Dyatlov Pass. Kyshtym Trace

chapter 1

SUMMER, 2011.

CHELYABINSK REGION. ZLATOUST.

A heavy rain is pouring. A passenger train arrives on the track. The train stops, the doors of the train cars open, and the conductors step out. The conductors stand by the doors, and passengers start disembarking in unison. In a close-up shot, a young man named Vanya (30) with a small wheeled suitcase is prominently featured, walking with his young wife Ksyusha (26) and holding the hand of a little boy, Danilka (7).

The entrance doors open and VANYA, KSYUSHA, and Danilka enter noisily. IGOR BYKOV (82) struggles to get up from the chair and turns towards the doorway leading to the corridor. Danilka appears in the doorway and rushes into the arms of his grandfather. Then VANYA and KSYUSHA enter.

DANILKA

(laughing)

Grandpa, grandpa, hello!

IGOR BYKOV (82)

(laughing)

Oh, my great-grandson, Danilka. How you've grown in this past year? You've really become a man.

VANYA

Hello, grandpa. How are you doing?

IGOR BYKOV (82)

Oh, grandson, don't even ask. Old age is no fun. My joints are really giving me trouble lately.

KSYUSHA

Hello, grandpa. We brought you some ointment from Thailand. The local monks assured us that it restores joints.

Ksyusha takes out a tube with hieroglyphs from her purse and hands it to Igor Bykov.

KSYUSHA

Here, take it.

IGOR BYKOV (82)

(crying)

Oh, Ksyushenka, my dear granddaughter, thank you. You are so caring. Vanka is lucky.

KSYUSHA seats Igor Bykov in his armchair, which is facing the television.

KSYUSHA

You guys sit down, I'm off to the kitchen.

Ksyusha runs off to the kitchen. Igor Bykov wipes away his tears and reads the inscriptions on the tube.

IGOR BYKOV (82)

Why not, I'll just apply some now.

VANYA

What are you watching on TV?

IGOR BYKOV (82)

Yes, all sorts of nonsense. Son, have you heard about the accident at Fukushima?

VANYA

Yes, I caught a glimpse of it. In March, I think, it happened.

IGOR BYKOV (82)

Yes. And there was a program about it now. In general, the radiation accident reached the maximum level of 7 on the International Nuclear Events Scale, and at our 'Mayak' in 1957, it was unofficially assigned a level of 6 out of 7, second only to Chernobyl's nuclear power plant accidents. And now there's Fukushima-1.

VANYA

Grandpa, you always bring up that, about your Kyshtym?!

IGOR BYKOV (82)

It's interesting, the authorities say that natural disasters, in particular, the strongest earthquake in Japan's history and the subsequent tsunami, were the cause. But another source on the internet, the Japanese engineering company Tepco, reports that a Rat may have caused the power grid failure at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan.

Vanya and Ksyusha laugh.

IGOR BYKOV (82)

(Seriously)

What are you laughing at?!

VANYA

Grandpa, think for yourself, what rat? What does a rat have to do with it? Have you completely lost your mind, started believing in fairy tales.

Ksyusha enters the hall wearing an apron and places plates of salads on the table.

KSYUSHA

(In a whisper)

Sweetheart, calm down. He's old, 82 years old, after all. Let's see what you'll be like at his age.

IGOR BYKOV (82)

(Indignantly)

Well, I'm not old. I can hear everything just fine, although my vision is starting to deteriorate.

KSYUSHA

(Tenderly)

You misunderstood, grandpa, I meant that you shouldn't get nervous, and Vanya doesn't understand that and starts arguing.

IGOR BYKOV (82)

(Calm down)

To be honest, truth is born in disputes?!

Vanya looks out the window.

VANYA

So what is the truth then?

IGOR BYKOV (82)

The truth is that the Kyshtym nuclear disaster, which no one knew about for a long time, also occurred due to a power grid failure, leading to the failure of the cooling system and resulting in the explosion of a 'tank' or a container with a volume of 300 cubic meters, containing by that time, about 80 cubic meters of dried high-level radioactive waste. And the cause was once again a rat, which gnawed the insulation and thus triggered a short circuit. And this is a fact.

KSYUSHA

Everything is fine, grandpa, but let's get to the table. I bet you're hungry. And this rain as well. By the way, when did it start?

Everyone stands up, approaches, and sits down at the table.

IGOR BYKOV (82)

It's been pouring for the second week now.

VANYA

Another cloud got stuck behind the mountain?

IGOR BYKOV (82)

It seems so.

VANYA

Looks like the vacation's ruined. I really wanted to take little Danilka to the mountain?

KSYUSHA

Why did you decide like that?

