Finally the plane was refueled, but still did not move. The Ovechkins again began to get nervous and put forward an ultimatum: if the plane does not take off in five minutes, the passengers will be in trouble. The captain of the ship convinced them that a tractor was about to arrive, which would tow them to the runway. Five minutes, ten, fifteen minutes pass, the tractor does not appear, but the Ovechkins have not yet fulfilled their threat.

Meanwhile, under the guise of refueling the aircraft, two armed policemen crept into the cockpit unnoticed. Finally, a tractor pulls up, the plane starts to move. At the same moment the policemen burst into the salon.

Apparently, they thought that the Ovechkins, as a child, would not dare to use weapons and they could easily be neutralized. But they miscalculated. Crazy firing began. The militiamen, having received an unexpected rebuff, began to shoot blindly at the tail of the plane. At the same time, they did not make out who they were shooting at, and their bullets flew not at the Ovechkins, but at the passengers, four of whom received gunshot wounds. Only by incredible luck, none of them died.

While the shootout was going on, help arrived at the militiamen and tried to break through the hatch in the tail section. The Ovechkins fired back, injuring two police officers (the wounds were not life-threatening), but they were running out of cartridges, which were only available in small quantities. Realizing that their escape plan had failed, they decided to commit suicide. One of the sisters was sent to get out of the plane with the underage participants in the terrorist attack, since they were still not under jurisdiction.

The older brothers, with the exception of 17-year-old Igor (who did not want to die and hid, taking advantage of the commotion), gathered in the tail section for self-detonation. However, the homemade bombs were too weak and only caused the interior to catch fire. Then the older brothers Vasily (26 years old), Dmitry (24 years old), Oleg (21 years old) and Alexander (19 years old) shot themselves. However, some sources report that the latter was killed in the explosion. Previously, one of the brothers shot and killed the mother on her orders.

Because of the smoke, passengers rushed out of the plane to save their lives. But as soon as they jumped out of the trap, policemen grabbed them on the ground and began to beat them severely. Later, they justified themselves by the fact that terrorist fugitives could creep in among the passengers, so it was decided to harshly arrest everyone in a row.

As a result of the unsuccessful assault, three passengers died, suffocating from the smoke. Another victim, flight attendant Tamara Zharkaya, was killed by the Ovechkins. The remaining five victims are four older brothers and Ninel Ovechkina, who committed suicide. As a result of shooting, jumping from a height and brutal detention on the ground, 15 passengers were injured and injured. Also, when trying to get out of the plane, 9-year-old Sergei Ovechkin was wounded in the leg. There were two wounded from the side of the militiamen.

Such catastrophic losses as a result of the assault are explained by the fact that the capture group consisted of ordinary militiamen who were completely unprepared for such operations. It was pure improvisation. In the USSR, there was a group "Alpha" prepared specifically for such situations. And when in 1983 a group of Georgian golden youth tried to hijack a plane abroad, not a single passenger was injured as a result of Alpha's competent actions during the assault. However, she was in Moscow, and while she was flying to Veshchevo, the assault had already begun by the police. When the fighters of the elite unit arrived at the scene, the plane was already burning down.

Even at that time it was admitted that the assault was very unsuccessful. However, it is not the police who are to blame for this, who in such situations could hardly jump over their heads, but who gave the order to use them. Of course, Alpha would most likely have dealt with the ship's hijackers much more professionally and with fewer casualties. The failed assault at that time caused even more resonance than the Ovechkin crime itself.

Further destiny

Of the six surviving Ovechkins, only two have reached the age of criminal responsibility. 17-year-old Igor and 28-year-old Olga, who at that time was expecting a child. They were found guilty and sentenced to 8 and 6 years in prison, respectively.

The fate of almost all surviving family members was very tragic. Igor continued to play music in the colony, created a prison orchestra. After a little over four years in prison, he was released early. After that he worked as a musician in various restaurants, drank a lot, and later became addicted to drugs. After the release of the film "Mama" in 1999, based on their story, he threatened to sue, but soon he himself ended up behind bars and died in a pre-trial detention center under unclear circumstances.

