Malahov. Who assembled the watch with a listening device?
Andrey [MALAKHOV] and the upcoming episode about the Dyatlov group Malahov. The Dyatlov Pass: who assembled the watch with a listening device? (2026-X-27):
[KOROTAYEV] (recording from 1996): Back in 1959, I was working as an investigator for the Ivdel Prosecutor’s Office. The first group—the first three or four bodies—showed no signs of physical injury.
As I was packing up some items from one of the bodies, the forensic expert, Gants, let out a cry—a truly inhuman sound…
[–] For nearly 10 years now, we have continued our investigation, attempting to reconstruct the chronology of the tragic events that befell the nine hikers in Igor Dyatlov’s group.
Alexey [KOSKIN]: The deeper you dig, the more inconsistencies you uncover. Many of these individuals already had access to classified information.
Maxim [EMELYANOV] (actor playing Krivonishchenko): I found it particularly fascinating that, at the age of 20, he built a radio receiver. By today’s standards, he would be considered a true prodigy.
[–] Intelligence services, espionage, a UFO crash, secret weapons testing, an avalanche, and even a ritual killing by the Mansi tribe—over the years, there have been more than 70 theories regarding the hikers' deaths. But the real sensation came from a candid interview with a man who identified himself to us as Viktor Iosifovich. He had remained silent for 30 years. He called our program, saying, "I have nothing left to lose."
[VIKTOR]: They held a small mirror up to everyone. They were breathing—almost all of them were still alive. When they reached Zolotaryov, his chest was rising and falling noticeably. Zolotaryov regained consciousness... To cover their tracks, they requested a helicopter and a turbine-powered blower. They sprinkled salt over all the footprints. Salt melts the snow, turning the tracks into water.
[XENIA]: And you’ve kept quiet for all these years!
[VIKTOR]: I couldn’t speak about it back then... But now, let them do whatever they want... I’m not afraid anymore—I’m not afraid of anything!
[–] This interview sparked a great deal of controversy. Our program’s regular expert—a historian of the security services and a retired counterintelligence colonel, Nikolai Luzan—decided to meet with our subject, Viktor Iosifovich, in person. And, it must be said, the encounter felt more like an interrogation.
[LUZAN]: The materials concerning this subject matter are classified.
[VIKTOR]: They replaced all the documents that the Ivdel prosecutor had, and presented the version of events they wanted to put forward.
[LUZAN]: Let’s put it this way: according to Chudny, those materials were destroyed. But do they actually exist, or not? There are many questions here for which we simply cannot get answers. You must agree that the original materials are not available to the public, right?
[VIKTOR]: All the materials have been removed. They’re in the KGB’s secret department—the Sixth Department.
[–] Today, we will uncover new details about this case. How did Semyon Zolotaryov end up in the group? ...and who introduced him to Igor Dyatlov? What will the wife of the squadron commander—the man who first discovered the tent and the hikers—have to say? Also, appearing on television for the first time, we have a man whose own father was once accused of being responsible for the deaths of the Dyatlov group. And, most importantly, what conclusions did our subjects reach?
Nikolai Nikolayevich Luzan, a historian of the security services, is with us today. What are your impressions of the trip and your meeting with the man who calls himself Viktor Iosifovich? Is that his real name, in your opinion? Or is he perhaps using a cover identity?
[LUZAN]: I believe the name is real. He asked me not to mention his surname, and I didn’t try to find it out. First of all, I must give credit to you and your team for taking an unconventional approach in arranging this meeting. What can I say? He is, in principle, a man of sound mind.
[–] He is quite elderly, it’s fair to say.
[LUZAN]: Yes, he is 90 years old. Yet, his speech is coherent and meaningful, and he has a good sense of humor. On a personal level, he is a warm, engaging individual. But then again, I am not an investigator.
I pressed him on various points and specific facts. What can I conclude? He is 100% well-versed in the subject matter. Much of what he knows comes from the prosecutor, Chudny—with whom he was very close and used to go hunting. And Chudny, in turn, learned what happened there from Lev Ivanov.
What lends credibility to his account? Twenty years later, in 1979, he—along with Chudny—was at the site of the incident.
[–] So, you were there too.
[LUZAN]: During my time in service, one of the sites my unit was responsible for was located there, so I had to travel to that area. His description aligns very closely with the actual situation—with how things really happened. As for his account in general, in terms of factual material, it seems to me that everything is quite consistent with the information available in open sources.
[–] Let’s recall what Viktor Iosifovich—who remained silent for 30 years—told us about investigator Lev Ivanov and the events at the Dyatlov Pass. Pay attention!
[VIKTOR]: When the last four hikers were discovered in the stream, buried under snow and earth, the KGB’s secret 6th Department—this was on May 9, 1969, I believe—arrived to see Ivanov and summoned him to work. They took the investigation materials—which contained the truth as discovered by Ivanov—and told him that the incident was caused by natural factors, such as an avalanche, and so on. That is why they said, "Close the case!" Yet, Ivanov had already figured out the actual cause of their deaths.
