No one’s going anywhere. Two years ago terrorists blew up a Russian aircraft in Egypt. “Medusa” tells how the now living relatives of the victims
October 31, 2015, at seven in the morning Moscow time, the plane of Kogalymavia airliner took off from Sharm El Sheikh to Saint Petersburg. 23 minutes after takeoff, it disappeared from radar; it became clear after a few hours, “Airbus” exploded somewhere over the Sinai.
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Killed 224 people — all who were on Board; the number of victims is the largest crash in the history of Russia. The responsibility for the explosion on the same day claimed “Islamic state” — however, Russia recognized the collapse of the terrorist attack just two weeks later. Russian planes do not fly to Egypt so far; still not completed and the investigation into the incident. On request “Medusa” Katerina Kuznetsova figured out how to live the families of the victims of the terrorist attack two years after the explosion.
Chapter one
Elvira Resurrection
“Her hair was long, to her waist. Before the flight she asked me to braid her stronger ear to avoid a mess. Then I accompanied her to the door of the apartment, and since she is so in front of me and worth it.” Last time his only daughter, 28-year-old Elvira resurrection — Irina Zakharova, Director of one of the Petersburg schools have seen 15 October 2015. She was on a plane to leave Egypt.
Back Elvira was October 31. When it “Airbus” flight “Kogalymavia” No. 9268, was at the height of more than ten thousand meters, in the Department of oversized baggage, between baby carriages and garden furniture, a bomb exploded. “I’m still waiting. The first year I thought maybe it was a mistake, suddenly she didn’t get? Zakharova hugging his shoulders, as if trying to keep warm. — Because anything can happen. People come back in ten years.”
Portrait of Elvira is in the Director’s office Zakharova on the table; lay next to the flowers. The picture shows a girl smiling. Irina Zakharova from 31 Oct 2015 not smiling almost never. Lifeless cracked voice she tells how he arrived on the day of the crash at St. Petersburg’s Crowne Plaza, where the assembled relatives of the dead, where in a specially organized staff worked with the emergency workers and investigators.
We promised to regularly collect, inform. What this is all lies and nonsense. We soon left to themselves.
It tells Zakharova, relatives no one was told when they will be able to bury their loved ones, while investigators often call did not succeed. Just then, a few days after the attack, Alexander Voitenko (the plane was flying at his sister and her 14-year-old daughter Alice from Pskov) was founded in “Vkontakte” group, where relatives began to publish all known information, and at the same time to support each other. Psychologists from social services, this task could not cope. “One day I was called by Dima Fedorov, [who lost his wife and five year old son] and said that it came to psychologists and offered to take his eldest son, the Subject child in the House, — says Zakharov. — Dima says: “I Have a wife and child just died and you offer my son to take? What are you, crazy?” And that help? Here it is this was. Just nobody knows. We are never told”.
By the end of December 2015 identified dead bodies (in some cases only parts of bodies) were buried. After that relatives of victims have decided to meet in person. The site offered Zakharova — the auditorium of her school. One of the weekend came about 80 people — mostly all from St. Petersburg. Together they decided to create an organization which will perpetuate the memory of those killed in the crash. So there was a charitable Foundation “Flight 9268”, the Chairman of the Board of which was Irina Zakharova.
“The interior Ministry is not women’s work”
The first year it seemed to me that all this is happening not with us, — says Zakharov. — Well, flew her daughter and flew away, not yet arrived. You know?Irina Zakharova
“Someone [from the family] saw the body. We have an indoor in-law took the coffin out of the morgue. I looked, and my husband didn’t. Because if someone gave the whole body, but they gave us some… charred pieces…”.
Elvira resurrection was like a father — he was in the military, dreamed of the boy, and when my daughter was born, sorry asked my wife, whom now he will give his motorcycle. Upset man in vain: the technique daughter has been quite the puppy love. Together with his father assembled the bike, and then drove on it so that not a little frightened parents.