Olga was released from prison four years later. She worked as a saleswoman in the market, also had problems with alcohol. At the beginning of the 2000s, she got along with a certain employee of a tire workshop named Vitaly Mikhalenya, who killed her in a drunken stupor. This happened in 2004. The killer was sentenced to 9 years in prison.

The youngest of the Ovechkins, Sergei, who was 9 years old at the time of the hijacking of the plane, tried three times to enter a music school in his hometown, but could not. According to him, he was denied because of his surname, but the teachers later assured journalists that the whole point was a lack of talent. For some time he worked as a musician in restaurants, at the very end of the 90s "disappeared from the radar" and no longer made itself felt.

Ulyana, who was 10 years old at the time of the capture, also did not find a job in life. She had problems with alcohol, made attempts to commit suicide. After one of these attempts, when she threw herself under a car, she became disabled.

Tatiana (14 years old at the time of the capture) got married and lived an ordinary life. Occasionally met with journalists.

The only one who managed to fulfill his family dream and go abroad was Mikhail, who was considered the most talented member of the ensemble (by the way, his classmate at the Irkutsk art school was the world famous Denis Matsuev, who also noted Mikhail's undoubted talent). He moved to St. Petersburg, graduated from the Institute of Culture, collaborated with many jazz bands. In the early 2000s, he moved to Spain, where he became a member of the well-known jazz group Jinx Jazz Band, famous for its street performances in Barcelona. Several years ago, he suffered a stroke, after which he lost the opportunity to play and lives in a local home for the disabled.

The oldest sister, Lyudmila, who did not participate in the seizure and did not even know about it, took upon herself the upbringing of the remaining younger brothers and sisters, as well as Olga's child. Currently retired.

Just three years after the bloody events, the Iron Curtain fell and leaving the country was free. However, it is unlikely that the Ovechkins would have managed to become stars and receive huge fees for performing in Western countries. If in the USSR they were provided with state support as a provincial curiosity (and at the same time they were not pop stars anyway), then in Western countries such family ensembles were not surprising. Rare club gigs and little interest in fugitives in the first few months was the maximum you could count on. And this is provided that they would be able to escape without committing crimes. But, since the Ovechkins hijacked a plane to break through to the West, upon arriving at their desired destination, the elders of the family would almost certainly face prison instead of concert halls.