Lev Ivanov learned all the details from a KGB colonel at a café-bar in Sverdlovsk. The colonel’s name was Anatoly Vasilyevich Ilyichev. They were on good terms and were even distant relatives; when Ivanov’s nephew got married, the matchmaker was the KGB colonel’s own sister. This KGB colonel told him everything that had happened at the Dyatlov Pass.
[XENIA]: So, it turns out Ilyichev told Ivanov because of their family connection. He must have seen how much Ivanov was suffering—he was clearly plagued by a guilty conscience.
[VIKTOR]: Yes, he suffered a great deal because of it. Until the end of his days, he would say: "I did not act of my own free will."
When Ivanov spoke with the commander of the helicopter regiment, he brought up the subject, remarking, "It’s so painful that those hikers perished."
The commander replied, "I remember when the request came in—an urgent, emergency call to provide a helicopter and send eight military personnel to capture some escaped criminals." He noticed that as they were boarding, everyone was carrying gas mask bags. That alone suggested something was amiss...
(Applause in the studio.)
[-] Joining us again today to hear these accounts is Alexey Alexandrovich Koskin, Chairman of the Board of the Dyatlov Memorial Foundation. Good evening! As I understand it, investigator Ivanov seized the report on the discovery of the bodies, along with other documents. Why do you think he did that at the time? Was it to preserve them for future generations—or was he, too, trying to conceal some truth?
I believe he seized certain materials under orders, and that weighed heavily on him for many years. Yet, look at this: on May 6th, people came and confiscated certain documents from him... but he didn't give up. At the end of May, he ordered that famous physical-technical forensic examination, which revealed the presence of radiation on the bodies. And then, all of that was seized once again...
There is a "secret packet" within the case file. He tried to take certain steps, but he was simply prevented from doing so.
Furthermore, in that television program—the one that caused quite a stir—Viktor Iosifovich stated in his interview that the tent had been moved some distance from its original location. We actually conducted an experiment regarding this. According to his account, the hikers, finding themselves in a hopeless situation, cut the tent open using scissors and a razor. ...trying to scramble out and get a breath of air.
Here we see an experiment we conducted in the studio. You also mentioned an interesting detail: small items—things that may not have belonged to the group—were found near the tent. What kind of items were they?
[KOSKIN]: Small objects—caps, slippers, socks, and so on—were discovered 15–20 meters from the tent. At the time, no one paid any attention to them; they had other, more pressing concerns. But if we consider that the tent might have been moved—and it had been cut open—it’s possible that some items fell out... They might have been picked up and placed back inside the tent, but the smaller things went unnoticed. This serves as evidence that the tent was indeed moved—something I hadn’t believed for many years... And the distances here align with Viktor Iosifovich’s account; he speaks of tens of meters. And these small items were, in fact, found several tens of meters away. Further down the slope, no other objects were discovered.
[–] Let’s hear what Viktor Iosifovich told us about one of the hikers, Rustem Slobodin. Listen closely!
[VIKTOR]: So, when they began covering their tracks, they used a braided rope—about 33–34 mm thick. They tied everyone to this rope, and eight men from a special-purpose unit carried them toward the cedar tree, moving in a line. But then Slobodin groaned. They stopped, set everyone down, took Slobodin, and carried him about 150 meters to the northeast.
They left him there and continued on toward the cedar tree. That is the truth! Everything else—that’s just not it...
[–] What do you think? Do you agree with Viktor Iosifovich?
[KOSKIN]: Yes, that is indirectly supported. Slobodin was, in fact, the only hiker found in a "dynamic" posture. Either he was left there, or he had been running, stumbled, and fell. It wasn’t a posture typical of someone freezing to death; it was a dynamic one. That’s the first point.
And secondly, he was found to have a skull injury. The expert concluded that he lost consciousness and froze to death at the moment of the impact.
[–] We can see signs of an impact along the ulnar (elbow-side) edge of his left hand.
[KOSKIN]: Yes, there were signs of skin injuries on his hands. The official case file contains no report on the discovery of Slobodin’s body. There is only a telegram from Maslennikov mentioning that such a report had been drawn up, but I have never been able to locate it anywhere.
[–] Have you also examined this forensic report? What is your take on it?
[GOLOVANOV] (forensic medical expert): I have reviewed the report. I still cannot determine what actually caused this man’s death, because the cause of death stated in the examination record is not substantiated by anything.
[–] But based on these records, could one conclude that his hands had been bound with a rope?
[GOLOVANOV]: That’s a possibility. But, as I’ve said, the description leaves much to be desired. Based on this description, no expert could tell you for certain whether or not something actually happened. This is because the investigation itself was of very poor quality.
