / unlike the outer tent, there are, as it were, continuations of damage, which are expressed in the form of thin scratches. /see photo № 8, 9 /. The nature and shape of all these injuries indicate that they were formed from the contact of the fabric of the inner side of the tent with the blade of some weapon /knife/. All of the above indicates that the existing incisions are made from the inside, from the tent. In the camping tent of Dyatlov group on the right slant of the canopy forming the roof, three damages of approximately 32, 89, and 42 cm in length /conditionally numbered 1, 2, 3 / are made with some sharp weapon /knife/ i.e. are cuts. All these cuts are done on the inside of the tent. (Expertise)
- Lozva in the vicinity of the mountain 1079 radiogram in which it was reported that on the eastern slope of the mountain with a mark of 1079 a tent of the group Dyatlov was discovered which was not inspected due to the beginning of a violent blizzard. I gave the order not to touch the discovered tent. (Ortyukov)
- On 28.02.59, in the presence of witnesses, I saw a tent of tourists, which was located from the ridge of the spur of height 1079 - 150 meters. Inspection of the tent showed me that there are all the personal belongings of the students. The tent was stretched on skis and sticks, mered in the snow, its entrance was turned to the south, and on this side the stretches were intact, and the stretches of the tent on the north side were torn off and the whole second half of the tent was covered with snow. The tent had an ice ax, an extra pair of skis. On the tent was a Chinese lantern in the unlit state. 9 backpacks, 9 pairs of skis were found in the tent, all of them were under the tent floor, 8 pairs of boots, 3.5 pairs of boots, quilted jackets and many biscuits, half a sack of sugar, a large number of concentrates, cereals, soups, etc. , cocoa, axes, saw, cameras, students diaries, documents and money. At first glance, the tent was covered with snow. It was installed on a platform leveled by the students dug out. A tent with a windy side was torn in the middle part. The bottom of the tent was covered with padded jackets, backpacks and personal belongings of students. In the right corner, near the entrance there was a part of the products: cans of condensed milk, 100 grams of sliced fat, biscuits, sugar, a flask empty from alcohol or vodka, the smell was felt, just like a jar with a drink (poured?) Cooked cocoa was diluted with water and naturally froze, a large knife was found near the fat of a sliced me I installed the knife belonged to the students. I got the impression that the students drank vodka and had a snack. Boots there were in the tent and put near the feet of the students so it seemed to me, immediately there were 7 pieces of felt boots. In the case in the middle of the tent a stove was found. And many other personal belongings of students and public equipment, there were buckets, axes, mugs, cups in the tent. At the top of the tent, a Chinese flashlight was found, which was closer to the entrance, near the exit from the tent I found a trace of the fact that one of the students had recovered easily. This track is old. Without me no one came to the tent and the tracks near the tent were not ours. I have not found any signs of struggle in the tent. If there was any struggle, it would be natural, something would be installed by me. From this point of view, I carefully searched and inspected the tent, but there were no signs of struggle, at least it did not say anything. The tent was located on the slope of the mountain. Descent from the tent is steep and on the nast (dense snow). The descent is 2.5 km. There is no forest on the slope of the mountain, except for rare birches closer to the river. This descent, where there are essentially frequent winds. (Tempalov)
- With sad news, Slobtsov and Sharavin returned. After traversing the trail of the woodpeckers for several kilometers, they further went their azimuth to the pass, dividing the valleys of Auspy and Lozvy, where, leaving the tired conductor, they went along the slope of the elevation to the black spot attracting their attention, which was torn and half-buried by Dyatlov's tent. From their words, only the front part of the tent was not spilled. Near the tent was lying (or rather stood) an ice ax, with which they tried to dig up the piled up part of the tent in the hope of finding someone there. They also found a cut of one slope of the tent. Since it was already late, they, having captured an ice pick, camera, diary (it seems, Slobodin), a Chinese flashlight and some. other things, which I do not remember exactly, returned with a guide to the place where they slept and told us about what they saw ("what happened" is crossed out). On the same day, this was reported on the radio to Ivdel (radio and radio operator arrived at the site of our parking on reindeer with the Mansiysk). The conductor with the dog, the Karelians and I and Sharavin went up to the tent. The tent was set up soundly and skillfully. On the slope of the mountain, covered with snow, obviously with skis, the platform was leveled. On it were postlan skis, runners up. A tent was put on skis with the help of ski poles. The bottom of the latter was covered with backpacks, of which food was laid, on the backpacks were laid storm suits, quilted jackets, last. blankets. On this day we decided not to disassemble things from the tent (the phrase is crossed out) The middle of the tent failed, the tent itself was torn, maybe our guys (Sharavin and Slobtsov) broke it, but on the slope that was turned down, there was a clear even cut, made in my knife. On that day, after dismantling a part of the tent, we packed all the things in a blanket and put them in a tent, in order to analyze the tent the next day in the presence of the prosecutor, who flew to the site of the incident on February 2. The next day, in the morning, in the presence of Comrade. Ivanova, all things from the tent were extracted. Things in