They tried to escape from the USSR. We can consider the latter: the seizure of an aircraft with hostages followed by a bloody denouement was committed in 1988. There were three years left before the collapse of the country. Of the 11 terrorists, six survived then: a pregnant woman, an underage teenager and four youngsters. 11 years have passed since that terrible March 8th. All this time, human curiosity did not allow for a minute to relax neither the criminals who had served their sentences, nor the growing up children. Terrible glory followed them on their heels. With the release of the film "Mama", interest in the Ovechins was revived with renewed vigor. They again became the subject of the hunt of the curious. The Ovechkins categorically refuse to meet with journalists. But for MK, they made an exception. Our reporter not only met with these people, but also lived with their family ... - I am proud of my name. I will never change it. This is my kind. And we will sue Evstigneev. Nobody even asked for our opinion. Everybody learned from the newspapers that one of the prototypes of the film "Mama", Igor, is boiling. - I found a lawyer who will handle the case, and he has no doubts that the law is on our side. After all, only everything began to calm down, and then again at all corners shouting: Ovechkins, Ovechkins ... Today, information about terrorists and their hostages has become familiar, like a weather report, and no longer evokes almost any emotions in Russians. At the same time, 11 years ago, the seizure of an aircraft with hostages on the territory of the USSR for the purpose of hijacking was not just an out of the ordinary event - it was a shock. And when it became known that the invaders were a large family from Siberia, a musical group, that there were children among them, the whole country froze in shock. The terrorists, paradoxically, were very naive. They demanded that the pilots fly to London, not even suspecting that they could be extradited to the Soviet authorities, and if not, the Ovechkins faced life imprisonment under British law. Why then was it decided to take the plane against the interests of the hostages? According to the direct participants in the assault - for ideological reasons, so that in the future it would be discouraging to other hijackers. There were 11 terrorists on the plane. Mother, Ninel Sergeevna Ovechkina, and the eldest sons - Vasily, Oleg, Dmitry and Alexander - were killed. The rest ended up in the dock. The trial lasted 7 months. There were written 18 volumes of the case with different testimonies. And on September 23, the Leningrad Regional Court issued a decision: “Olga Ovechkina was sentenced to 6 years in prison for the armed seizure of an aircraft for the purpose of hijacking outside the USSR, Igor Ovechkin was sentenced to 8 years. Four - Sergei, Ulyana, Tatiana and Mikhail - are exempt from criminal liability due to early childhood. "The mining town of Cheremkhovo is located 170 km from Irkutsk. In front of the entrance there is a poster -" The health of the people is the wealth of the country. "At 8 pm, the city streets are empty. Everyone drinks here. that burns, and they wear winter hats all year round. Here every month there is information about the disappearance of children who are never found. Here, three-year-olds fight with dogs in the market for a fish head that has accidentally fallen. Here the Ovechkins found shelter. We knew they were refuse to communicate with journalists, and still arrived. We got there in the evening - trains run here three times a day. And suddenly: - Come into the house, we only have suicides on the evening train. So stay the night. We were seated at the table. After the trial, the younger Simeons were offered to be sold to Amsterdam The eldest daughter, Lyudmila, the only one of the 11 children of the Ovechkins, was lucky in her time, long before the hijacking of the plane, to get married and leave Irkutsk. Ora daughter, Olga, mother and brothers were forbidden to choose their own destiny, her betrothed turned out to be a Caucasian. "What, have you forgotten how the lumps mocked us Russians in the army?" - Vasya reproached her. - For a long time I could not get used to this backwater, - says Ovechkin's older sister. - Gradually, of course, I got used to it. I have been working at the open pit for 15 years now, sorting out coal. Work - two days later. The rest of the time I work part-time in the market. To earn money for a piece of bread, Lyudmila sells sweets, cookies, marshmallows all day in the 40-degree frost. She has chronic bronchitis, but she is glad that there is at least such a job. - Well, Seryozhka helps, - Luda sighs. - The one who was wounded on the plane ... In 1988, Sergei turned 9 years old. He did not know anything about the plans of the family, the younger ones were not privy to criminal plans. He did not fully understand anything: why his brother shot his mother, why the plane burned down, why his leg hurt so much. Now he is 20. - That year I was assigned to the Cheremkhov music boarding school. I played the saxophone. Then he tried to enter the music school in Irkutsk. The first year I was immediately told: "You know, your surname is still on hearing, so come back better in a year." For three years I pounded the thresholds of the selection committee. There is no more