Rashevskaya (Doroshenko) interview 2012

Yuri Doroshenko was born on January 29, 1938. He was born, grew up, studied, graduated from high school, entered the Institute of Radio Engineering, became interested in ski hiking, like almost all his fellow students of those years, went on an expedition and died. On that trek, a few days before his death, he turned 21. What do we know about him? Almost nothing.

There are a few kind words about him and his friends from Dyatlov group, by their fellow Polytech Evgeniy Zinovyev. Thanks to him, we know some episodes from the life of Juri. One of them: the Eastern Sayans, on a student hike, "to the forest edge, overgrown with blueberries, in the evening, when tents were set up and a fire was made, a big brown bear suddenly arrived. This sudden danger was announced by the heartrending cry of Yuri Doroshenko. He himself, without hesitation, fearlessly advanced towards the beast with a geological hammer in his hands... Yuri Doroshenko did not chase the beast for long, but returned to the camp with the appearance of a winner, a brave, courageous man who had overcome his fear".

Yuri Yudin. The tenth. The surviving participant of the very last trek of the Dyatlov group recalls that he started going to hikes at the same time as Yuri and they joined the Polytech’s hiking section together, "as if they were already friends", because they always went together on all those first hikes.

Yuri Blinov characterizes Doroshenko as a person with outstanding physical strength, calm and persistent, "but not always". "He and Zina loved each other."

Yuri Doroshenko and Zina Kolmogorova, the theme is eternal. There was love, they wanted to get married. But something went wrong in the relationship. Zina was tormented. In that hike, they suddenly found themselves together. “Such a playboy”, Zina wrote in her diary. But at the same time, in a letter to a friend on the train, she writes at the beginning of the trip: "He is walking with one of the girls in hand. Jealous." "We are together and not together." Like that...

Once I found out that Irina Rashevskaya, who is on the forum "paranormal Russia", is the sister of Yuri Doroshenko, one of the members of the Dyatlov group, who tragically died in the mountains of the Northern Urals under unexplained circumstances. I wanted to talk to her. I asked her for some questions. Irina Nikolaevna kindly agreed.

But to my deep regret, the conversation did not work out. Read for yourself. I could not find contact with Irina Nikolaevna. I am unhappy with this interview. But I don’t want to keep it “in the drawer”; nevertheless, there are some interesting information in it that will allow you to learn a little more about Yuri Doroshenko.

Yuri Doroshenko, end of January 1959, photo from the last expedition, which ended tragically

MP: Dear Irina Nikolaevna! I have a few questions for you, as sister of Yuri Doroshenko. They are not so much my questions as the collective work of several people investigating the tragedy. While we are talking about somebody, we extend his life, as if giving him a new life in our hearts. Thank you for agreeing to answer our questions! Sorry, for Christ’s sake, some immodest questions. I don’t want to hurt you, but it’s just necessary to clarify some points. Therefore, I apologize in advance to you.

MP: Is it true that your mother did not recognize Juri's body? I.e. she did not recognize him in that person whom she was shown?

ID: To this question I answered Navig.

MP: You said that at night the military came to your home and took mom and aunt with them, that mom got to the funeral right away. I.e. she was first shown her son in a coffin, right at the funeral, and she did not recognize him. That Yuri had an unusual complexion, "she didn’t recognize him at all!" It may be that in the coffin was not Juri, but another person?

ID: (no comment)

Note: interesting fact is that, at first the body of Yuri found under the cedar was reported in a radiogram to be that of Zolotaryov. Although search party member student Mihail Sharavin, the first to discover the bodies by the cedar, said that he recognized Yuri Doroshenko immediately.

MP: They say that in the morgue, some girl identified Yuri. Do you know anything about her who she was?

ID: They didn’t talk in front of me about this, I was little.

MP: Yuri suffered from epilepsy? Or any other disease?

ID: No.

MP: How do you remember Yuri? What was he like? What books did I read, what kind of music did he listen to, did he have a hobby?

ID: I remember him as kind, attentive... He and Volodya liked to "launch" rockets.

MP: Do you remember the last time you saw Yuri?

ID: No, I don't.

MP: Why did he go on that trip with Igor Dyatlov, did he explain the reason to his mother? Did he write in a letter that he was going camping?

ID: No. Letters came after a month.

MP: Was there any bad premonition among relatives about this expedition?

ID: Nobody told me about premonition.

MP: Did you dream about Juri? Was he in your mom's dreams or anybody in your family? If so, can you tell me what this dream was about?

ID: (no comment)

MP: Did you or somebody in the family - mother - know about the relationship between Zina Kolmogorova and Yuri?

