Knives in the Dyatlov group

The list of group members and whether they had knives, according to the materials of the criminal case (volume 1), the supervisory proceedings (volume 2) and photographs from the hike.

A short introduction. In the USSR, the subject of weapons was tabooed in a strange way, which, together with the lack of widely available literature, gave rise to a rather interesting interpretation of the concept of a "Finnish knife" and what it should have looked like among ordinary people (and not only them). This led to the fact that virtually any homemade knife in the USSR that differed from a shoemaker's "jamb" or table knife could be classified as Finnish, regardless of how much it externally corresponded to traditional Finnish knives.

If we proceed only from the case files, knives (3 Finnish and 3 penknives) were owned by 5 people (Dyatlov, Kolevatov, Krivonischenko, Slobodin and Thibeaux-Brignolle) out of 10 who went on the hike (50% of the team), although, according to the list of personal equipment (Case files 204), every hiker should have had a knife. If we add the photo of Dubinina, Zolotaryov and Kolmogorova cleaning their skis, there should have been 3 more knives. Of course, we can assume that Dubinina and Kolmogorova do not have their own knives (judging by the location of the knives relative to the surface being cleaned, the knives are not folding knives), but knives borrowed by the guys, then Zolotaryov has a lanyard running from his clothes to his palm - this is how they used to insure against loss of folding knives (penknives). And it is unlikely that he would have been lent a knife with clothes to which the safety strap was attached, then we can say with a high probability that the knife in the photo belongs to him. Maybe the knife found in 2009 expedition belonged not to Dubinina, but to Zolotaryov?

The place and time of discovery of the knives, as well as their mention in the criminal case materials

March 3. First mention of knives in the criminal case. The items are delivered to the storage room of the Ivdel airport, a list is made of them. A Finnish knife is listed under number 29. Inventory of clothes and shoes of the Dyatlov group in the property located in the storage room of the Ivdel airport. Case files 19-20.

March 5-7. Linking knives to specific people. Yudin identifies the items lying in the storage room of the Ivdel airport, as well as the clothes from the bodies of the deceased. He identifies them with the words "presumably". Identification protocol of things, Case files 11-17:

• Dyatlov's penknife. In the pockets of Igor Dyatlov's windbreaker and windbreaker trousers were found:... a penknife with a carabiner on a string...
• Slobodin's penknife. In the ski trousers a penknife, a comb and a pencil.
• Thibeaux-Brignole's knives. In the pockets of the windbreaker and trousers: a handkerchief, a bandage, a matchbox, a pocket torch, a penknife and a Finnish-type knife
• Kolevatov's knife sharpening stone.

March 8. Forensic examination of Slobodin's body, when describing the clothes and contents of the pockets, a penknife is mentioned: Ski trousers, dark, buttoned and fastened with a belt. In the pockets: ... a penknife on a long string. Act №5. Case files 95-103.

March 30. Beginning of identification of things by relatives and acquaintances (colleagues, neighbors) in the city of Sverdlovsk. Dyatlov's sister identifies a penknife (item 6 of the list of things) Identification protocol №3, Case files 236.

April 4. Kolevatov's sister identifies a sharpening stone (whetstone). Protocol of identification of things №11, Case files 250.

April 6. Thibeaux-Brignolle's aunt identifies a penknife. Protocol of identification of things №12, Case files 252-253.

April 18. Interrogation of prosecutor Tempalov, who was the first of the investigative bodies to inspect the scene of the crime. He says that a large knife was found near the lard I had cut up. I have established that the knife belonged to the students. Interrogation protocol from April 18, 1959, Case files 309-312.

May 6. A protocol is drawn up for the inspection of the place where the bodies were found, which indicates that an ebonite sheath for a knife was found at the place where the tent was found. At the same time, for some reason, the protocol is drawn up both in typewritten and handwritten versions (Protocol of inspection of the place where the bodies were found Case files 341 printed version, Case files 434 handwritten version). In addition, there is a scan of a radiogram on the Internet, not filed in the criminal case and the supervisory proceedings (though it is unclear who sent it and who received it, when it was sent) about the fact that a textolite sheath from a dagger was found at the site of the tent.