strength. And I have already abandoned the instrument. Probably I'll go to the army. The agenda has already arrived. Serezha has a bullet wound in his left thigh. The operation was not done. Doctors believed that the body would eventually reject the bullet itself. After that ill-fated International Women's Day, Lyudmila took Ulyana and Tanya to her place. Seryozha and Misha were also constantly at home, their boarding school was next door. Yes, there were three of them. And soon another "daughter" appeared - Larisa. Sister Olga gave birth to her in the colony. Now 25-year-old Tanya is married, gave birth to a child and lives in Cheremkhovo. Ulya works and lives in Irkutsk, Misha - in St. Petersburg. They eat in this family once a day, and even then they will bungle on a quick hand. They don't have time anymore. A lot of work. 6 cows, 6 pigs, 12 chickens require care. The kitchen has one round table for all. The room has one large bed. On the walls are pictures of the mother. There is even the old custom in the family: if a problem or question has arisen, it is not possible to solve it alone. The family council will discuss everything together. And the last word now remains with Lyudmila, as it used to be for her mother. Not preserved, however, photographs, letters of relatives and the plate "Seven Simeons". In March 1988, 2 huge bags of records were confiscated from the family. - We believe that my mother brought us up well, - recall the Ovechkins, - no one went to the cinema, did not jump at discos, did not drink vodka in the cellars. But they worked from morning to night. The money was needed. How to feed such a family without them ?! Today, our children also have no time to walk, and their elders are not allowed. Tears suddenly appear in Lyudmila's eyes. - You know, I wanted to become a journalist. I even tried to write. Mother did not give. Then they read me to be an actress. And then she said to me: "What kind of actress are you, look at your rough hands, and your talk is not the same. Throw this rubbish out of your head and take better care of the garden." So I did not go anywhere. I could not go against the will of my mother. After the trial, the authorities offered Lyudmila to publicly renounce her mother. Journalists and business people constantly crowded in her house. One businessman from Amsterdam even offered to "yield" the younger Ovechkins to him for good money in order to revive the scandalous ensemble "Seven Simeons". Lyudmila refused everything. Together with the Ovechkins we watch the film "Mom", then documentary footage of the tragedy on March 8, 1988. "I didn't even know anything about their departure," Lyudmila says sadly. When charred corpses appear on the screen, Lyudmila tells all the children to leave the room. She herself cannot hold back her tears. Turns away. - I was summoned to the already burned plane. I was terrified. In my presence, the fighters threw everyone to the ground, put on handcuffs, and beat them on the legs. In total, there were 9 charred corpses on the plane. Four - lay together, near the toilet. It was impossible to make out which of them was who. The remains were numbered, packed in plastic bags and taken away for examination. They buried him near Vyborg, in the village of Veshchevo, under the numbers. “We were there only once, but we never found the grave,” says Lyudmila. - But we haven’t gone there for 10 years, and we’ll hardly go there. There is no money, and it is not known what kind of tubercle to put flowers on ... Terrorist on the demolition Olga gave her last testimony in court while sitting. She was 7 months pregnant. Despite the family's threats against her beloved, she continued to meet with him and was expecting a child. Until the very last moment, Olga was against her plan. She even tried to disrupt the trip, from March 5 to 6, she did not come home to spend the night. The brothers then made a scandal on her, locked her in the house, did not take their eyes off her all day. Olga was given a term less than the minimum - 6 years (according to the law - from 8 years to capital punishment). Olya was the second mother for all her brothers and sisters. She even wrote from prison: "Lyuda, send Igor warm clothes. Tell him, let him take care of your hygiene. How he feels, you tell me everything. It’s hard for me, I miss you very much. I’m still waiting, waiting for something good, but there’s nothing." (19.10.1988) Olya gave birth to a girl in the colony. The girl spent the first six months of her life on a bunk. There was no orphanage at this institution. The administration of the colony decided to transfer Olga to Tashkent and send the child to an orphanage. - Lord, how much energy and nerves we spent to take Larochka to us, - recalls Lyudmila. - They did not want to give it to us for a long time. But still we managed to pick up the little one. So she lived with us for 4 years, until Olga got out of prison. But this was a completely different person. Rude, impudent, angry. She took her daughter to Irkutsk. I got in touch with some Fazil. I arranged for Larisa to go to a commercial kindergarten, then to a paid school. The girl studied very badly. And once I came to them, I saw that Lariska was all dirty, hungry, and Olga was drinking vodka with her neighbor and said to me: “Why should she study, she is already beautiful. She