In high school, says Zakharova, the daughter suddenly decided to work in the forensic service of the Ministry. To dissuade her had two years. In the end, graduating from the engineering faculty of the University of fire service of EMERCOM of the resurrection, and joined the Department of inquiry of the Ministry of emergency situations — investigated the causes of fires. “She explained that the interior Ministry is not women’s work. Criminals, corpses, cellars — says Zakharov. — Your house will never be. And so time passed, and she said to me: “Well, Maman,” she called me mom, “you said I was a corpse shouldn’t work. Do you want me to stay out of this, and I still work with them. They burn sometimes””.
In 2016 Elvira resurrection had become a major.
Her mother proudly tells how she commanded the men, and decided to “very serious issues”.
For example, a year before the death of the resurrection in St. Petersburg, fleeing from the war in the Donbass, relatives came Zakharova, a cousin with his wife and three children. It Elvira helped to issue them documents and to obtain the status of temporary migrants, which is valid for three years. “We have now it is impossible to renew these documents, for some reason, can’t do anything, hopelessly says Zakharova. — Relatives now live the country. Each day Lena [wife’s brother] crying: “That would be Ale, I think we have all been made””.
Zakharova month to persuade the daughter not to fly to Egypt, crying, not knowing why, frightened her to the outbreak of civil war in Syria, which is very close to Egypt. But the resurrection, which is one and a half years worked without a vacation and complained that her mother will not let go, still left to relax with a friend. Her house was left to wait for her husband Eugene, who could not go with his wife because of work. “He’s still with us, gone, — says Zakharov. — Just last week got married. Nearly two years have passed… and Ale before leaving, and we left. And then always met. So we never left”.
“We are all here”
After the attack, hundreds of fragments of bodies were impossible to identify even with the help of modern methods of genetic examination. So they left the all-Russia Institute of forensic medical examination and not handed over for burial. It tells Zakharova, each afraid that some of these remains will be the body parts of their loved ones — and for 2016 relatives every three months was going to school, trying to figure out how to bring back the remains.
In the end, Zakharova personally went to Moscow to ask for help from Konstantin Krivorotov, the investigator for particularly important cases when the Chairman of the Investigative Committee, which deals with the collapse of the “Airbus”, and Evgeny Serebrennikov, Senator, working in the Federation Council Committee on defense and security.
I explained that the remains of my daughter. I don’t want them to lay there, I want them buried. You do not understand, I said, what’s it like to live and know that everything is so
To achieve the transfer of the 715 fragments of the remains, relatives of the victims took almost a year. May 20, 2017, they were buried in a mass grave at Serafimovskoye cemetery in St. Petersburg — along with bags of soil from the place the crash that came from Egypt with the bodies of the dead. Zakharov said that this land was soaked with blood, and silently crying.
Remains were buried quietly in addition to relatives in the cemetery came only two deputies of St. Petersburg legislative Assembly, Alexander Rzhanenkov and actress Anastasia Melnikova. After the funeral, the members of the Foundation Council (to include five people from among the relatives of the deceased) decided to mark the anniversary to put over the mass grave monument: two wings of the aircraft, underneath the sarcophagus. Money for it — two and a half million rubles allocated from the reserves of the government of St. Petersburg. “I came to the Foundation in order to bury these remains and to erect the monument. I have nothing else, — says Zakharov. Memorial is the preservation of memory. People will see it and remember that there was a terrorist attack. I think I would not have survived if it had not engaged in it.”
And the members of the Foundation “Flight 9268” dream to build a temple in memory of the victims, but when it’s children center with free mugs and courses of foreign languages: there could teach people lost in the crash of children and grandchildren. The place chosen for the vacant lot on the territory of the Petrograd district “Baltic pearl”. To persuade residents of nearby houses had to personally Zakharova — she convinced people that they will not interfere with the ringing of bells, and even found among them two persons willing to donate money for the construction.
“I somehow have the confidence that everything will work out. Should not fail. They do not deserve it” — quietly said Zakharov. Outside the window of her office the noise ran out for a walk and woozy from the rare autumn sun students. “No one’s going anywhere! — shouted after them by the teacher. — We all stay here.”