May 21. Kolevatova writes a receipt for a Finnish-type knife with a black plastic handle, identified by me as belonging to Kolevatov's brother Aleksander. Sheet 7 of the supervisory proceedings. At the same time, on sheet 50 of this proceedings (the date is missing) there is an entry: Finnish knife with a leather sheath, found in the tent - identified by Rimma Kolevatova as belonging to her brother.

May 28. A resolution is drawn up to close the criminal case, mentioning that on May 4 the bodies of Thibeaux-Brignolle, Dubinina, Zolotaryov, Kolevatov and, along with them, Krivonischenko's Finnish knife were discovered: Krivonischenko's knife was discovered near the bodies. Case files 384-387.

Knives in the supervisory proceedings aka case files volume 2

Sheet 7 and sheet 50. Mention of the Finnish knife of Kolevatov.

Sheet 40. At the top of the page is the title "Received", followed by the names of the Dyatlov group, names of things, amounts of money, Thibault's entry, and below that a penknife.

Sheet 41 the name Krivonischenko and the entry Finnish knife.

Sheet 42 entries:

• Dyatlov's penknife on a rope
• Thibeaux-Brignolle's storm pants pocket, flashlight, penknife and Finnish-type knife, compass, 1 ruble.
• Slobodin - binoculars in the backpack, 310 rubles in a checkered shirt, a pen, a penknife.

The location of the knives at the scene of the tragedy

At the site of the tragedy, the knives were located, as they say now, in the following locations:

Tent pitching area:

• ebonite or textolite sheath

In the tent:

• Dyatlov's penknife (in a storm suit)
• Kolevatov's Finnish knife (near the lard/loin)
• Thibeaux-Brignolle's Finnish knife with a penknife (in a storm suit)

Slope:

• Slobodin's penknife (in the pocket of the storm trousers worn by Rustem)

Ravine:

• Krivonischenko's Finnish knife
• In 2009, a penknife was found under the so-called "Luda's stone"

Strange things about the knives in the case files

1. In the protocol of the discovery of the place of discovery of the tent from February 28, 1959, there is not a word about the "large knife", although on April 18, 1959, Tempalov testified that "a large knife was found near the lard that I had cut up".
2. In the inventory of things from the storage room of the Ivdel airport, under item 29, there is a "Finnish knife" in the amount of 1 piece.
3. In the protocol for identification of Dyatlov group's belongings by Yudin on March 5-7, only Thibeaux-Brignolle's Finnish knife appears, and Kolevatov's Finnish knife, which according to the materials of the supervisory proceedings was found in the tent, is not just not identified, but not mentioned at all.
4. Krivonischenko's Finnish knife is not listed in the protocol of May 6, 1959, and on May 15, 1959, Brusnitsyn testified about the Finnish knife that belonged to Krivonischenko: Dyatlov and Krivonischenko, who were at the end of the tent, jumped out through a hole made by Krivonischenko's Finnish knife (case files 369)
5. The ebonite or textolite sheath found at the site of the tent was not identified.
6. The Finnish knives of Thibault, Kolevatov and Krivonischenko were not identified by relatives and friends (comrades) in the protocol.
7. Kolevatov's Finnish knife appears in the supervisory proceedings.
8. On page 40 of the supervisory proceedings there is a title "Received", and among the list of what was received are the Finnish knives of Thibeaux-Brignolle and Krivonischenko.
9. No examination was conducted of the tent cuts, cut items and chopped trunks to determine which of the knives found had made them.

Trek photos and their analysis

Zolotaryov, Dubinina and Kolmogorova

Zolotaryov is keeping his penknife on a lanyard. Dubinina's blade and handle (in the palm) are highlighted. It is clear that the blade is longer than the palm, therefore the knife is not folding (their blade length is equal to the handle length). Kolmogorova is cleaning snow from the knife and it is clear that the length of the blade protruding beyond her palm is somewhere comparable to the length of the palm.

