Hello Researchers,
I wanted to introduce myself. I'm a long-time lurker and have been inspired by the analysis this group has done of this perplexing event.
I grew up in various countries but unfortunately I don't have any knowledge of Slavic languages so I appreciate the translations. Visiting Communist countries during the Cold War as an American also gave me some perspective on the background to this event, though it was some twenty years later. Because of experiences, I can field questions about Cold War espionage esp. between the Soviets and Americans.
I was drawn to the Dyatlov group because I spent my childhood years in the far North and have done a lot of winter camping--and also things like going into a sauna and then jumping in a frozen lake after people have sawed open a circle in the ice. Rustem, Tibo, Yuri Kri, and Zina in particular seem like people I grew up with. I find the whole situation tragic since IMHO they did everything right: complied at first, fought back when necessary, built a fire, created a snow den. You can see I favor the murder theory though at first I investigated the possibility of a military weapons accident.
Looking forward to participating in this forum!