Krivonischenko witness testimony

Russian

Sheet 273

Protocol
witness testimony

On April 14, 1959, the prosecutor criminologist of Sverdlovsk region Romanov interrogated as a witness in District Prosecution Office, in compliance with Article 162-168 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the RSFSR

1. Surname, name and middle name: Krivonischenko Aleksey Konstantinovich
2. Year of birth 1907
3. Place of birth: city of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
4. Nationality: Ukrainian
5. Political affiliation: member of the CPSU since 1947
6. Education (which school graduated and when): Higher education
7. Occupation: a) currently (place of work and position): the head of the management of "Uralenergostroyekhanizatsiya"
   b) at the moment of the events: the same
8. Criminal record: no
9. Permanent residence (exact address and telephone number): Sverdlovsk, 29 Moscow St, аpt 27, ph D-1-96-30, work ph D-1-21-36
10. Passport:
11. Relation to the accused: -

Warned on the responsibility for the first part of Art. 92 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR for refusing to testify and under Art. 95 Criminal Code of the RSFSR for giving knowingly false testimony is forewarned. Krivonischenko (signature)

back

Witness testified: After the funeral of my son on March 9, 1959, I had students over at the apartment, participants in the search for the nine hikers. Among them were those hikers who at the end of January and the beginning of February were on an expedition in the north, a little bit to the south of Mount Otorten. There were apparently at least two such groups, at least the participants of the two groups said that they had seen the light phenomenon that struck them on February 1 north of the location of these groups: the extremely bright glow of some kind of rocket or projectile. The glow was so strong, that some of the hikers that were already inside the tent and getting ready to go to sleep, were alarmed by this glow, went out of the tent and observed this phenomenon. After a while they heard a sound like a strong thunder from far away. I don't know the names of those who said that, because I have never seen them before and I don’t know them, but obviously the students who saw and heard this light and sound phenomenon can be tracked, as there were several people, and it was not difficult to determine which groups were in the North at that time. The students said that they had observed a similar phenomenon twice: on the first and the seventh of February 1959.

The students said that near the fire under the cedar were found belongings that were not on the deceased - my son and Doroshenko, at the same time, they didn't have shoes but there were socks laying around. We can assume that there were more people at the cedar tree than the two found there dead. The rest must have gone away when two

Krivonischenko (signature)

Sheet 274

were already dead, or if they were still alive and left at the campfire like a temporary base - then the abandoned did not see the clothes, since when freezing they would have probably put on everything that could get their hands on.

The students said that the fire at the cedar didn't go off due to lack of wood, but because nobody maintained it. This, too, obviously could be either because people who were at the fire did not see what to do, or because they were already blind or dead (blinded) _{mistake signature}. They say that a few meters from the fire there were dry branches fallen from a tree that were not used. In the presence of a fire, it was not possible not to see something that could be easily used, so being blind seems like a possible explanation. Both hikers found at the campfire gradually lost sight (but very quickly) and although they could maintain the fire wile the wood lasted - they could not do it after they couldn't see what to do. They froze after they were already dead. This is only a guess of mine.

Krivonischenko (signature)

Interrogated (signature)

Russian