It is a shame the original Leonard Nimoy-hosted In Search of… never “investigated”
the strange deaths of the nine Soviet hikers known as the “Dyatlov Pass
Incident,” because it would have been a perfect thematic fit for the series. However,
many of the relevant records were sealed until after the dissolution of the
Soviet Union. Since then, there have been many books and documentaries that offered
speculation, but nobody has conclusively solved the case. Many theories
informed Jando & Mayen (artist Gonzalez Jandro & writer Cedric Mayen)’s
graphic novel, but the truth remains elusive in The Dyatlov Pass Mystery,
which goes on-sale today in e-book formats.
Ten
experienced hikers set off into the Ural Mountains in January of 1959. One got
sick and turned back. The other nine died. Officially, the cause of death was
hypothermia, but some bodies showed signs of extreme violent trauma—and just as
mysteriously some did not. The KGB has recruited honest police officer Lev Nikitch
Ivanov to solve the case and do it quickly (so as not to distract from the
Party Congress underway), much like the protagonist of the Russian TV series Dead Mountain.
Just
finding all the bodies is an ordeal, but the great disparity in their
conditions produces more questions than answers. Obviously, the detection of
radioactivity stirs Ivanov’s suspicions, but the Red Army and KGB quickly close
off that line of Ivanov’s inquiry.
The
narrative and structure of Dyatlov Pass Mystery is indeed very much like
that of Dead Mountain. Both cut back-and-forth between the hamstrung
investigator’s doomed efforts to get to the truth and the drama of the Dyatlov
expedition’s final days. The weather turns bad and internal dissension grows,
but the true nature of the “overwhelming force” that caused their demise is
deliberately kept mysterious.
On
the other hand, Mayen unambiguously suggests the KGB played a significant role
covering up whatever really did happen. Therefore, they shoulder the blame for
the conspiracy theories that have proliferated. Ironically, Mayen makes the bossy
Dyatlov a surprisingly unsympathetic character. However, he clearly invites reader
empathy for Ivanov, who is clearly stuck in an impossible situation.
Kholat Syakhi literally translates to “Dead Mountain,” so it sounds like a
super fun location for a winter hike. Nine Russian hikers died on the slope of
the Ural Mountain in 1959, but the bizarre circumstances surrounding their
deaths and the subsequent secrecy of the Soviet authorities gave rise to a host
of conspiracies theories among suspicious Russians. Purportedly based on the
declassified files of the latest, new-and-improved investigation of the
so-called Dyatlov Pass Incident, showrunner-directors Vaeriy Fedorovich and
Evgeny Nikishov address a good deal of the lore surrounding the tragedy, but
they never really supply satisfying answers in the eight-episode dramatic
mini-series Dead Mountain, which premieres today on Topic.
The
hiking party has long been missing when fictional KGB Major Oleg Kostin is
summoned from Moscow to investigate, but officially he is not really there. Why
would a high-ranking KGB official be assigned to the presumed disappearance of
eight provincial students and their thirtysomething guide? Dead Mountain never
really explains that fundamental plot point, but it eventually reveals Sasha Zolotaryov,
the older man, was in fact a colleague of sorts. (Liam Le Guillou’s documentary
Unknown Compelling Force also points out that several of the eight Ural
Polytechnic Institute students were studying nuclear power, possibly making them
of greater interest to state security.)
The
series starts with Kostin’s dogged investigation, filmed in washed-out Soviet
color, but frequently flashes back to the chaotic final days of the Dyatlov
expedition, rendered in a black-and-white that often evokes the style and vibe
of vintage Soviet cinema. Kostin is aided by Ekaterina Shumanova, the medical
examiner, who maybe not-so-coincidentally happens to be the widow of Kostin’s
old Red Army buddy. In fact, the guilt he carries from the great war might have
a direct bearing on his investigation.
As
they tease out the truth, we watch the Dyatlov Party encounter angry bears, the
hostile indigenous Mansi people, terrible weather, mysterious lights in the
sky, and a fugitive from the nearby labor camp. They are also distracted by
love triangles and revelations Zolotaryov might not entirely be what he presents
himself to be. Some of the Dyatlov mythology will be half-explained away, but a
dark supernatural mysticism hangs over the entire incident.
Admittedly,
the gulag’s fugitive-hunting KGB squad are nasty pieces of work, but the series
itself largely presents the official story uncritically, sort of like if Oliver
Stone’s JFK had endorsed the Warren Commission Report. In terms of
drama, the long, drawn-out demise of the Dyatlov Party reaches the point of
being downright punishing. You have to start face-palming each time one of the
students is talked about of turning back. Seriously, you’re hiking on Dead
Mountain, it’s snowing, and there are armed goons from the gulag running around
the slope. What could go wrong?
The Dyatlov Pass occupies a place in Russian pop culture not unlike Roswell
in ours, but the incident that occurred there in 1959 had a very real body-count.
There were nine deaths to be precise: eight students from the Ural
Polytechnical Institute and a credentialed guide, who arranged to join their
group because he needed another professionally qualifying expedition. By all
accounts, the entire group mixed well, yet they all died on the ominous
sounding Dead Mountain. Director and on-camera-presenter Liam Le Guillou tries
to get at the truth of what happened in Unknown Compelling Force: The True
Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident, which releases today on DVD.
Officially,
all nine expedition members died of hypothermia, even though several displayed
conspicuous signs of physical trauma. The initial Soviet-era authorities
essentially swept the incident under the rug, but when the regime collapsed,
friends and family of the victims openly questioned the official version.
Subsequent investigations only fueled the public’s suspicions.
Examining
contradictory witness statements and government reports, Le Guillou largely
dismisses the more fanciful urban legends that have gained traction, like the “Russian
Yeti.” Ironically, he debunks conspiracy theories involving supposed Soviet weapons
testing with a rational explanation that might actually be even more damning.
Apparently,
a few radioactive garments were recovered from the dead bodies, but they could
very well have belonged to an expedition member who worked during the clean-up
of the Kystym nuclear emergency. At the time, the Soviets did their best to
cover-up that incident too, but it is now considered the third worst nuclear disaster
ever, after Chernobyl and Fukushima—at least maybe until the recent “performance issue” at the Guangdong nuclear power plant, not that we can judge from what
the CCP says.