Photo of Kolevatov's knife

In terms of secrecy of ownership of the knife officially recorded by the Criminal Investigation Department materials, Aleksander is the most secretive. I could not find any photos from the hike. There are several modern photos of the knife and an outline of the knife in a letter to Piskareva. Based on the photos, we can say that the knife is homemade, the handle is mounted on the overlay, its approximate length is 24 cm, the blade length is 10 cm, the thickness is about 2-2.5 mm, it was most likely made from a mechanical saw. The length of the blade allows you to perform most of the operations required of a knife on a hike without much effort. As they would say now, "a utility knife" or "a universal knife."

Photos of Thibeaux-Brignolle

In terms of secrecy of possession of the knife officially recorded by the criminal investigation materials, Nikolai is the second of the group (only 2 photo).

Install - homemade, serial, alteration of a serial knife (for example, replacing the handle) - impossible.

The knife is relatively long, has a metal pommel, a stop (stopper, guard), a handle made of either dark wood (it is possible that the handle was impregnated to give it this color) or plastic, not a set. The handle is mounted by a recess (when the tang passes through the handle completely or partially). The way to wear the knife is not standard - not on the belt, but with a strap or chain attached to the jacket pocket at one end, and the other - to the sheath. Fastening to the sheath could be through a carabiner with a ring (on the sheath a carabiner, at the end of the strap a ring or vice versa) or at the end of the strap there was a loop into which the sheath was inserted. The knife is worn almost horizontally. The sheath did not have the usual method of fixing the knife with an emphasis on the handle using a strap (strap). Alternatively, the knife in the sheath was fixed by the blade using a spring or friction against some insert. More exotic options are the method of fixation like in naval daggers, where there was a push-button latch, and in the sheath there was a groove for the latch "tongue" or in the sheath there was a spring-loaded ball, and on the blade there was a recess for it.

Several options (there may be more than 3) for fastening the sheath in Thibeaux-Brignolle, only the hook could be sewn at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the sheath, or even perpendicularly:

Of all the knife owners, Georgy can be seen in photographs with his knife more often than others. And if Thibault, despite the unconventional way of carrying his knife (there is an element of posing in this), still prefers not to show it (there is no knife in the photos of the camps and where the guys are fooling around), then Krivonischenko's knife is almost always in sight, even during gatherings in the village of 41st Quarter.

It is also unknown whether the knife is homemade, serial or a remake. It can be assumed that, at a minimum, the handle could have been remade. In the photographs, it is clear that the handle has diagonal lines, notches for the index finger and little finger, and a "belly". The handle material can be any, the diagonal lines can be notches on a wooden handle, like on German bayonets for the Mauser or trench knives/daggers, wound with electrical tape or spacers of a set handle. The blade itself, judging by the shape of the sheath, has a point lowered to the center line of the knife, possibly a bevel of the butt (the so-called “pike”). Possible blades of a Krivonischenko's knife:

We can determine the length of the scabbard and handle from photographs taken on hikes where there are items whose dimensions are known to us (for example, the length of a camera is 135 mm). In photograph #1, the length of the camera (when working with the photograph in a vector editor) is 33.37 mm, the distance between the rivets is 13.11 mm. This means that according to the rule of similar triangles, the ratio of the distance between the rivets and the camera in the photograph 13.11/33.37 is equal to the ratio of the length of the rivets on the scabbard (X mm) divided by 135 mm (13.11/33.37 = X/135). Therefore, X = 135 * (13.11 / 33.37) = 53.03 mm. Knowing this distance, we can calculate the length of the handle and the length of the scabbard, using photo #2.

The length between the rivets is 7.14 mm, the length of the scabbard is 24.23 mm, the length of the handle is 14.88 mm. Using the above formula, we calculate the actual length of the handle and scabbard. We get - the length of the scabbard is 179.96 mm, and the length of the handle is 110.52 mm. It turns out that the length of the scabbard is almost 18 cm, and the length of the handle is 11 cm.

The length of the blade in the scabbard is usually 1-2 cm shorter than the scabbard itself, and with a scabbard length of 18 cm, the length of the blade will be from 16 to 17 cm.

Based on the fact that the scabbard periodically changes its position (sometimes hanging vertically, sometimes at different angles), they have a free suspension (when the belt loop is not rigidly connected to the scabbard, but, for example, through a ring):

As in the case of Thibault, the scabbard does not fix the knife by the handle, i.e. the method of fixing the knife may be similar to one of the methods described above.

