The Dyatlov Pass incident is the story of the death of nine student hikers in the Ural Mountains. It’s often referred to as Russia’s greatest mystery. In 1959, after failing to report back, nine students were found frozen to death in sub-polar conditions. Found without their winter clothes, miles from their shredded tent, and with no sign of an avalanche or natural disasters. Yet somehow they suffered injuries that crushed their bodies, and horrifically for some, their tongues and eyeballs were missing. An Unknown Compelling Force: The True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, Amazon Prime 2024
Mysterious lights were seen in the sky, and the Russian KGB swarmed the site, clouding the whole story in 60 years of mystery. ibid.
Something goes terribly wrong. In the middle of the night, for reasons unknown, the hikers cut their way out of the tent. Tracks showed they fled down the mountain in freezing conditions without clothes or boots. ibid.
Each one suffering inexplicable injuries. ibid.
None are as mysterious as the famous 34th frame. ibid.
‘The first theory of Ivanov [investigator] was murder.’ ibid.
Just what were the hikers fleeing from? ibid.
Postmortem: [First five hikers] All found to have suffered various cuts and bruises to the body. Specific injuries included bruising, cuts and abrasions to the nose, eyebrows and cheeks. Further bruising and abrasions were found on the knuckles and the back of the hands. ibid.
Under public pressure the officials were forced to return the hikers home. ibid.
Postmortem [four hikers found together]: Thibeaux, although found dressed warmer than the first five hikers, had suffered a mysterious and devastating blow to the right side of his head … The unexplained crushing impact to Zolotaryov’s chest … Lyuda wore ski pants which were badly fire-damaged … her tongue was missing … Lyuda suffered a brutal impact to her chest. ibid.
Some of those found in the ravine showed above normal levels of radiation. ibid.
‘I have doubts about the fact that the tent was cut by the hikers.’ ibid. Natalia Sakharova, expert criminalist
The lights in the sky are a red herring. ibid.
How come radiation wasn’t found on any other member of the team? ibid.
Why was the military still so eager to be involved? … They now knew that the hikers had not defected as spies. ibid.
The Mansi [indigenous] people are the original prime suspects. ibid.
January 19th 2023: I was told that if I went back to Austria, they would immediately kill me. We will go after them. Kill List: Hunted by Putin’s Spies IKill List: Hunted by Putin’s Spies I, Grozev to father, Channel 4 2025
Christo Grozev says he was always aware his unorthodox investigation techniques would someday put him at risk. ibid. TV news
Christo Grozev has been contacted by a Russian scientist seeking to defect to the West. ibid.
A non-official top-secret programme on the development of new poisoning substances that went against the Chemical Weapons Convention. There we created all variations of Novochok. There are different forms of the poison. ibid. Grozev’s defector
Now I must get my family out of Russia because they may well capture them to get to me. ibid.
But somewhere near the top of the list is probably an oddly named investigative consortium known as Bellingcat. ibid. comment
The state [Russia] is gathering a huge amount of information about its citizens. ibid. Eliot Higgins, Bellingcat
Christo Grozev has been named in Russian media as a wanted criminal. ibid.
Reporter: So how many Russian agents have you uncovered?
Grozev: Names of people of relevance who I’ve focused on individually, about 300 … That I know are spies, we’re talking about 5,000. It’s one big puzzle. ibid.
Because of our investigations, the West holds someone in prison who has enormous value to Putin, a man called Vadim Krasikov. Krasikov: he’s a professional killer. ibid. Grozev
He [Krasikov] was finally caught in Berlin after shooting a man in broad daylight in a park. He refused to speak to police. ibid.
Putin has never been so vocal about defending a killer. ibid.
So for Krasikov alone, we could ask not for one but for many people. At the top of the list would be Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza. ibid.
Following the Navalny investigation, we had an abundance of residual data because the team of poisoners had travelled many, many, many hundreds of times. ibid.
There is a team of assassins whose only job is to physically eliminate the opponents of the Russian government. ibid. Mrs Kara-Murza
It’s like a fatwa of some sort. Grozev, TV interview
My dad has not answered his phone for two days. Grozev
They made the apartment a crime scene. ibid.
[Reporter to Christo Grozev]: Did you ever think you’d be investigating an assassination plot against yourself? Kill List: Hunted by Putin’s Spies II
Five British residents have been arrested suspected of survelling Christo and his colleague, Roman Dobrokhotov. They await trial in London. ibid. TV news
Who paid these Bulgarians to spy on me? ibid. Grozev
While negotiations for a prisoner swap continue and his health deteriorates, Vladimir Kara-Murza is facing final sentencing. ibid. caption
12th August 2024: There is a prisoner swap underway right now between Russia, the United States and other countries. ibid. US TV news
In the end 16 people were released by the Kremlin. ibid. Grozev