will marry early.” Olga works in the central Irkutsk market. Sells red fish. She was not at work that day. “You’re looking for her in vain, she doesn’t talk to journalists at all,” the neighbors squealed in one voice. - So she is a good woman, talkative, but she behaves cautiously with strangers. What she experienced will never be forgotten, and you are still adding fuel to the fire. By the way, she didn't like the film at all. Two iron doors to Olga's apartment were never opened for us. Only the neighbor stopped: - Olga hardly communicates with anyone. And we only go to her after a phone call. Igor, why didn't you shoot yourself? - Ovechkin ?! How could you not know! Half an hour ago, a drunk came in, - they say in one of the restaurants in Irkutsk. - Yes, you walk around the central taverns, you will definitely find it. Or visit him at work, in the "Old Cafe". Midnight. The place where Igor works is hidden in one of the dark alleys of Irkutsk. - If you agree to marry me, I will give an interview, - and without this phrase, it was clear that the person in front of me was drunk. - You know, I still have to work. The administrator does not allow drinking. Can you give me a tweet? I’ll wave beer on the street, it’s easier to start a conversation. Only carefully, otherwise they will notice ... they will be fired from work. - I drink heavily, because there are a lot of problems. Both household and psychological. I understand that there is no escape from them. I don’t know why I’m talking to you ... Journalists are enemy number one for me. Some even had to fight. In this life I want a little - tranquility. So that they don't point a finger at me, and this often happens. People specially come to the "Old Cafe" to take a look at me. This is very disgusting. At first, Igor was in the Angarsk juvenile colony. When he turned 18, he was transferred to an adult, in Bozoi. In total, he spent 4.5 years in prison. In the colony, he was the leader of a brass band and a vocal and instrumental ensemble, which he himself created. When he was released, he began to earn money in restaurants by playing the piano. Gradually recruited guys, created a group. He married a singer from the collective. He lived in St. Petersburg for a year. But the family could not be saved. I started drinking heavily. The girl left, leaving her husband without money, without an apartment, without a soloist. Now he plays synthesizer in a new restaurant, where he earns 64 rubles a night, and paints scores for Irkutsk orchestras for free, although this work costs at least 500 rubles. “I don’t want to invent a name for my group, and the ensemble was unnamed in the colony,” says Igor. - For me always the best name and the best group, of course, "Seven Simeons". I remember this story every day ... The fear remained. Fear of an explosion, fear of prison, fear of death, fear of ... mom. There was not a single night without me dreaming about it ... Before the trial, my hair was completely black, but now - you see? Then he turned gray in just a month. At the trial, Igor was asked all the time: "All of yours took their own lives, but what are you? Why didn't you shoot yourself?" “The teenager was silent. Until now, Igor is looking for an answer to this question. - If he were older, he would have shot himself, - says his sister. - There is a mistake in the film, - says Igor, - however, the same as in all newspapers. .. What does mom have to do with it? Nobody understood that mom, no matter how badly they talked about her, could not go for such a thing. By the way, she was already 52 years old. She learned about everything on the plane, but it was The instigator was Oleg ... And how it all began! The head of the family became the mother-heroine from the principle A. It all began on the outskirts of the working-class suburb of Irkutsk. - There is no street with the name Children's room anywhere else, - say the locals. so because from all over the neighborhood children came running here. Only the Ovechkins were not heard here ... It was a family where the younger obeyed the elders, and all together - the mother. She kept the children with her, fencing them off from the outside world with a palisade and philistine habits.According to her instructions, all the boys entered the music school , and the daughters, like a mother, went to the trading part. Teachers of secondary school No. 66, where the Ovechkins studied at different times, say that they did not participate in subbotniks and other events. “But on their site, work was always in full swing, the children were all the time swarming in the ground, running around like crazy people for water, repairing the house, taking care of the cattle,” says an old woman from a neighboring house. - None of the Ovechkins smoked or drank. I spent the whole day at work. And at night, until two o'clock, they beat the drums. I could not fall asleep under this thunder ... The Ovechkin House is the last one on this street. The gate is firmly fused with the ground. All that was left of the once neat dwelling were rotten boards, somehow holding each other, a leaky roof and a plate with the number 24. Local guys burn bonfires in the walls of the house in the evenings, the older ones organized a drug den here. And 11 years ago on the local 8 acres there were not only flowers. "Why are they needed? - thought