This post is in a similar tone to the "Why Rustem Slobodin Froze First" post by Teddy, and it's about why I'm (almost) convinced that Kolevatov was one of the last, if not the last survivor of the group before succumbing to the cold himself. This post isn't tied to any theory or anything but rather to the order in which the group might have died. Please tell me if I've made any mistakes. It's not my wish to spread misinformation and I'd be happy to go back and edit this if there are any errors. This is also entirely my take on it, take it with a grain of salt. So, without further ado:
Out of all of the hikers, it seems that Kolevatov was the most likely to survive. He wasn't the best dressed but he had the least injuries out of everyone from the ravine. Vozrozhdenny describes that he may have had a broken nose "the nose cartilage is soft when palpated and has unusual mobility." (not necessarily a broken nose), a deformed neck at the level of the thyroid, and some burns on his socks. Wilkins suggests that at one point, Kolevatov was present at the cedar tree, tried to climb the tree, and fell, breaking his nose and injuring his neck. Other theories might argue that this broken nose is the result of a fight. The burns on his socks may have been sustained whilst trying to help Krivonishenko (who was found with quite severe burns) or whilst helping to tend to the fire.
Moreover, he was found quite well clothed, yet some reports mention that his coat was unzipped. I can't confirm this nor deny this since Vozrozhdenny mentions "a zippered jacket" and I don't know if this means that the jacket had a zipper or if it means it was zipped shut. In his pants pockets, he had a box of matches. Being surrounded by wood from the den, he might have been able to start a fire, and after all, he could have even used some of his dead comrades' clothes as tinder, and yet he didn't. Kolevatov didn't take any clothes off of anyone for himself, and yet Zolotaryov was wearing some of Dubinina's, which might lead to believe that this was an act of selflessness on Kolevatov's part. Zolotaryov was also not wearing any of Kolevatov's clothes, which leads me to believe that they were both alive around the same time (or so they thought). This also suggests that Dubinina was the first of the Ravine 4 to die.
So now, what might have happened? Something happened nearby the ravine that caused Zolotaryov, Dubinina, and Thibeaux-Brignolles to be so severely injured, judging by the similar nature of their injuries. What caused this is a whole other discussion, and this is where different theories branch off. Either way Kolevatov may have not been there at that time of the incident since he did not sustain similar injuries, but found the agonal bodies of his friends and desperately tried to save them. Dubinina was (seemingly) the most severely injured and perhaps did not respond to Kolevatov when he tried to move her or speak to her, leading him to believe that she was already long gone. Zolotaryov, on the other hand, remained responsive which spurred on Kolevatov to help him. He took items of clothing off of Dubinina and onto Zolotaryov, who he judged needed them most at the time. In the meanwhile, Thibeaux might have still been alive, since they had not stripped his body.
After some time, Thibeaux-Brignolles falls to the ground, dead or unconscious. Kolevatov, who is well dressed but still not appropriately dressed for the weather outside, decides that if he leaves Zolotaryov to regain the cedar or the tent to fetch some firewood to go with his matches, Zolotaryov will die. After all, it's a long walk and Kolevatov is cold enough as is, the walk might take even longer than normal. At this point, Krivonishenko and Doroshenko have already passed (judging by how Dubinina tore off some of their clothes) but Kolevatov might be under the illusion that Dyatlov and Kolmogorova are still alive and have reached the tent. So, he patiently awaits their return and in a last attempt to warm up Zolotaryov, he unbuttons his jacket and presses himself against him chest-to-back to maximize body contact and use his body heat to keep him alive. He may have also thought that Thibeaux-Brignolles was still alive, and being better dressed than him or Zolotaryov, did not need his assistance, explaining why he would not have taken clothes off of his corpse.
Kolevatov's cause of death was ruled as the result of hypothermia, so he may have lay there holding Zolotaryov long after Zolotayov himself died, but was unable to accept this fact, and was instead waiting for Dyatlov and Kolmogorova to return with the help he needed to treat Zolotaryov. Kolevatov didn't break off to make a fire or keep himself alive on his own because he was convinced that he was saving Zolotaryov and that he wasn't the last survivor. So, he assessed the situation and determined he had better stay close to Zolotaryov and wait for the others, unaware that his own frostbite had settled in. They had a long day the day before the night of incident, and Kolevatov might have succumbed to exhaustion and fell asleep before the cold took him.
Those are my thoughts on the whole thing, but there's still one detail that irks me about the whole "Kolevatov died last" theory, and that is why Kolevatov wouldn't have stripped clothes off of Thibeaux-Brignolles if he were truly the last one alive. It just goes to show that this theory has a couple of inconsistencies that I can't explain. But I still think that Thibeaux-Brignolles may have died before Kolevatov since he also did not take clothes from the latter or from Zolotaryov. Sure, he was well dressed, but he could have taken the matches off of Kolevatov or at least tried to loot his corpse to try and survive on his own.
Topic: On A. Kolevatov's Death (Read 27023 times)