the tent were many. Near the entrance to the tent, which seems to have been opened, in the cover lay a stove. The pipes of the latter were inside the stove, which indicates that the stove was not attempted to be diluted (crossed out), although behind the tent on the street at the rear end of the tent in the snow I found a log, undoubtedly intended for the stove. Inside the tent were found buckets, at the entrance lay an ax, it seems, 2, and saw in the covers. In the head (if you stand facing the entrance of the tent, then on the right side of it, which is lower on the slope) there were personal belongings of the deceased and food products (?) From backpacks. At the very end of the tent, things were discovered by Dyatlov (a field bag containing money, documents, diaries, a camera, etc. Then Slobodin and Kolevatov lay in my place, because there were their belongings. At the entrance to the tent lay either the duty officer or the manager that there were cut pieces of ham found here, and it seems that only one piece was eaten (there was a crust), in one of the mugs there were, in my opinion, the remains of oatmeal porridge, possibly the morning remains. "our guys broke up when, for the first time, an ice pick cleared In general, there were few products in the tent (five days at most), which convinced us that the woodpeckers had made a storage, which we later learned from the diary, it seems, was Dyatlov, and then found out by the crocs they composed. /> In the tent there were several pairs of felt boots, except for one pair of shoes, almost all the outer clothing. In the tent we found a ski stick from which the upper end was cut along the neat end cut and another incision was made. This suggests that apparently someone stayed in the tent much later than others, maybe for a day. Because the person from nothing to do will not cut the stick, which can still come in handy. In one place of the tent she was torn and then fastened with a pin. (Lebedev)
- After the prosecutor of Ivdel's protocoled the property of the group, it was ordered to me and M. Sharavin to collect things and transport them to the landing site of the helicopter.
The tent is set on the slope of height 1079. Entrance to the south. The steepness of the slope in this area approx. 20-25 °. Depth of snow up to 1.5 meters. A shallow pit is dug for the horizontal installation of the tent. Under the tent were laid 8 pairs of skis with their fasteners facing down. Thanks to the dense snow cover, the tent was installed very firmly. Everything is covered with already clammy snow, except for the southern edge, fortified on a ski pole and tied to a pair of skis. No stick was found under the northern edge there was no pole.
Snow was chosen with the help of skis and ski poles. Ten people worked without any system. In most cases things everything was pulled out directly from under the snow, so it's very difficult to determine where and how each thing was. First they took out several blankets, frozen in a ball, then buckets, a stove, 2-3 sacks of rusks, boots, etc. The things in the tent were arranged in the following order. At the bottom were laid rucksacks. Then 2-3 blankets. Next were the quilted jackets and personal belongings of the participants. Buckets, stove, ax, saw were lying at the entrance to the right. Here was part of the products: rusks, sugar, condensed milk, open bag with a loin. The rest of the products were in the far right corner. Most of the shoes lying were placed on the left side of the tent. Two pairs - right in the middle. The rest of the things were in disarray in the tent. Apparently the group was in the final stage of dressing and preparing for the night at the time of the incident. In the near to te entrance part of the tent were found a few crusts from the loin. There are rusks scattered all over the tent. On top of all things lay a ski pole cut into several pieces, on which, apparently, the northern end of the tent was stretched. Render a ski pole unusable, especially when the group didn't have a spare, is possible only under special circumstances. (Brusnitsyn)
- Inspection of the tent showed that it was set correctly and provided accommodation for the hikers. In the tent there were 2 blankets, backpacks, storm jackets and trousers. The rest of the blankets were crumpled and frozen. On the blanket were found several loin pieces. (Resolution)
- In one of the cameras the last frame shows the moment of excavation of snow for the installation of the tent. Considering that this frame was shot with an exposure of I/25 seconds, with a diaphragm of 5.6 at a film sensitivity of 65 Un. GOST, and taking into account the density of the frame, we can assume that the tourists started the installation of the tent around 5 pm 1.II.59. A similar picture was taken with another camera. (Resolution)
Wetter- During the last days of my trip there was strong wind with a snowfall in the forest and the roads were heaped up with snow and needed a thorough cleaning with bulldozers. When I went home, there was still strong wind and the temperature was colder than 30° below zero. I have lived here for 32 years and we have rarely had winds like this. (Dryahlyh)
- At the beginning of February 1959 there were strong winds in the village of Vizhay. The wind drifted the snow mass and heaped up on the open road although there was virtually no rainfall. I live in the village in Vizhay since 1951 and don't remember such winds like they were in the beginning of February 1959. (Popov)
-I believe that at this time when we were there was a strong wind and blown off the mountain. Around the time when tourists were killed even in the village of Vizhay was a strong wind and storm, from which the children were falling down. I am a hunter from an early age and I know these places well, and I remember that there were cases of strong winds when people got killed. I myself had to sit up strong winds for 6 days without food in the hollows expecting when the winds would calm down. (Pashin)