ID: There were no conversations in front of me, I was then "little".

MP: Is it true that Zina and Yuri wanted to get married? If this is not true about his relation with Zina, did Yuri have another girl? Did Yuri say anything to mom? Please once again excuse me for these issues, which affect the intimate sphere. It’s just that a lot of things are thought out on the topic of relations between Zina and Juri, and the establishment of how true Zina’s diaries are will depend on your explanation. Or if they were doctored by the "organs".

ID: Maya, I am shocked by this question! What intimate sphere! I haven’t read Zina’s diaries. I have no idea. When Yuri entered UPI, we left for Kazakhstan. I was 10 years old. When Yuri died, I was 13 years old.

MP: Dear Irina, excuse me for choosing the word "intimate" incorrectly. Of course, this word has many meanings. I meant, did you hear at home conversations that Yuri is friends with Zina, and that they were going to get married. That is exactly what rumors are still circulating, while others say that Yuri did not pay any attention to Zina, and all this was not serious and generally a lie in diaries written by an unknown person. But Zina's diaries say that they still had a very friendly relationship, and she was not indifferent to him. You didn't read Zina’s diaries, but probably none of the modern researchers did. Because the diaries that we know of are very contradictory, but in the original it is noticeable that some pages are simply erased and a new text is written on top of the old one. Zina's sister doesn't want to submit the diaries for handwriting examination, and of course, she has the right to do so. Once again, I apologize for involuntarily angering you. Please forgive me!

ID: Maya, yes, we had Zina’s photo at home. My brother Volodya said that this is Yuri's girl. And they didn’t say more, they say, you’re still young. If mom and brother were alive (they died in 2003 and in 2008, respectively), then they could tell a lot. Moreover, they lived together in Kiev. And I just came to them on vacation.

Yuri and Zina, together forever...

MP: Did any belongings of Juri remain in your family, mementos of him, letters, photographs? If there are any letters or photos left, will you publish them on the Internet?

ID: I have already talked about this with Navig. (I have no letters).

MP: Are you in contact with any of the relatives of the dead hikers? Did fellow students of Yuri write to you?

ID: I answered this question Navigu. (We did not know anyone in Sverdlovsk.)

Note: A somewhat unclear moment... after all, her brother Volodya talked with the relatives of the dead hikers, and therefore, knew them. Probably, the explanation is that the relatives of the dead students have not lived in Sverdlovsk for a long time, and Irina is not personally acquainted with them, all contacts were through her brother.

MP: Do you have any thoughts on the death of the group? What is your version of the reasons for the tragedy?

ID: I already answered this question Navig. (These were unsuccessful tests of a new weapon.)

MP: Is it true that after death, Juri's skin color was unusual?

ID: I answered Navig (mom said that he was orange)

MP: Do you keep in touch with the Dyatlov Group Memory Fund, where the head is Yuri Kuntsevich? Do you do your own research about the tragedy? Do you visit forums? What kind?

ID: I talk to Navig.

MP: Do you remember how did you celebrated Yuri’s birthday at home and what presents did you give him?

ID: No.

MP: I’m asking just in case, if you remember? I understand that students are always tight with money, and time was poor. When Yuri came home for the holidays, did he bring home any gifts?

ID: No.

MP: Did Yuri tell you any stories as a younger sister? Or did he communicate more with his brother?

ID: Only with my brother.

Yuri with sister Irina and brother Volodya

MP: Do you tell your children and grandchildren about Juri? Are any of them interested in investigating this mystery?

ID: Watch "Classmates. Doroshenko (Rashevskaya) 66 years Kazakhstan East Kazakhstan region. Irina"

Note: I saw it - Irina Nikolaevna named her son Yuri after her brother.

Irina Rashevskaya (Doroshenko) with her son Yuri

MP: Did Yuri talk about his studies at home, were there any funny stories? Did he talk about his friends at the institute?

ID: He talked about this only with my brother.

MP: Dear Irina Nikolaevna, thank you for your attention, for taking the time to answer these questions!

Afterword

Irina Nikolaevna wrote a letter to Navig in 2011 and then gave him an interview on September 28, 2011. Unfortunately, this interview did not address in detail the very important points that Irina Rashevskaya mentioned, namely:

"Then mother brought Yuri's things. And what was there? Not much. We lived very poorly. For 4 years of study, mother somehow managed to get him a coat because all he had was a jacket. This is in the freezing Sverdlovsk. Unthinkable. And she sent him a coat. And this when Yuri was no longer alive. How did mom cried. I remember that she was telling and showing a sweatshirt and a sweater, both ruined. Tinted with orange powder."