It is quite possible that the scabbard found in May at the site of the tent belongs to Krivonischenko, since

• they match in length (18 cm in the radiogram and 17.96 cm according to calculations based on photographs)
• they have rivets
• the shape of the scabbard in the photograph is symmetrical, the radiogram indicates that the scabbard is from a dagger (i.e. with a high degree of probability the scabbard is also symmetrical).

In addition, there is a photograph of the guys in Serov, where a knife sticking out in the background is visible (stuck in something)? But the knife is quite long, the shape of the handle is not similar to the handle of Nikolai's knife, the blade is too long for Alexander's and George's knives (and the shape of the handle's top is different from George's knife). And there is a penknife found in 2009 with a metal detector in the stream where Dubinina, Zolotaryov, Kolevatov and Thibeaux-Brignolle were found.

The knife could have belonged to Dubinina or Zolotareyov. Moreover, Semyon is more likely to be the owner of the knife (see the photo of Zolotaryov, Dubinina and Kolmogorova).

Myths about ebonite (textolite) sheaths

There are several of them, but they can be grouped into the main ones:
Myth #1 The scabbard belongs to Kolevatov
Myth #2 There were several scabbards
Myth #3 The scabbard belongs to the military who killed/staged the death of the group as non-criminal

Myth #1 most likely appeared thanks to the recollections of Yuri Yudin and the radiogram about the scabbard being found at the site of the tent, and the assumption that it belongs to Kolevatov. But the problem is that Kolevatov's knife was found with a leather sheath (sheet 50 of the supervisory proceedings), and Yudin's testimony was given several decades after the tragedy, and it is very unclear.

Myth #2 most likely appeared due to the fact that there are three mentions of the sheath - two in two criminal case reports and one in a radiogram. But if you carefully study the reports and the radiogram, it turns out that the reports are almost 1 to 1 repeats of each other and differ, in fact, only in that one is handwritten, and the second is typed; in all three documents, the sheath was found in the same place with the same object - a spoon made of white metal. It turns out that - in one place at least 2 times the same set of things - a sheath and a spoon. How likely is this? Unlikely, let's say.

Most likely, the scabbard with the spoon that was found was a single copy. The difference in the name of the material from which the scabbard is made is due to the fact that for many, ebonite, textolite and carbolite are the same thing. And the scabbards "multiplied" because they were indicated in the radiogram and the protocol (two independent sources), and then the handwritten protocol was duplicated on a typewriter.

Myth #3 clearly appeared thanks to Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov, or rather his brainchild with a well-recognizable scabbard for a bayonet-knife with orange (orange) overlays:

The only problem is that at first, bladed bayonets were produced for Kalashnikov assault rifles - index 6X2, (like ABC, SVT, "Mauser" K-98) and only in the year of the tragedy was the bayonet-knife accepted into service, but for insulation on the scabbard there was a rubber "skirt" - index 6X3.

That is, the "ebony" scabbard could not have been from a Kalashnikov assault rifle - at the time of the tragedy, such a scabbard did not even exist in the project. The remaining knives with fixed blades, which were produced for the needs of security forces, were equipped with leather (or leatherette), wooden or metal sheaths.

There is only one option - a hand-made scabbard, what is now called the fashionable phrase "hand made", but then it is unrealistic to establish that the scabbard belonged to a military man (security officer), unless there was a letter of thanks, a gift or some other inscription indicating the owner's rank or some place associated with the combat path:

But the radiogram does not report such an inscription, and search engines would immediately spread information about the inscription on the scabbard throughout the camp.

Here are some variants of scabbards that can be classified as "riveted", front-line creativity:

Now about how the sheath was lost. Usually the knife is lost due to poor fixation in the sheath, less often - the knife with the sheath or due to a broken loop / broken suspension, or if the knife with the sheath slips off the unfastened belt. But it is difficult to lose the sheath without the knife. As options - the sheath with the knife was removed from the belt, then the knife was needed, and the sheath was dropped to free the other hand, and after using the knife there was no time to pick up the sheath, or if in a fight the sheath was torn from the belt and thrown away/trampled in the subsequent fight.