- I know well the Ural Mountains and the climate in the area since I often go there to hunt. It happened 3 times to me to have to sustain harsh environment in Ural Mountains and to wait for hurricane winds and strong snowstorms to die down. The strength of the wind could be such that in open places it can knock down a man, and blow him into low places. (Chagin)
- During the winter months in the Northern Urals, and also in the summer there are strong winds and even tornadoes. I happened to be there during these tornadoes, and one can only hide in the forest in low places. (Uvarov)
- There was confirmation of the original version that the group had made a base camp and leaving there all unnecessary weight went to the ascent the summit of height 1079. At this time a snowstorm began and they were scattered on the slope or simply thrown into the abyss. (Atmanaki)
- I have never been in the upper reaches of Lozva river and always hunted along the rivers Ivdel and Vizhay. In winter there are strong winds that make it impossible to go to the mountain. Even for us Mansi it can be dangerous to go to the maountains in winter. There are strong winds in the winter that can last for 10 days. (Bahtiyarov)
- he told me that long time ago a man had been blown off off a mountain. That it is dangerous to go to this mountain and warned us not to go there. I don't remember the name of that mountain. My father didn't tell me who was the man that got blown away. My father died 15 years ago. The mountain about which my father spoke is 40-30 km from our yurts in the upper reaches of the Vizhay river. (Bahtiyarov)
- Especially for two days there was a strong wind and snow. During a strong wind we were in the forest. Traces of tourists we saw all four Mansi. (Anyamov)
- During the hunt, there was good weather, but more bad, it was windy and cold. (Anyamov)
- in the night in which the unhappiness is supposed to have occurred, there was a terrible blizzard, (Lebedev)
Gegend- When I got acquainted with their route I expressed my opinion that in wintertime it is dangerous to go along the Ural ridge because there are large gorges, pits in which you can fall and besides there are strong winds raging, people have been hurt. I told them my concern because I know this area of the Ural range from the words of local resident, (Rempel)
- Pavel Bahtiyarov said to me that if the tourists perish, it must have happened on the other side of the Ural mountain range which is avalanche prone. (Krasnobaev)
- I often visited the Ural ridge but went close to that mountain. During the winter months in the Northern Urals, and also in the summer there are strong winds and even tornadoes. I happened to be there during these tornadoes, and one can only hide in the forest in low places. During tornadoes in the mountains there are different sounds that sound terrible and they can resemble howling beasts, moaning people, etc. If you are there, and you hear it could sound very creepy and scary, and people that haven't heard something like this before may become frightened. These sounds can happen because during the winds that in the mountains there are weathered rockes with cavities that cause these sounds. (Uvarov)
Mansi- The mountain where the tent and the dead bodies were found is not a Mansi sacred place. Mansi sacred places are very far from there. While Stepan Kurikov and other Mansi helped with the search their behavior was normal and they even regretted that what happened to the tourists was so bad. (Cheglakov)
- At one kilometer from the the tent of the tourists we found Mansi stand where they herded the deer but the tracks were fresher i.e. left after the death of the tourists because the tracks were more recent than the footprints around the tent of the tourists. The mountain where the tourists dies is not sacred for Mansi people and their places of worship are very far from there by Vizhay river. Mansi couldn't have attacked the tourists, on the contrary, knowing their customs they might be of help for Russians. There were cases that in these places people go astray and Mansi find them and provide shelter and food. (Pashin)
- Mansi I know well because I had to meet them while hunting and they often call in to me as a hunter. I am also well familiar with their lives, habits and customs, rituals. There was no case to ever they attacked me and other hunters of Russian nationality. They are always friendly to the Russians and showed hospitality to all. In the area where the tourists were killed Mansi do not have praying and sacred places. They don't have special holidays. Mansi celebrated at any time when they have big catch and especially when they kill a bear or other valuable animal. (Chagin)
- The purpose of my visit was to find out from the Mansi if there are sightings of narrow ski tracks from the tourists between the mountain range of the Urals and their settlement. Upon arrival at the settlement, where at that time all Mansi were home, including Timofey Bahtiyarov, Nikolay Bahtiyarov, Aleksander Bahtiyarov, Kiril Bahtiyarov Kiril and Sonya Bahtiyarova. Timofey and Pavel Bahtiyarov on the eve of my arrival came from Ivdel, where they traveled for personal reasons. I talked with Bahtiyarovs if while hunting they saw narrow ski tracks, as well as people. On this Pavel, Timofey and Kiril Bahtiyarov said that they were hunting a week ago in the low places in the direction of the Ural ridge and saw no trace of narrow skis, as well as people. They didn't know about the death of the tourists before my arrival , this is waht they said. I didn't ask Bahtiyarovs if they had seen any other Mansi while hunting. Pavel Ivanovich Bahtiyarov said that he was hunting alone in the period when the blizzard started and the other Mansi men were home. (Krasnobaev)
- Mansi didn't kill any of my relatives and friends, or anybody else that I have heard about. If that were the case, I would have known about it. Regarding Mansi sacret mountain, I heard that they go there to pray once a year, but I don't know where is this mountain. The fact that Russians are not welcome there is not known to me. (Mayorova)