VANYA

Because now, until the whole storm breaks loose, she won't fly anywhere. She's staying put, and it's going to pour for at least a month.

KSYUSHA

(Seriously)

Grandpa, is it true?

IGOR BYKOV (82)

I'm afraid so. By the way, this natural phenomenon became the official cause of the death of the Dyatlov group on the northeastern slope of Mount Holatchahl, now known as Dyatlov Pass. However, the Central Committee of the Communist Party ordered everything to be classified and falsified so that even future generations would remain unaware of the true cause of this tragedy.

KSYUSHA

And what is the main reason for their deaths?

IGOR BYKOV (82)

The Kyshtym radioactive cloud stopped in the gorge between Mount Holatchahl and Otorten. It mainly consisted of long-lived heavy isotopes: strontium-90 and

cesium-137, which had half-lives ranging from 28.8 to 30.2 years and formed the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace (EURT) through precipitation.

KSYUSHA

Oh, how interesting. Could you tell me more?

IGOR BYKOV (82)

But it's a long story.

VANYA

And now, due to the prolonged rainfall, we're not in a hurry to go anywhere.

And now, due to the prolonged rainfall, we're not in a hurry to go anywhere.

ДАНИЛКА

Grandpa, grandpa, tell me.

IGOR BYKOV (82)

Then listen. It was, as I remember it now, on the 29th of September 1957. I was working as the head of security at "Mayak" and held the rank of senior lieutenant in the Committee of State Security of the USSR. But it all started with a rat…

chapter 2

Aerial view of the Mayak Production Association.

TITLE:

29.09.1957. Chelyabinsk-40, Mayak Production Association

We see a panorama of the concrete covers of containers ('banks') used to store highly radioactive waste. Rats run through the tunnel in search of food. One of the rats begins to gnaw at the rubber sheath of a cable that supplies one of the containers and chews through to the copper multi-core wire. It is shocked, sparks are visible, and its face is burned. It falls down dead next to it.

NOTE:A CONTAINER FOR STORING HIGHLY RADIOACTIVE WASTE IS CALLED A 'BANK'.

The water supply pump for this "bank" container is shutting off..

5. INТ. CHELYABINSK-40/MAYAK PLANT/COMMUNICATIONS CONTROL POINT – DAY

GUARD GRISHA, GUARD VASYA

На контрольном посту к дежурному Васе подходит коллега Гриша.

GUARD GRISHA

Василий, чайник с кипел.

Гриша уходит к столу.

GUARD VASYA

Чайник, это хорошо, неси сюда.

GUARD GRISHA

Зачем?

GUARD VASYA

Здесь будем пить. Приборы же не оставить?

GUARD GRISHA

Да что с ними будет?

GUARD VASYA

Ты че, Гриша?! А вдруг?!

GUARD GRISHA

Да брось ты, за десять минут ничего не будет. Так что давай, разомнись, а то мышцы, небось, засиделись. Тем более у меня тут медовые крендели с абрикосовым вареньем. Моя напекла.

GUARD VASYA

Серьезно? Так бы сразу и сказал.

Vasya gets up and heads to the table to take a mug of tea. At that moment, the cooling supply indicator for one of the "bank" containers is switched off.

The liquid in the container quickly starts boiling. We see a panorama of the concrete covers of containers ('banks') used to store highly radioactive waste, and one of them starts slowly rising and then explodes. The 1-meter-thick, 160-ton concrete cover of the 'bank' is thrown to the side, up to 25 meters away.

An ionized mushroom cloud with a lead-colored hue bursts out of the container and rises to a height of 1-2 km, forming swirling clouds resembling the Northern Lights. A radioactive rain begins. The cloud sparkles and moves in a northeast direction from the explosion site (following the direction of the wind), paralleling the ridges of the Ural Mountains.

chapter 3

NOTE: KAZAKH LANGUAGE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES IS USED IN THE SCENE

The local residents Rais Bashkirov and his wife Fatima see the Northern Lights in the night sky above the Auspiya Valley, which is heading towards Mount Kholatchakh.

RAIS BASHKIROV

(In Kazakh)

Қарашы, Фатима, жаңбыр жауады. Міне, көрдіңіз бе, бұлт Халат-Сихлге кетті. Планетаның климаты өзгеруде. Сол жерде көресіз бе, солтүстік шамдар басталады, яғни мұз дәуірі болады.

(IN RUSSIAN)

Look, Fatima, it's going to rain. Look, do you see that cloud heading towards Mount Kholat-Sykh? The climate on the planet is changing. Look, the Northern Lights are starting, that means there will be an Ice Age.

