Interview with Stanislav Bogomolov

Interview with Stanislav Evgenievich Bogomolov, author of the article "Mystery of the fireballs", published in the "Uralskiy Rabochiy" (en. Ural Worker) in 1990 on July 8, 10, 11, and 12

1. In your article at the very end, you write that you have done the analyzes. What are the results of these analyzes and where you can get acquainted with them, tell me, please. Here is a quote, the very ending:
   "For myself I have the task to visit this summer or autumn the altitude of 1079 and take samples."

   Answer
   "Yes, I went with a hiking group to Otorten in the autumn of that year, took cores from trees and soil samples, and handed them over to the radiological laboratory. No radiation was found, which is not surprising, because beta radiation was found on the clothes, it does not stay for a long time."

2. Lev Ivanov in your article says that he brought Geiger counter to the pass. In personal communication with you, did Lev Ivanov tell you who told him, indicated or otherwise hinted to bring a Geiger counter to the pass and measure the level of radiation? Quote from your article:
   "I did not work out the version about the light balls. I only managed to conduct a radiation examination. Even had to carry on location a device in a large wooden box.
   - Geiger counter?
   - Yes, it looks like it. It was clicking a lot... I am sure there was radiation. But nobody told me how much, and I didn't found out."

   Answer
   "No, he did not say anything about why he decided to check their clothes for radiation. He changed the topic. Much later, almost this year, I learned from a lawyer, that another lawyer told him that Ivanov ordered this examination because he noticed how the hikers' clothes which lay on his floor in his office were glowing."

3. Did Ivanov say anything that you didn't included in your article?

   Answer
   "No, I included everything he told me."

4. Did you manage to familiarize yourself with the criminal case about the death of the Dyatlov group? If so, where and how? Share with us, please.

   Answer
   "Of course, I read the two volumes of the case files. It has been stored in the State Archives of the Sverdlovsk Region since 1974."

5. Did the criminal case have a number?

   Answer
   "Honestly, I did not pay attention to it then, but it turned out to be important. Why - you can read my material on the site, which tells that the Prosecutor General's Office decided in the year of the 60th anniversary of the tragedy to check the circumstances of the deaths of group. They promised to tell the journalists first in October, then in November, and now in January."

6. Были ли фотографии из морга в том уголовном деле и в каком количестве? Помните?

   Answer
   "There were no photos from the morgue."

7. Did L. Ivanov say anything verbally to you about radiation and fireballs, which was not included in your article?

   Answer
   "No, I published everything he told me."

8. Did L. Ivanov already have a ready manuscript for his article?

   Answer
   "He did not say anything about a manuscript, but he showed his book about this case. It was called something like "Under the influence of an irresistible elemental force". I leafed through, everything was according to the old version. I can assume that the newspaper men initiated this article. I found Ivanov through them. It seems that they did not know about this mysterious story."

9. Does his manuscript match what was published in the newspaper, or was it editing or censored?

   Answer
   "I can't tell."

10. Did L. Ivanov say anything about S. Zolotaryov and G. Krivonischenko? How did he describe them?

    Answer
    "He did not say anything in particular about Zolotaryov and Krivonischenko."

11. Did L. Ivanov tell you what he saw on the pass: items, evidence, something that doesn't belong?

    Answer
    "There is enough information in the case files on this subject, he did not say anything about strange things, except for UFOs. A lot can be explained with UFOs. There are close to 70 theories of what happened. The prosecutor's office is checking the avalanche version, 9 examinations, including radiological, have been appointed. How exactly are they going to proceed is unclear."

12. Where exactly was L. Ivanov at Otorten or at the height of "1079"?

    Answer
    "Ivanov, was at Mount 1079, of course, examined belongings and the tent, dragged the Geiger counter."

13. Who did L. Ivanov inspect the tent with, some names? It leaked that there were 2 tents, one on Otorten, and the other on special assignment on 1079. Have you heard anything about this?

    Answer
    "There were a lot of people there. Searches continued until May. There was no mentioning of a second tent. This must be an assumptions of some publicists and writers."

14. L. Ivanov said that the case was opened on February 6, were there any references to Korotaev?

    Answer
    "He did not mention Korotaev. But I met him too. We flipped through the case together, he was still surprised that some documents prepared by him are missing. And in the case there is a note that the sheets so-and-so are removed. We don't know where they are. At a press conference, prosecutors explained that they were seized in connection with secrecy - the testimony of an operative that Mansi saw a group of hikers. But this, as it turned out, was a different group in another place, and the operative could not be disclosed. But why the secrets now?"

15. Did he talk about the injuries of Dyatlov, Kolmogorova, Slobodin, Krivonischenko, and the nature of the injuries? For example in the radiograms it says that Zina has a broken head.

    Answer
    "We hardly discussed injuries - everything is clear there. Medical examiner Vozrozhdenniy says in his conclusion - injuries as from a powerful blast wave."

16. Did L. Ivanov say that the Dyatlov group could have been sent on some mission? Was there any mention or hint that the group may include KGB full-time employees or KGB agents?

    Answer
    "There was no talk of this either. These versions appeared after my publication. We have many amateurs working the case even without involving the KGB. But the relatives, in particular, Dyatlov's sister recalled that were advised to look for the truth from the military."

17. In your opinion, L. Ivanov knew the whole truth or just guessed?

    Answer
    "He knew something, of course, but not all. You quoted him - "nobody told me". The search participants recalled that in the midst of the investigation he was suddenly summoned to Sverdlovsk and when he came back he had a different internal perspective on the case."

18. Why did L. Ivanov ask for forgiveness from the relatives of the dead hikers found in May 1959 in a stream, in particular from the Dubinins, Thibault-Brignoles and Zolotorevs? What is your opinion on this matter?

    Answer
    "For not completing the investigation, I think."

19. Quote from your article:
    "- I have my own explanation for what happened. You can put in the headline, "The forensic prosecutor believes that UFO killed the hikers!"...
    - Is that what you think now, when the UFO theme is open and in fashion, or did you think so in 1959? In fact, this is not directly stated, except for a series of testimonies about light balls and a note about them from the "Tagil Worker".
    - Then I assumed it, and now I am sure. I can’t pretend to say what kind of balls they are — whether they are weapons, aliens or something else, but I’m sure that this is directly related to the deaths of the hikers.
    - But how do you imagine it? The pilots, geologists who traveled and flew these lands, they all say that there are no signs of an explosion near Otorten and the surrounding area.
    - It wasn't in the usual sense an explosion of a shell or a bomb. It was different, as if a balloon had burst."

    What did L. Ivanov mean by the phrase, "as if the balloon had burst? Can you explain, please!

    Answer
    "He meant like the breaking of ball lightning, maybe I didn’t write it down correctly. Other hikers also saw fireballs. At the press, I told prosecutors about Ivanov’s opinion about UFOs. They looked at me like I am crazy. I have read many publications on the subject. There are always more questions than answers. In fact the questions that matter are only two: what caused the horrendous injuries and where did the radiation come from. I doubt that the prosecutors will be able to answer them, but I am looking forward to their findings."

Source: Natasha Mitrova