- My father and brother knew well these Mansi and were friends with them. As my father said they never had any quarrels. (Lopatina)
- I know that Mansi have sacret mountain and I have been there. It's name is Yalpyng-Nyor, which translated into Russian language means praying mountain. I looked it up on the map and this mountain is about 40 km to the South from where the tourists died. Mansi don't guard their praying mountain and I do know that Russians are allowed on Mansi prayer service up in the mountain and Mansi do not interfere with this and do not have physical or other attitude towards Russiana, when the latter go to the prayer service in the mountain, same for men and women. And Mansi do not retaliate. The rummors about the tourist being attacked by Mansi because they have come close to the prayer mountain I believe wrong, only people who don't know Mansi way of life and customs may say something like this. I know that a Mansi was involved in the deaths of 9 tourists, no Mansi would have taken part in the search for the tourists. And I learned that three Mansi took part in the search. I know that many Russian men and women have visited the praying mountain, and nothing bad happened to them, and they were sometimes accompanied by Mansi. I personally do not accept such an idea that Mansi attacked the tourists because of their religious believes, or for any other reasons. In general, Mansi are very good to Russians. (Uvarov)
- I heard that the suspect that Mansi scared the tourists and they died. I don't believe this to be true. There is not a single case where Mansi attacked Russians, there is no reason for this. Mansi payer mountain prayer is located near the Bahtiyarovs yurts 30 km in the upper Vizhay river. On this mountain no one is forbidden to go Russian men and women, same as the Mansi. This mountain has never been guarded. There aren't any valuable things there. How it was before. I don't know. The prayer stones have never been moved, or rather they can not be moved and Mansi go to this mountain, but such religious Mansi are not that many. There aren't any other sacred Mansi places. How did the mansi tourists died I don't know, but that they were killed by hand of a Mansi, I don't think this possible, and Mansi won't allow it. (Bahtiyarov)
- Yesterday, i.e. March 9, 1959 Mansi Nikita Bahtiyarov and I were at the store by the river Orsk pru and one drunk that I did not know came up to us and said: "tourists are missing probably Mansi killed them". We told him that's doubtfully the case, since Mansi have never killed anyone and they don't have a reason to kill tourists. My brother Petr Yakimovich has tuberculosis and he has hard time walking, he doesn't even come to hunt. Our prayer stone is now in the mountain Oyka- Chakhl at the upper sources Vizhay river and I know that this payer mountain has not been moved. Russian men and women are not forbidden to come into the mountain. This mountain has never been guarded by Mansi and it is not guarded now. I never looked for the tourists that is I have 1200 head of deer to take care of, and I have to shepherd, there are a lot of wolves. Prokopiy Bahtiyarov can go look, but my brother Petr is sick, he doesn't even go hunting. (Bakhtiyarov)
- I don't think that Mansi attacked the tourists and killed them. I live in the village of Burmantovo since 1945 and there hasn't been a single case that they attacked Russians and haven't hear any threats from them, although I almost forcibly took their children from them to study at school or to go to the hospital. I personally know of cases when Mansi froze to death by their dead reindeer. There were such cases. It happened in 1947. Often Mansi were hired by geologists and never had anything bad to say about them. I know that the Mansi prayer mountain is in the upper reaches of Vizhay river, and not in the upper reaches of Lozva. (Mokrushin)
- Prayer mountain is 30 km from us in the upper reaches of Vizhay river. The mountain is visited by all Russian men and women and Mansi. There is no prohibition whatsoever for the Russians to go to the mountain. (Bahtiyarov)
- Mansi don't have a Prayer Mountain nowadays, I don't pray and I do not know of a Prayer Mountain. I don't believe it exists. Since the Mansi do not go to pray now, the elders pray at home, and the young ones do not pray at all. About the missing tourists I found out only when the helicopter flew in our yurts. (Bahtiyarov)
- I understand Russian well. I can sign only in Mansi. I personally do not think that anyone from Mansi attacked Russian tourists, as this never happened before. I would still hear from Mansi if anybody attacked the tourists because I keep my ears open. But there is no reason for Mansi to attack tourists. Sacred mountain, I know for sure is in the upper sources of the river. Nobody lives there in neither summer or winter. The sacred mountain is not guarded by any one. Russian people are allowed to go there. About the fact that near the sacred place there live five Mansi or any people, and that they are afraid of Mansi, I personally did not say any such thing, that includes the police. There are no Mansi people who do not go to Ivdel. There were no outsiders in the area, that Mansi did not know about. We would have known about strangers, that is, because Mansi hunt and would have met them. There are no Mansi in the region that would have treated Russians badly. Why and how the tourists died, I am absolutely at lost how could this happen. (Kurikov)
- There are no sacred places in the upper sources of Lozva river. It is known that now Mansi do not go to pray in the prayer mountain, young people do not pray at all, and old Mansi pray at home. I heard that five tourists were found frozen. I don't know anything how did they die. (Sheshkin)