WIFE FATIMA

(In Kazakh)

Егер сіз бүкіл өміріңізде ауданнан ауылдан алыстап шықпаған болсаңыз, бос жерлерді қоймаңыз, Раис, солтүстік шамдарды қайдан көрдіңіз?

(IN RUSSIAN)

You're lying, Rais. How could you have seen the Northern Lights if you've never left the settlement and haven't even traveled outside the district in your entire life?

RAIS BASHKIROV

(Strongly in Kazakh)

Тыныш бол, ақымақ әйел, мен солтүстік флотта қызмет еттім, олар Ақ теңізде жүргенде сол жерде көрдім.

(IN RUSSIAN)

Shut up, stupid woman, I served in the Northern Fleet, that's where I saw it when we were sailing on the White Sea.

END OF SUBTITLES

A cloud follows the slope of Mount Kholatchakh through the valley, clings to the peaks, and gets stuck, stopping above the pass.

A leaden mist forms in the valley, a hare runs into it and disappears into the fog. A fox follows behind and also vanishes into the thick mist.

Snow falls and clears up around the mountain peaks. Below, there is still dense fog and no sign of the ground.

Snow continues to fall and clear up. Snow on the ground begins to melt and dead hares, wolves, and foxes appear.

A little further on, a bear dies.

Liquidators walk with dosimeters in protective suits and assess the damage, checking the radiation levels.

SENIOR

(via radio)

Yuri Krivonischenko, measure around the perimeter.

GEORGY KRIVONISCHENKO

Received.

Georgy Krivonischenko (22) in a protective suit walks away from the explosion epicenter, measuring the ground and air with a dosimeter.

One by one, employees in protective suits enter and are treated with a solution. They each walk away and remove their suits. A close-up camera shows Yuri Krivonischenko removing the helmet from his head. His face is sweaty, tired, and gloomy. He takes off the suit and heads to the shower. Another person enters.

chapter 4

After two years

The facade of the administrative building of the MAYAK Software Company. In the office of the security department of the MAYAK Software Company, IGOR BYKOV (30) is sitting. The switchboard turns on.

SECRETARY OF BYKOV

Hello Igor Borisovich. Alexander Zolotaryov and Yuri Krivonishchenko have arrived to see you on official business.

IGOR BYKOV

Let them in.

SEMYON ZOLOTARYOV (38) and Yuri Krivonischenko (24) enter the office.

IGOR BYKOV (continuing)

Hello, please take a seat. We have a long conversation ahead. I am Igor Borisovich Bykov, Chief of Security Services at MAYAK Software Company. Captain of the KGB. So, let's start with you?

SEMYON ZOLOTARYOV

Alexander Alexeevich Zolotaryov. Born on February 2, 1921. Currently working as an instructor at the Kourovskaya tourist base. Graduate of the Institute of Physical Education of the Byelorussian SSR, completed in 1950. A veteran of World War II, having served in several important battles including Rostov-on-Don, Kharkov, Stalingrad, Orel, Kursk, Chernigov, Minsk, Warsaw, Gdansk, Stettin, and Berlin. He served from the fall of 1941 to May 1945.

IGOR BYKOV

You were indeed a fighter of the 'diversionary special forces' of the Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of Special Purpose (OMSBON), created in the summer of 1941 by Sudoplatov from Komsomol members, mostly those born in 1921 and who had not been conscripted yet, as your peers were already serving in the military?!

SEMYON ZOLOTARYOV

Copy that. It was prestigious to go to war back then, and I found myself in the Red Army in October 1941. I was a sportsman, and I was assigned to a 'diversionary squad'. Then, from October 1941 to August 1942, I served in the separate sapper battalion 1570 as a squad leader. This battalion was created on the basis of the 24th sapper brigade of the 8th sapper army. Later, when most of the battalion perished, I was sent to the 20th separate moto engineer battalion of the 48th Army, 3rd Grodno Guards Cavalry Corps.

IGOR BYKOV

But your service in the 20th separate battalion was your cover story… Understood, let's continue getting

acquainted. Alexander, you are a professional mountaineer, is that correct?!

SEMYON ZOLOTARYOV

Yes. More precisely, a diversionary mountaineer.

IGOR BYKOV

Are you familiar with Igor Dyatlov?

SEMYON ZOLOTARYOV

Close – no, but I am familiar with his friend, Viktor Bogomolov.

IGOR BYKOV

Understood. And you, Yuri Krivonischenko, work with us at 'Mayak', and you have made a lasting impression on me because you took part in the elimination of the consequences of the incident at the nuclear waste dump.