Myths about daggers and soldiers' (army/military) knives

Myth #1 Someone from Dyatlov's group (one or more) had a dagger;
Myth #2 Soldiers' knives were scattered at the site of the alleged tragedy to confuse the investigation;
Myth #3 Someone from Dyatlov's group had army (military/soldier) knife or bayonet knife.

Myth #1 is found in Valentin Degtyarev: When studying photographs that were taken during the search, Degtyarev saw objects that were not included in the criminal case materials. In one of the photos a dagger is clearly visible and Alexandra Kas, aka Skif-86, in his version of the death of the Dyatlov group: The hikers defended themselves as best they could, some with daggers, some with other improvised means (Alexander Kas's version).

Even if we do not consider the fact that Degtyarev was repeatedly caught in unfounded allegations, in the photo we have a slope of a tent, crushed by snow, and it is quite possible that the effect of "light and shadow" played a role here - indeed, something resembling a Caucasian dagger kama is visible there. Kas has several daggers in general - at least 2 pieces, because he writes about them in the plural.

But the problem is that there is not a word about daggers in the criminal case materials, they are not in the photographs from the hike and none of the searchers remember finding a dagger or daggers.

There is a May radiogram, which was not included in the criminal case, about the fact that at the site of the tent a "dagger sheath" 18 cm long was found, but the problem is that the searchers are not forensic experts or weapons experts to definitely determine that the sheath is from a dagger:

It is highly likely that the scabbard found had a more or less symmetrical shape relative to the longitudinal axis, like most dagger scabbards, but this does not mean that the scabbard was from a dagger. Here, for example, is a photo with the knife "Cherry", better known as the HP-43, and a bushcraft knife:

We see that the sheath is symmetrical relative to the longitudinal axis, and without knowing that they are from a knife, they can easily be mistaken for a dagger (especially from "Cherry", when it is inserted into the sheath). You can find a lot of sheaths for knives of symmetrical shape, almost all of them are united by one factor - the blade has a point lowered to the midline.

In addition to the above comments, there are two more. The first is household functions. On a hike, the knife is used as a household knife, its use as a weapon is an exception to the rule. And in some operations, it is necessary to transfer the finger of the working hand to the blade from the side of the butt or press on the butt with the other hand. In the case of a dagger, this function is impossible - the dagger blade is double-edged, and instead of the butt it has a blade (cutting edge). The second is criminal. If, when an illegal knife was found, there was still some chance to get off easy in the form of a change of owner, then with a dagger there was a greater chance of falling under the article on illegal carrying of a bladed weapon.

Myth #2 about soldiers' knives left at the scene of the tragedy belongs to the pen (keyboard) of G. Kizilov, although when he realized that he had written something of his own, which he could not confirm in any way, or that it was nonsense, he cut the previous version with comments from opponents "down to the roots" (if you follow his version, then sometimes the next one contradicts the previous one in some points).

But the problem is that there were no "soldier's" knives in the armed forces of the USSR, which were provided to each serviceman like a belt, foot wraps, and other provisions. It is quite possible that Mr. Kizilov meant the army knife mod. 1940 (NA-40), also known as the scout's knife of 1940 (NR-40), sometimes called the "black knife" or "tanker's knife":

But for some reason none of the searchers remember that NR-40 was found at the search site, so the presence of several NA-40/NR-40 at the pass is just Mr. Kizilov's fantasy.

Myth #3 Its authors base their conclusions either on the text of other researchers, or come to strange, sometimes paradoxical conclusions. For example, blogger A11618 believes that Kolevatov had a NA-40 (NR-40):

"There is another very interesting point that should be noted. Alexander Kolevatov had a Finnish knife with a black handle and a leather sheath," the first thing that popped into my head was "the Ural Volunteer Tank Corps", its personnel were armed with NA-40 knives with black handles, produced at the Zlatoust plant, which have become one of the legends. However, it is clear that the issue is not in the weapon, but in the hands that held it. The NR-40 (another modification) is a scout's knife, and even earlier, before the war, similar weapons were received by NKVD officers. However, legends have little to do with the events. It's just that if Alexander really owned not a piece of sharpened spring, but a legend, then his pride and care for the weapon are understandable even without the need for a "clean profile".