Vermutungen- What I saw and the circumstances under which they died I can only assume that they perish from the elements. Mansi should not be prosecuted for the death of the tourists. The group of tourists could have frozen because of a hurricane that tore the tent and broke loose and they try to fix it, or even managed to do that before being blown by the wind and dragged in the ravine, where they lost orientation and couldn't get back to the tent and died from the cold. (Cheglakov)
- My personal opinion about the death of tourists is that they could die only from a natural disaster due to climatic conditions. I don't believe that the Mansi attacked them or had any interest in their death, because I often meet them and I have never heard any hostile statements from Mansi about other people and they are always very hospitable when I visit or meet them. From the stories of an old-timer I know that people have died before when going through the Ural ridge. Mansi living on the territory of our forestry don't have sacred places or prayer stones in the area where the tourists died. From the stories of local residents I know that Mansi praying mountains are in the upper Vizhay 100-150 km from the place of death of tourists. (Rempel)
- I believe that at this time when we were there was a strong wind and blown off the mountain. Around the time when tourists were killed even in the village of Vizhay was a strong wind and storm, from which the children were falling down. I am a hunter from an early age and I know these places well, and I remember that there were cases of strong winds when people got killed. I myself had to sit up strong winds for 6 days without food in the hollows expecting when the winds would calm down. (Pashin)
- It seems to me that the tourists died because there was a strong hurricane, and they were probably asleep at the time and frightened jumped out of the tent, as the hurricane knocked and swept them down into the ravine. In early February in the village of Vizhay there were strong winds and storm, and on the Ural mountains the wind was even stronger. (Chagin)
- At the beginning of March 1959 I was in the police station and during this time there was a conversation that the tourists were killed. In the duty room sat one Mansi, I do not know his name, but they said that it was Kurikov, but what was his name - I do not know. Kurikov was asked how the tourists could have died. Kurikov said that near the holy mountain, where this mountain is located, he didn't say, there live five Ostyaks. They are like savages, they are not friends with Mansi or with Russian people. They never come to Ivdel. And these Ostyaks could kill tourists because they wanted to ascend the holy mountain or because they thought that tourists could kill their deer and moose, which they feed on. Kurikov expressed only his own assumptions, but what really happened he, Kurikov, couldn't say. Kurikov saw these savages Ostyakovs some years ago. Kurikov didn't know where the holy mountain is. I emphasize that Kurikov expressed his own supposition. (Gorbushin)
- Breakdown of the tent above the forest boundary is a mistake of the group, its unwillingness to descend into the forest, and then climb back to go to the nast, where movement is greatly facilitated. After breaking the tent the group began to settle down for the night and prepare a cold dinner. At this time they were frightened by something, they all jumped out of the tent barefoot. Such people as were in the group of Dyatlov, could frighten the most extraordinary phenomenon, which is out of the ordinary. The whistling of the wind, the noise, the heavenly phenomenon, even a single shot could not scare them. Although I can not say and vouch for this for Zolotarev, tk. I do not know him at all. And in general, his appearance in the Dyatlov group seems unnatural to me. Traces of those who escaped from the tent were clearly seen on the slope of the mountain. At first they were about 8-9, then they became fewer and soon they completely disappeared. Probably people in the dark were confused and not all gathered at the fire. Having made an attempt to build a fire that could not save them because of the small amount of firewood, they decided to make their way to the tent. Positions of Dyatlov , Slobodin and Kolmogorova show that they were going to the tent.
The other four probably were not at the fire or came to him later, when Krivonischenko and Doroshenko were already frozen. To go far these four could not without skis.
The solution of what happened can, perhaps, be explained after finding four people not found. In conclusion, I would like to note that in principle, only an armed group of at least 10 people could frighten Diatlov's group, although no facts of the presence of strangers were found at the scene of the incident. (Karelin)
- From documents, diaries of students, records of the latter it is clear to me that the students died on February 1 or 2, 1959. From a number of testimonies of witnesses it is clear to me that these days in the mountains and not only in the mountains there was a strong wind and it was very cold. Based on the discovered bodies (in the number of five people), the situation in which they were to me it becomes clear that all the students were frozen, the attack on them is excluded. It's my personal opinion. The final opinion can only develop after the discovery and inspection of all other students, i.e. 4 more people. All students could leave their tent only because in the strong wind someone of them at the time when he left the tent blew the wind and this man raised a cry. The student was frightened, rushed out of the tent and were blown away from her by the wind, but with (...?) -windra they could not get into the tent again. And they froze. Of course, such a conclusion can only be made on the basis of the five bodies of students found. What is the cause of the death of the other 4 students I do not know, because bodies have not been found yet. If these 4 students die due to freezing, the above version will be correct. (Tempalov)
- What is my personal impression of the scenario of the death of the group?