GEORGY KRIVONISCHENKO

Affirmative. I, Yuri Alekseevich Krivonishchenko, born on February 7, 1935, graduated from the construction faculty in 1957, work as a foreman in the construction trust at secret Plant No. 817 in Chelyabinsk-40, and as you said, I am a witness and participant in the liquidation of the consequences of the Kyshtym disaster.

IGOR BYKOV

Well, now we've been introduced. Both of you are now non-staff employees of State Security as of today. And now I will explain the reason for your visit to me. So, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, as well as the Committee of State Security of the USSR and the Security Service of the Production Association 'Mayak', assigns you a top-secret mission of special importance, to organize a tourist expedition to the area near Mount Holatchahl and Otochak. The presumed coordinates and additional instructions are in this folder.

Igor Bykov passes the red folder to Yuri Krivonishchenko. He takes it and sets it down on the table.

chapter 5

NOTE: THE SCENE FEATURES KAZAKH SPEECH WITH VOICE-OVER TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH

The local resident RAIS BASHKIROV is walking home from work. GRANDFATHER ALBERT is sitting on a bench.

RAIS BASHKIROV

(In Kazakh)

Сәлеметсіз бе, атасы Альберт. Денсаулығың қалай?

(IN RUSSIAN)

Hello, GRANDFATHER ALBERT. How are you feeling?

GRANDFATHER ALBERT

(In Kazakh)

Раис, күте тұр, менімен бірге отыр. Әңгіме бар.

(IN RUSSIAN)

Rais, stop, sit down next to me. We need to talk.

Rais stops and sits down next to Grandfather Albert.

GRANDFATHER ALBERT (continuing)

(In Kazakh)

Раис, сіз Халат-Сакль тауының үстінде жарқыраған бұлтты көрдіңіз бе?

(IN RUSSIAN)

Rais, have you seen the cloud above Mount Khalat-Syakl, which was sparkling?

RAIS BASHKIROV

(In Kazakh)

Екі жыл бұрын, не? Көрдім. Ол Челябинск бағытынан келді.

(IN RUSSIAN)

Two years ago, right? I saw it. It came from the direction of Chelyabinsk.

GRANDFATHER ALBERT

(In Kazakh)

Жоқ Шайтанның өзі ғарыштан түсіп, Халат-Сакль тауына қайта қонды.

(IN RUSSIAN)

No. It was Satan himself who descended from space and settled on Mount Khalat-Syakl again.

RAIS BASHKIROV

(In Kazakh)

Сіз адасасыз. Мұны Шайтан деп ойлауға итермелейтін нәрсе? Ленин Құдай жоқ және мұның бәрі ойдан шығарылған деген, яғни Шайтан да ойдан шығарылған деген сөз.

(IN RUSSIAN)

You're talking nonsense. How did you come to the conclusion that it's Satan? Lenin said that there is no God and all of this is fiction, so Satan is also a fiction.

GRANDFATHER ALBERT

(In Kazakh)

Бірақ жоқ. Мен түнде қарлы боранға шықтым, Халат-Сакль тауының үстінде жарық шар пайда болатынын, ұшып өтіп, қайта шыққанын көрдім. Осылай бес рет, мен қатып, саятшылыққа кіргенше. Әлемнің ақыры келе бастады. Ленин Құдайға бекер тыйым салған. Құдай бізді құрту үшін Шайтанды жіберді.

(IN RUSSIAN)

And there you have it. I went out into the blizzard at night and I saw a luminous sphere appear over Mount Khalat-Syakl, fly by, and then disappear. And it happened about five times, until I froze and went back into the hut. The end of the world is approaching. Lenin banned God in vain. That's why God sent Satan to destroy us.

RAIS BASHKIROV

(In Kazakh)

Жарайды, маған бас ауыртпаңыз, ақсақал. Мен коммунистпін және бәрінің өзіндік түсіндірмесі бар екенін білемін, мысалы, таудың үстіндегі жылтылдаған шамдар сияқты. Мен де оларды көрдім, менің ойымша, бұл бізге келіп, Халат-Сакль тауына қоныс аударған келімсектер еді. Үйге кіріп, қымызды қосып арақты аз ішкен дұрыс, сонда шайтан көрінбейді.

(IN RUSSIAN)

Okay, don't try to confuse me, old man. I am a communist and I know that everything has its explanation, just like those glowing moving lights above the mountain. I saw them too, and I think it's aliens who have come to us and settled there, on Mount Khalat-Syakl.

So, go home and drink less vodka with kumys, then the little devils won't seem to appear.

Rais pats Grandpa Albert on the shoulder and leaves.

GRANDFATHER ALBERT

(In Kazakh)

Сіз ақымақсыз, Раис, және сізді агроном деп те атайды.