[–] Oleg Alexandrovich! Would you like to add something?
[ARKHIPOV]: Colleagues! We must keep in mind the terrain where they were located. There’s a *kurumnik*—a field of rock debris—there. I can’t say whether their flight was panicked or organized. It’s entirely possible that he sustained these injuries simply from coming into contact with the ground.
[–] Let’s set this debate aside for a moment, as we are joined by Lyudmila Vladimirovna Morgunova, the sister of Rustem Slobodin. She is calling in from New York. Good evening! Thank you for joining us.
Your brother was 23 years old when he died. At such a young age, he was already working as an engineer at the Sverdlovsk Research Institute and had even been sent on assignments to the secret facility known as Chelyabinsk-40. Was this a career path chosen by the family?
[MORGUNOVA]: Yes, it was a family choice. My parents were highly educated people—my father was a professor, and my mother held a *kandidat* degree [equivalent to a PhD]. Naturally, Rustem went straight to UPI [Ural Polytechnic Institute]. He had a great interest in mechanics, so he pursued that profession.
[–] You attended the funeral. Do you recall any specific details regarding your brother’s body? I apologize for bringing you back to such a painful moment. We were just discussing the possibility that his hands might have been bound with a rope—or perhaps his skin, like that of the others who perished, had taken on a yellowish hue.
[MORGUNOVA]: Yes, there was indeed such a detail. The exposed parts of his body—his hands and face—weren’t yellowish; they were brown. He was a very deeply tanned man. Dark-brown skin. That was truly surprising.
[–] Is it true that your father, Vladimir Mikhailovich Slobodin, went to the Party Committee when they began closing the case? And that he demanded the investigation be extended to shed some light on the whole affair?
[MORGUNOVA]: Yes, and they told him to stop coming by and to stop making demands... It’s all documented in the case file: if he continued to push for anything, he would lose his Party membership card.
[–] Thank you very much! We’re continuing to look into this. I think you’ll find it interesting to hear how Semyon Zolotaryov ended up in Igor Dyatlov’s group and joined the expedition. Viktor Iosifovich shared some incredible details in a recent interview. Let’s take a listen!
[XENIA]: I have a question... First of all, why did Dyatlov bring Zolotaryov along just days before the expedition began?! Why? Did they know each other? Or were they introduced?
[VIKTOR]: No, they didn’t know each other beforehand. The person in charge of preparing the group for the trek to the Northern Urals invited Zolotaryov—at the request of the KGB—and brought him on board. He was told to go there, so he went. He was tasked with listening in on what people were saying, given that the Urals were home to a high concentration of military installations.
[XENIA]: In previous programs, you mentioned that Zolotaryov had a watch equipped with a listening device. But many experts have disagreed, claiming that such watches simply didn’t exist back then.
[VIKTOR]: That is absolutely untrue! It was a pocket watch. It wasn’t just a wristwatch; it was a pocket watch equipped with capacitors to power a listening device—a 4.7 µF unit. Using a battery and an antenna, it allowed someone to eavesdrop on the entire group and hear what they were discussing. He would switch it on periodically.
One night, he turned it on, and a neighbor lying nearby—Doroshenko, or perhaps someone else—noticed the watch and figured out what it actually was.
[XSENIA]: So, Doroshenko presumably guessed what it was. Did he ever ask him, "What is that? Why did you bring it along?"
[VIKTOR]: No, he didn’t ask anything. He just mentioned that the watch was glowing—which was a sign that the listening device had been activated.
[XENIA]: That’s absolutely extraordinary! And this was 1959, after all. So, pocket watches like that actually existed?
[VIKTOR]: Pocket watches of that kind had been around since the war.
[XENIA]: Yevgeny Polikarpovich Maslennikov drew up the route plan and had to report to certain authorities. Am I correct in understanding that while Maslennikov may not have known about the change in the route, he did know who Semyon Zolotaryov was—and that Zolotaryov had been deliberately placed with Dyatlov’s group?
[VIKTOR]: Yes, it was a specific—how should I put it—operation. These actions were taken to find out who was discussing what secrets. That’s why he was eavesdropping on them. And Krivonishchenko—he also worked at a "secret post office box" [a code name for a classified facility] somewhere.
[XENIA]: "Post office box"—that’s a term for the KGB, right?
[VIKTOR]: Well, something like that, yes...
A "post office box" was a code name used for Soviet defense-related enterprises and organizations.
– Vadim Anatolyevich! A question for you, as an expert: is it actually possible that, back in those years, there already existed pocket watches capable of eavesdropping—functioning, in effect, as recording devices?
[VERVAN] (retired General Staff colonel): I’ll put it this way: it’s possible they existed. It wouldn’t have been a recording device, but rather a simple microphone transmitting data to a base station.