On February 1, the group got up late. It is late, because the day before, judging by the diary, the group is very tired, and because in the morning, or after the diary was written late in the evening it was decided to do the cache site in order to free up the shoulders worn out by the previous days, increase the speed of movement. In the morning the group got up at 11 and proceeded to build the storage. While they were setting up the storage, and sorting out what to take with them and what to leave (the day before it was not done, because the storage site was in question), breakfast was ready. It was about 2 pm. And I think that the group started not earlier than half past three, setting one of the 2 tasks: 1) pass from forest to forest, from Auspiya valley to Lozva valley or 2) considering the fact that for several days the group has been walking in extremely deep snow, which makes the movement extremely tedious, considering that the group had had a good rest on for half-day, late breakfast, to move as far as possible along the forest boundary, without going into the forest (deep snow), towards Otorten so that the next evening would certainly be near Otorten itself. The group with lightweight backpacks goes on the route, but at a relatively later time - about 5 pm, poor visibility, more precisely, the absence of it makes the group stop for the night outside the forest. This does not exclude any of the options offered here. Was there a decision on a overnight at a exposed place (I deliberately avoided the word slope, because I believe that the slope, as such, did not play any role in their deaths) justified? In my opinion, yes. Why? Last year, in the Subpolar Urals, we had four such overnights. All of them were in such conditions, when the security considerations of the group dictated the need to stop there where there is a place, while there is still a bright light to pitch the tent. It was in severe (-25 -30°C) frosts and there was no reason to admit this decision was not tactically incorrect. So Dyatlov had precedents, and they stopped at night not out of weakness, not blindly obeying the forces of nature. It should be noted that the high-altitude mountaineering consist only of the nights on snow, in severe frosts and, often, in a blizzard and snowstorm. It is not excluded that while the group was pitching up the tent 2-3 people went to investigate around. The tent is set. The tent is set taking into account the bad weather. Strongly stretched roof, on the windward side inside are packed backpacks, at the entrance there is a "barricade" with the stove, backpacks so that it does not blow out. In the tent, of course, the subzero temperature and you need to exercise self-control and endurance, so as to bend your hands in a 25-30° degree frost, fill your diaries. The only thing that they had the strength and humor for - it was the release of "Evening Otorten". It is evening, not fun, or daytime or something else. This is the work of their collective efforts, instead of writing personal diaries. Personally, letters seem to me angular, and the handwriting is similar to Zolotaryov's, but with significant changes. This is possible in the freezing temperatures. By the way, from the diaries it appears that Zolotaryov liked to draw and the chap, judging by the photographs, was no stranger to humor. Lots of laughing the group rested for the day (they cover only 2-3 kilometers with lightweight backpacks) the group goes to bed. The tent is quiet, only the wind blows around. For 8 of the nine night like this is a new experience. One can rely only on its own harding and relative warmth, and did not put on his lined with fur inner boots, or maybe just laid them out of his backpack and could not find them later. Another lay with felt boots, but at night one leg froze, so in order to rub it, removed one felt boots, or, on the contrary, put on a felt boot on the foot that started to freeze. The awakening was terrifying. My firm belief is that nothing and no one inside could not enduce panic terror among the hikers. From the inside, in the sense in the tent itself. Hence, they were forced to escape the manifestation of some kind of external forces. If they are asleep in the tent, tent is closed, then it is either very bright light, or very bright strong noise, or both. It may be that the signal to escape was given by one of the guys who had come out to relief himself, who dropped a flashlight from the surprise. At the entrance only a few toggles are open. The triangular back end of the tent is stretched well, and it's not easy for even one person to scramble underneath. Hustle, crushing. Maybe at this time, not knowing what to grab Slobodin put on a felt boot (his own?). In someone gets falls a saving knife. The tent is cut not succesfully right away, but with the third stroke and a panic flight begins along the wind, to where it is easiest to run. They only then thought of the fact that there is a forest. I stood with the rescuers for a long time on the site of the tent with a group of tourists (Sogrin, Korolyov, Baskin, Shuleshko) and we came to the unanimous conclusion that if they had only one chance to return, they would have returned regardless of the strenght of the wind. The group is running. But these are not animals, but young, energetic, Soviet people. They run together. Somewhere on the stone ridge Slobodin trips and smashes his head and soon falls. The tent is not visible anymore, legs burn from the cold snow, and maybe Slobodin falls at the end of the group of fugitives, and remains lying on the snow. And somewhere even earlier Zina Kolmogorova lost sight of the group. After wondering for a long time, she also lies down on the snow. The rest reach the forest, in the deep snow and begin with inhuman efforts to fight for life. At the price of a long time frostbitten hands and feet, a fire is lit and Dyatlov, the leader of the group, a faithful comrade, goes in search of the stragglers and freezes there. Could be that Kolmogorova went looking for Dyatlov and Slobodin. It has not downed on her her yet that it's about life and death that the group can not be broken up, but she was always in the team (at first the trade school, then the school, the institute, the tourist section) and for her the tourist slogan "Die yourself, but save your comrade" is not an empty phrase. She goes into the snowstorm, up and falls down exhausted in the snow and freezes. There are several people at the fire. They decided to collect fallen branches behind the cedar, to cover themselves with them and wait out the bad weather, especially since thin firewood is not easy to find, they can not break down thick branches, and their hands and feet are already frost-bitten. They understand that they will not be able to return to the tent. Two, Krivonischenko and Doroshenko, falling asleep, die, and the rest in the last attempt to save their lives rush either to the storage room or to the tent. On their way, they are overtaken by death. (Akselrod)