(IN RUSSIAN)

You fool, Raiz, and you call yourself an agronomist.

END OF SUBTITLES

In the security control room of the MAYAK plant, IGOR BYKOV sits in the chief's seat. GEORGIY KRIVONISHCHENKO and SEMEN ZOLYOTARYOV are seated at their respective positions.

IGOR BYKOV

Based on our observations, the Eastern-Ural Radioactive Trace (known as EURT) abruptly ends between the mountain known as \"Height 1096,\" or as the locals call it, Kholat Syakhl, and the Otorten summit. You will need to pass through the northeast spur of Kholat Syakhl, descend into the valley, and conduct radiation measurements there. Even though two years have passed, the radiation level may still be critical. Therefore, make sure to bring alcohol with you. The Central Committee orders the organization of a tourist hike, which will be proclaimed as the \"Hike Dedicated to the 21st Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.\" You are tasked with arriving in the specified area, measuring the radiation levels precisely, and taking samples for laboratory analysis.

GEORGY KRIVONISCHENKO

Who will lead this hike?

IGOR BYKOV (continuing)

The Central Committee of the CPSU recommends appointing Igor Dyatlov to lead the expedition. He has proven himself as a professional mountaineer since he was still in school, having just finished 7th grade. Along with his brother Vyacheslav, a student at UPI, he has participated in hikes. Of course, he already has his own trusted team, and you, Yuri, as far as I know, are part of it.

GEORGY KRIVONISCHENKO

Yes, that's correct. I have successfully completed many challenging routes with Igor, and we have trained extensively. By the way, Igor came up with the idea of setting up a tent in winter in treeless areas (in the mountains, in the tundra) on skis with the pegs attached downwards, creating a flat surface that also separates the fabric bottom from the snow. In preparation for the winter hike of 1957, Igor designed and made a small, compact, and easily packable stove with his friends. It can be suspended in the tent and provides good heating. Also, following his suggestion, Lyudmila and Zinaida sewed two standard 4-person tents together into one long tent. Overall, your decision to engage the Dyatlov team in this endeavor is very reasonable.

SEMYON ZOLOTARYOV

Will Dyatlov know the objectives of our mission?

IGOR BYKOV (continuing)

Dyatlov will be partially briefed on our secret project, as he will be required to unofficially report to you, Yuri. This mission must be carried out at all costs… Now, let me outline everything step by step, and then you can ask relevant questions.

Zolotaryov and Krivonischenko nod their heads.

IGOR BYKOV (continuing)

Continue. Your code names for the hike will be: Semen, given to Alexander Zolotarev, and the code name Grigory, given to Yuri Krivonischenko. The goal of your hike is to determine the cause of disappearance and identify the exact location of the radioactive fallout field. Scientists suspect that the cloud got stuck on the mountain peaks, stopped, and settled in one place, resulting in more radioactive fallout than at the epicenter of the explosion. The committee must know this exact location in order to isolate it from tourists and mountaineers, especially foreigners. Georgy, you will be responsible for monitoring the radiation levels and collecting soil and snow samples, recording them with a cipher. Semyon, you will be in charge of the safety and confidentiality of the research conducted. Georgy Krivonischenko is appointed as the leader of your group. And remember, the world knows nothing about the incident at the nuclear waste facility Mayak. Therefore, the Central Committee has assigned the highest level of secrecy to this task. Naturally, disclosure of this secret will be considered treason, and the highest punishment without mercy, namely execution, will be applied. Do you have any questions??

SEMYON ZOLOTARYOV

I have a question, who will I replace in the Dyatlov tour group, as I heard that he takes verified Komsomol members with a good reputation?

GEORGY KRIVONISCHENKO

Actually, there is currently an opening in Dyatlov's group due to the vacancy left by Slava Bienko. You can take his place.

IGOR BYKOV

But you need to think about how exactly you will fit into the group.

GEORGY KRIVONISCHENKO

You need to arrange it so that Bogomolov introduces Semen to Sergei Sogreny, with whom we constantly gather at the apartment. We prepare for hikes, sew tents. Then he will introduce you to Igor and all the other participants.

IGOR BYKOV

So, to Sergei Sogrin's apartment. And you, Yuri, or is it Georgy, I heard that you have long-standing friendly relations with Dyatlov?

GEORGY KRIVONISCHENKO

Yes, that's why I can't introduce Alexander to the group. No one should know about our acquaintance because then there will be inquiries.

IGOR BYKOV

Great, but Georgy, from now on, starting today, call each other by code names. So as not to make a mistake during the hike among comrades and not arouse suspicion around you. Any more questions? No more questions, then you are free. And I wish you good luck.