"My brother Volodya studied in UPI at this time. He met with relatives of the victims and reported all the versions to my mother. Then the relatives were told not to go there anymore. To drop it."

(I would like to know with whom of the relatives of Dyatlov group did her brother Volodya spoke and what did they talk about, it is a pity that Navig did not ask.)

"Having graduated from college and married, I remained in Kazakhstan. I went every year to visit my family in Kiev, and we talked about Yuri, just talk."

(I'd love to know what did they talked about, but Navig did not ask about this.)

"My brother Volodya, although he lived in Kiev (with mother, she died in 2003, from heart), kept in touch with the relatives of the dead and hikers in general... Now his wife Natasha lives in Kiev. I sent her your letter. And I wait for her to answer. She and her son will search through the papers and find the answers to your questions.

(I would like to know if her brother’s wife wrote back and if she found any documents, but alas, this we don't known. Navig is not talking, Irina neither.)

It so happened that my dialog with Irina Nikolaevna resumed again, and she answered some important questions. I put her answers in this interview so that they do not get lost in threads of the forums.

MP: Irina Nikolaevna, please tell me, did Yuri wear glasses? Some photographs show that he was wearing glasses, and seemed to have large diopters.

ID: Yes, Yuri wore glasses. And what was the diopter, I do not know, of course. Now, if someone were to ask 4 years ago, when my brother Volodya was alive, we would have learned so much information about Juri. Volodya lived with mother in Kiev. And I have been in Ust-Kamenogorsk since I was 17 (I went to study in the institute). And I went to Kiev only on vacation. And often did not have enough time to catch up on everything. Volodya's heart stopped while climbing Mount Elbrus. There was no one to save him. Volodya was three years younger than Yuri. He went to Elbrus more than once... But he perish in 2008. This is the fate of my brothers.

MP: This is so sad... Irina Nikolaevna, I think that the second pair of glasses, broken with diopters -4, -4.5, in a green case, found in a tent that could not be identified and were first attributed to Lyuda Dubina then to Kolya Thibeaux-Brignolle, were actually your brother’s glasses. Why the investigation did not present them for identification to the witness for Yuri - Victor Kostrulin, I don't know, but this witness even identified Yuri's shirts, underpants and socks, although he did not live in the same dormitory. Do you know this name? Maybe Yuri mentioned him at home as his friend? The glasses according to very unreliable protocols for identifying belongings were attributed to Kolya Thibeaux, who according to the testimonies of relatives and fellow students did not wear glasses at all. But even Kolya’s relatives didn’t seem to have returned them, because there is no receipt for receiving the glasses.

ID: Maya, very sorry, but I am not aware of any of this.

MP: Irina Nikolaevna, there were some discrepancies between the recollections of the funeral of the hikers. According to the memoirs of V.F. Bogomolov, it seems that all four were buried on the same day together, Igor, Zina, Rustem and Yuri, and the wake was in the lobby of the student dormitory №10 on Lenin Street (for some reason, he didn’t say anything about Yuri Krivonischenko). And in the diary of Yuri Blinov a completely different picture is described: on March 9, Zina, Yuri Doroshenko and Yuri Krivonischenko were buried, and the next day, Igor and Rustem. Judging by the few photos from the funeral at the Mihailovskoe cemetery, it can be seen that there were only two cars, each of them had one obelisk and an open coffin. Yuri Krivonischenko, as we know, was buried in another cemetery. I understand that it may be difficult for you to remember the painful moments of your brother’s funeral, but please try to look at these photos and try to find your relatives. I would like to make sure that on March 9, your brother Yuri was buried with Zina.

ID: Maya, I watched in one breath! There are so many photos that I see for the first time. And there is a close-up where is mother with her sister (my aunt) and some girl. This is probably Yuri’s girlfriend, or a very good friend!

Yuri Doroshenko's aunt, his mother, and a girl friend of Yuri’s

MP: Thank you very much, dear Irina Nikolaevna! So, it was definitely Juri and Zina. The stranger girl next to your relatives is probably a student of UPI, and maybe, over time, someone from former UPI students will recognize her. Perhaps this is the very girl who is rumored to have identified Yuri’s body in the morgue.

MP: Irina Nikolaevna, I ask all relatives what do you think about the installation of the Memorial Cross in the forest at the site of the death of the group?

ID: In Kiev, relatives are deeply religious. For three years I studied at a Sunday school at Holy Trinity Monastery. A cross at the place of death - it would be very good! But it needs a lot of money!

Relatives of Yuri Doroshenko follow the coffin