- Or in the morning (at that time it was light at 8-9 o'clock in the morning) the group in full force fled from the tent. Everyone fled in what he was. It could happen very late in the evening. In all likelihood, the group has already completely settled down for the night, all things were bedded, huddled together in a heap they wrote "Evening Otorten" near a lightbulb or flashlight. Then we lay down to sleep. On duty this night was not, because the stove was not heated. At night someone came out of the tent with a flashlight and on his sign all left the tent. Another variant. In the morning the group had to get up very early to climb the Oorten and go back to the tent, take it off and go down to the house where the wood for the stove was prepared. During dressing breakfast, the group, frightened by something, ran away from the tent. It could be at 5 o'clock, and at 6, or even earlier. I myself went on a hike in the Subpolar Urals and raised my group at 4 o'clock, which would be at 6.00 am to climb the city of Neroyka. (Sogrin)
- On January 31, the group started from the place where we found their camp site on Auspiya river, reached the pass and ascended onto it. Bad weather prevented Dyatlov from making the pass the base for the ascend to Otorten. They had to retreat down the river valley. On this day the group was very tired: it was due to the constant ascent and deep snow in the area. It was late to dig a hole for a campfire so the dinner was cooked on logs. They woke up late. The weather got worse. Given the backlog of the schedule for 1 day all, it was decided to start the ascend. Dyatlov group definitely planned to make a cold night. Carrying out with the relocation of the products and setting up the storage (labaz) they finish at three o'clock. At the place To the place where the tent was set, were about 5 hours. Not in a hurry, they dug a hole, and calmly prepared for bed. About 7 o'clock something unusual and ineffably horrid forced the tourists to leave a tent in a panic. Running away undressed, in bad weather at night from the only warm place they had is possible only under thread of death. This is a strange phenomenon (light penetrating through the tent, sound, and possibly gases) lasting for a while, chasing away the tourists. The air temperature was -15°C this evening. The wind is about the same strength as in the early days of the search, low snow. Suppose that someone went out of the tent (barefoot!) A gust of wind could carried him down. The cry for help immediately raised everyone to their feet. Dyatlov and Krivonischenko, who were at the end of the tent, jumped through the hole made with Krivonischenko's Finnish knife. Led by a single thought: "A comrade must be saved," a group of friends with one flashlight the other (Chinese) was dropped by Dyatlov at the entrance of the tent, ran to the first stone ridge. - nearly horizontal platform (up to 5°), covered with stones. On a site like that, no great effort is needed to resist any wind. Even at the tent, where the steepness of the slope reaches 20°, it is enough to lie down in the direction of the wind and you will remain in place. However, such an attempt was not made. The group, not stopping, continued to retreat. This is indicated by the traces discovered by us. I also can not imagine that in the ranks of such a group somebody might go crazy and drag everybody to their demise. (Brusnitsyn)
- On 31.I.59 going back in the valley of Auspiya river and knowing about the difficult conditions of the relief of the height "1079", where the ascent was supposed to be, Dyatlov, as the leader of the group, made a gross mistake allowing the group to begin the ascent on 1.II.59, only at 15-00. Later, on the ski trail, which was preserved at the time of the search, it was possible to establish that the tourists, moving to the valley of the fourth tributary of the Lozva River, were 500-600 m to the left and instead of the pass formed by the peaks "1079" and "880" they went up on the eastern slope of height "1079". This was Dyatlov's second mistake. Using light day time to rise to the top of the "1079", in conditions of strong wind that is usual in this area, and a low temperature of the order of 25-30 ° C, Dyatlov group found themselves at unprofitable conditions for spending the night and decided to pitch the tent on a slope of height "1079" so that in the morning of the next day, without losing altitude, go to the Mt. Otorten, to which the distance in straight line remained about 10 km. (Resolution)
Gruppe- Project plan for the expedition of Dyatlov group:
https://dyatlovpass.com/case-files-199-208?rbid=17743Zeder
On February 27, 1959 11 am, at a distance of 1.5 km from the tent, Koptelov and Sharavin found the first two bodies.
Next to the bodies was a fire. Nearby were more than ten small fir tree branches, cut with a Finnish knife. The lower dry branches, of about 5 cm diameter, had been cut from the cedar. Some of these were lying next to the fire. The snow around was trampled.
From Captain Chernyshov’s official statement:
”It’s possible to conclude that other people had since been by the fire. We found various garments next to it rather than on the bodies, but we didn’t find any other bodies. The trees near the fire had been cut with knives, but we found no knives with the bodies.”
Maslennikov stated that Doroshenko and Krivonischenko, "maybe with the help of others, had made a pretty good fire with the branches of fir-trees. But that fire had been alight for maybe an hour and a half (8-cm branches of cedar had burned through)".