In open terrain, the range could be quite significant—nearly a kilometer. In an urban environment, it might be anywhere from 50 to 300 meters, depending on the landscape. Back then, microphones were either carbon, condenser, or dynamic. I won’t go into how they were built, but the technology existed. Such a watch could certainly have existed.
– Alexey! How do you think he knows all this—about Doroshenko’s reaction, and what went on inside the tent?
[KOSKIN]: This raises a question: why would a listening device need to be turned on at night? What was the purpose? If such a device did exist, perhaps it was being used for something else entirely? And how did he know about the conversations inside the tent? Either Zolotaryov or Doroshenko must have told him—but they both perished. Or perhaps he was in contact with them, yet for some reason, he chooses not to mention it. He himself remains an unsolved mystery—yet another one.
– Let’s take a short break for a commercial. Right after that, we’ll have new details from Viktor Iosifovich, and—appearing on television for the first time—the daughter of Yevgeny Maslennikov, the man who approved the route plan for Dyatlov’s group. After all these years, she has decided to speak out. Stay with us—more after the break.
Good evening once again! We continue to reconstruct the events that unfolded at the Dyatlov Pass. As you know, we have been covering this for 10 years now. There are numerous theories regarding the deaths of the nine hikers—ranging from an operation by special services to the crash of a UFO or the testing of secret weapons.
Before the break, we saw a clip from an interview with our guest, Viktor Iosifovich—a man who remained silent for 30 years. He claims to have been a friend of the prosecutor, and he reveals new details about the tragedy at the Dyatlov Pass. Just before the break—for those of you who have only recently joined us—he explained who introduced Zolotaryov to Dyatlov. And now, on your screens, you can see the testimony of Yevgeny Maslennikov, a member of the route commission.
As a reminder, Yevgeny Polikarpovich Maslennikov—the chairman of the regional tourism federation and a member of the route commission—was the one who approved Dyatlov’s route plan. Later, he was also the one who changed his testimony on the matter.
Vladimir Mikhailovich Askinadzi—a member of the search party and a friend of both Dyatlov and Kolmogorova—still speaks with great caution. Let’s take a look!
[XENIA]: Returning to the subject of Maslennikov—you’re saying his testimony was incorrect, and that he claimed they had changed their route?
[ASKINADZI]: I wouldn’t put it that way... That’s not to say he wasn’t lying; he was simply trying to fend off attacks.
[XENIA]: But why would he incriminate himself? Why claim they had changed their route if they hadn’t?
[ASKINADZI]: To justify himself—to show that he had nothing to do with it.
[XENIA]: Fair enough, let’s assume that’s the case. But the bodies were still discovered in a place where they shouldn’t have been, right? How do you explain that? It doesn’t add up.
[ASKINADZI]: He didn’t change the entire route—he only altered a small part of it. Well, the guy just had some bad luck!
[XENIA]: Then why did Zolotaryov join his group just a couple of days before they set off?
[ASKINADZI]: From the very moment he showed up, we were suspicious: why are you tagging along with these young people? There are plenty of other hikers your own age!
[XENIA]: You haven’t answered my question!
[ASKINADZI]: I don’t have a serious answer for that...
[XENIA]: You just said that Maslennikov lied when he wrote about the route plan.
[ASKINADZI]: Yes, in that instance—he did. But when he said the tent had been set up in a masterful way... He didn’t lie about everything; he just lied on certain occasions.
[—]: Oleg Nikolayevich, what do you have to say?
[ARKHIPOV]: I can tell you that, according to the interrogation records, everyone agreed the tent had been set up in full compliance with the rules of the UPI hiking club. And there was no doubt whatsoever that it was the Dyatlov group who had pitched the tent in the location we know of.
[—]: Natalya, Maslennikov’s daughter, has decided to speak about her father for the first time in 30 years. Let’s hear what stories and secrets her family has kept.
[MASLENNIKOVA]: When my father returned, he was clearly not himself. He explained that the search had taken much longer than they had anticipated. It turned out to be a complex case; they explored every possible theory.
No signs of an avalanche, wild animals, or the Mansi people were found. They investigated everything very thoroughly. And he said that those hikers had experienced sheer, primal terror. Perhaps it had something to do with a sound... When he first arrived home, he told my mother everything right away. But later, when friends began to visit and ask him about it, he said, "I’m not allowed to talk about this. I signed a non-disclosure agreement."
My father suffered greatly, tormented by the fact that he couldn't reveal the truth to people about how those young men and women died.
CORRESPONDENT: There is information suggesting that KGB officers tasked your father with planting Semyon Zolotaryov in the Dyatlov group to carry out some form of surveillance.
[MASLENIKOVA]: I don’t believe my father would have done such a thing. |
(part 2 will be added tomorrow)
Topic: Malakhov 2026/10/27 (part 1) (Read 62 times)