Or a YouTube user with the nickname "Old Archive" suggests that Thibeaux-Brignolle had a bayonet-knife, having managed to see a groove on the top of the handle in the photo, although with such photo quality, some people see a diary sticking out of a pocket instead of a handle. At the end of the video, the author asks how Thibault could have a bayonet-knife from a Zastava PP model M-56 or a Todorov's knife of 1956.

In fact, the answer is that it is unlikely that Thibault had a bayonet-knife from the Zastava PP or a Todorov knife, since smuggling the first is unlikely, and the second was only relatively recently developed for the reconnaissance and sabotage units of the Navy, and it is unlikely that some Shmatko would have sold such a knife "to the left". But a remake of a bladed bayonet from the Great Patriotic War (trophy or from the ABC/SVT) could well have ended up with Thibault, for example, here (pay attention to the sheaths on the knives on the left - why not dagger-like):

There is no clear information that the Dyatlov group had daggers or bladed cold weapons that were or are in service with any armed or paramilitary formations. Thibeaux-Brignolle and Krivonischenko could have had knives made "based on" the "NKVD Finnish knife", NR-40 or "front-line art", or using parts (components) of army cold weapons.

The myth that it is impossible to cut trees with a knife

Some of the tragedy researchers believe that the flooring could not have been made by the Dyatlov group because it is impossible or extremely time-consuming to cut down a tree with a knife, and the testimonies of Chernyshev: "6-7 fir trees were cut down" Case files 91 and Brusnitsyn: "More than a dozen small fir trees were cut down around the area with a Finnish knife" Case files 366 are false. For example, Yuri Kuntsevich believes that the flooring was not the work of the Dyatlov group: But it is impossible to cut such things with two or any other number of knives. And there the flooring was made when they were found - from 2 to 3 fingers of the butt of the fir trees. Do you have any doubt that they did it themselves? The question arises - is it really possible to fell a tree / trees with a knife, especially several of them, because a knife is not an axe and not a saw. To begin with, let's study the photos of the flooring that are available on the Internet. In one of the photos there is a shovel leaning against the wall of the excavation and an avalanche probe. Due to the fact that in the USSR there were GOSTs and OSTs for almost all mass products, it is possible to find out the dimensions of the shovel, and accordingly the dimensions of the trunks used for the flooring - they were about 60 mm in diameter, just about 2-3 fingers thick. Moreover, the photos show various cut places, similar to a sharpened pencil and one oblique cut / cut.

Now about whether it is possible to cut down a tree with a knife. Oddly enough, it is possible to cut it down, but the technique of cutting it down is radically different - here you do not strike the trunk with a knife with all your strength, as if you were using an axe or a machete, but by placing the knife at an angle to the tree, you hit the butt with a mallet (usually this is a piece of a branch of a suitable diameter or a pre-prepared striking tool).

As practice shows, even a small knife like the Mora Companion can fell a relatively thick tree:

Here is a video of cutting trees with a knife, as we can see, diameters for every taste.

Here are shelters built using a knife (the length of the blade of the knife used is comparable to the length of the blade of the Krivonischenko knife):

So cutting tree trunks with a knife is possible, and the marks on small trees are similar to those in the available photos of the decking.

Consclusions

1. The investigation did not establish whether all members of the group had knives (some of the group may not have taken knives with them), like, for example, the group led by Yuri Granilshchikov that walked along the Kola Peninsula in 1958. (see Library of reports on hikes) :

   

2. The investigation tried its best to "smooth the edges" on the Finnish knives. There is only one identification protocol in the case, and even then it says "presumably", after that, there are no records about the identification of the knives in any of the protocols.
3. No examinations were conducted regarding which of the knives that the hikers had used to cut the tent, cut off the things, and chop down the trees.
4. The ebonite (textolite) sheaths was only one, and it was not established either through the protocol or "unofficially" as the belonging of the knife found in the tent, presumambly Kolevatov's.
5. The Dyatlov group did not have any daggers.
6. There wer no "soldier's/army" knives planted on the Pass.