Atmanaki
”For about 20 m around the cedar, there was evidence of young fir-trees being cut with a knife. We saw around 20 such cut stumps. But we didn’t see any of the cut branches left, except for one. It isn’t possible to imagine they were used to maintain the fire. First of all, they are not good for firewood. Second, around them were quite a lot of dry twigs and materials.”
Maslennikov
”Several wool and cotton socks were scattered around the fire. There was a woman’s handkerchief burned through in several places and some fragments of woolen clothes. But we didn’t find the actual clothes themselves. In particular, we found the cuff of a dark sweater there, not on the bodies. Also, we found some money, eight rubles.”
Captain Chernyshov
”All the low branches of the cedar within arm’s reach were broken completely. One was cut 4 or 5 m high. They were thick. These types of branches are extremely difficult to break, even if, for instance, you hang on them with the whole weight of your body.”
Maslennikov
”The lower dry branches of the cedar were broken up to 2 m high. Somebody climbed the tree, because the branches 4 or 5 m high were also broken.”
Atmanaki
”Most of the dry branches up to 5 m were broken. Beside this, the side of the tree facing the slope and the tent was completely cleared of branches. These were not dry; they were young and were not used. Some of them were just lying on the ground, and the others were hanging on the lower branches of the cedar. It looked as if someone had created a viewing hide facing the site from where they came.”
The position Doroshenko's body was found does not match the livor mortis on his back. The bodies were laid down next to each other points to the post-mortem manipulations. The scene looks orderly, no obscene games with the corpses that killers very often leave behind. This suggests that whoever was last in contact with the bodies felt compassion, pity and respect towards the victims. They were not the murderers, but their friends in distress that tried to make their deathbeds somehow less horrible.
The foamy grey fluid that was found on the right cheek of the deceased started the speculations that before death someone or something was pressing on his chest cavity. This forceful method was common for interrogation by the NKVD (Stalin's Secret Police) and Special Forces. The cause could also be a nasty fall from a tree. This aspect was ignored in the final papers, that read cause of death: hypothermia.
Experts described the injuries - bruises and abrasions, as non-life threatening and explained them with Doroshenko hitting himself in rocks and ice, and other surrounding objects, in the state of agony.
Rustem's body was found 480 m from the cedar on March 5, the day after the autopsy of the first four bodies, covered with 50 cm of snow, face down, head towards the tent. He was better dressed that the previously found hikers. He wore a long sleeve undershirt, shirt, sweater, two pairs of pants, four pairs of socks, and one felt boot (valenka) on his right foot. His watch stopped at 8:45 am. On the chest under the sweater were two shoe insoles, in the shirt pocket - 310 rubles and his passport. In other pockets were found small folding pocket knife (penknife), pencil, pen, comb in a plastic sleeve, box of matches with 48 match sticks, and one cotton sock. His autopsy was performed on March 8 by Vozrozhdenny alone.
Fluss When in May the snow start melting a Mansi native Kurikov with his dog noticed some cut branches that were forming sort of trail which they followed and 50 m from the cedar they found black cotton sweat pants, the right leg cut off with a knife. Cedar branches, a young fir tree was missing its top, another piece of clothing was found - the left half of the women's light-brown wool sweater, right half and sleeves cut off. Sweater was presumed to belong to Lyudmila Dubinina. The area was previously searched with avalanche probes but the snow then was deeper than expected. The bodies were found on May 5 and examined on May 9, 1959.
https://dyatlovpass.com/case-files-341-343?rbid=17743All bodies are in the water. They were excavated from the depth of snow from 2.5 meters to 2 meters.
Up to the creek in six meters along the tracks there was found a decking at a depth of 3 to 2.5 meters. The flooring consists of I4 charge and I birch tops in the snow. On the flooring, things are found.
Half the sweater is beige. It is found 15 meters from the creek (gaps - approx.) under the tree. Half of the ski trousers were found at the cutting site of the peaks for the deck, from the deck 15 meters towards the forest, as well as ebony sheaths and a tablespoon of white metal were found under the snow at the site of the tent of the Dyatlov group.
Up to the creek at six meters along the tracks of the lapnika found a decking at a depth of 3 to 2.5 meters. The deck consists of 14 fir and 1 birch vertex on (the second "on" crossed out, note ed.) Snow. There are things on the floor.
(a picture reflecting the location of things on the floor:
Top left corner: Black ski trouser leg
Right upper corner: Sweater Chinese wool whole. gt; color.
Left bottom corner: sweeter warm woolen brown whole
Right bottom corner: brown trousers with no ends at the ends
Right upper side, closer to the upper corner: - 6 m - bodies
)
second Half of a sweater of color beige. It was found 15 meters from the creek (it is added: "southern brook" - approx.) under the tree. Half of the ski trousers were found at the cutting site of the peaks for the flooring, from the deck 15 meters towards the cedar, as well as under the snow in the place where the tent of the group Dyatlova was found ebonite riveted knife for a knife and a tablespoon of white metal