the hostess. - You can't spread them on bread." - I'll tell you everything as if in the spirit, - from the old-timer of the street Children's Uncle Vanya slightly smelled of fumes. - Ninka was a creature and a whore. She killed all the children and took her husband to the grave. What a foreign name I have invented! We called her Ninka anyway. I remember that I sold vodka underground, it contains more water than alcohol. Ninel Sergeevna's parents are rural. The father died at the front when the girl was 5 years old. A year later, the mother dies absurdly. I was walking from field work, I decided to dig up five potatoes. The drunken watchman, not understanding what was what, shot at close range. The girl was sent to an orphanage. At the age of 15, her cousin took her in, whose wife became her godmother. At the age of 20, Ninel Sergeevna married the "noble chauffeur" Dmitry Vasilyevich Ovechkin, the young people received a house from the executive committee. And a year later, the first child was born - Lyudmila. The second daughter was born dead. Then Ninel Sergeevna vowed: "Never in my life will I kill a single child in myself. I will give birth to all." For 25 years, her house has been filled with 10 more children. - She terrorized her husband, Mitka. As soon as the peasant drank 50 grams, he was screaming all over the area. Although he was not an alcoholic, he sometimes drank hard, - says Uncle Vanya. If a Siberian peasant says that Ovechkin "drank hard," there is no doubt that he did not dry out. Until now, neighbors remember how Dmitry Vasilyevich fired a gun into the window of the house, while the children were all lying on the floor. In 1982, Ovechkin's leg was paralyzed. He died in 1984. The eldest of the Ovechkin's sons, Vasya, was the deputy of the detachment drummer at school. Ninel Sergeevna loved him more than anyone else. Only Vasya, she forgave all the whims and pranks. Only he was allowed to postpone work the next day. I only hoped for him on the plane. Only he was entrusted with the right to shoot himself. Olga's colleagues did not even know that she was from a large family. The older brother's fiancée only caught a glimpse of his mother once. I learned about the incident from the newspapers. They never went to visit, they did not let neighbors into the house, they did not make friends. However, they were of no particular interest to anyone. The eldest, Lyudmila, married early and left Irkutsk. Olga worked as a cook in the Angara restaurant and bargained at the market. Igor, Oleg, Dima studied at the music school and helped with the housework. Vasily served in the army. And the youngest went to school. Ninel Sergeevna herself worked for a long time in a wine and vodka store, and later in the market. Traded in milk, meat and herbs. In 1985, during Prohibition, she sold vodka through the window around the clock. No one will remember that Ninel Sergeevna raised her voice to one of the children. But on the plane, when one of the sons began to beg: "Please don't blow up the plane," his mother covered his mouth with a shout: "Be quiet, you bastard! We must fly to any capitalist country, but not to a socialist one!" We did not notice that they approached us: - What are you looking at? - the young man spat. - Go further away from this place, we have already bought this site from the executive committee. This, in fact, ends the story of the house number 24 on Children's Street. But really, for so many years, none of the Ovechkins visited their father's house? - Why? Olga came recently, looked at the half-rotten shack, - the neighbor sighs. - I then asked her: "Olenka, when are you going to be built? The boys will burn the hut, and we, God forbid, will catch fire." And she threw in my direction: "Let it all burn with a blue flame!" Who was waiting for them beyond the cordon? For the first time, information about the "Seven Simeons" appeared in 1984. In "Rodnaya Rech" Vasya read a fairy tale about seven boys. Later, a film of the same name was shot at the East Siberian studio, which received a prize at an international film festival. Vasily, Dmitry and Oleg began their musical activities at the School of Arts in the department of wind instruments. In 1983 Vasya came to the department teacher Vladimir Romanenko with the idea of ​​creating family jazz. This is how Dixieland "Seven Simeons" was born. In April 1984 they made their debut on the stage of Gnesinka. In the same year, the city gave the family two 3-room apartments. The younger ones grew up on government support. The group was gaining momentum. 1985 - the festival in Riga "Jazz-85", then - the World Festival of Youth and Students, participation in the program "Wider Circle". It was then that the mother realized what a profitable commodity music is. They began to give currency concerts for foreigners at the World Trade Center. In the fall of 1987 we went to Japan on tour. There was not enough money anyway. The way out was found. To leave their homeland, to go to a place where “thousands” are paid for striking the strings, where they were well received until recently, which means that now they will be welcomed with joy. - Often Romanenko himself told us: "Guys, they don't understand jazz in Russia, nobody needs you here, you have to leave here, you will be appreciated only abroad," Igor recalls. - He dripped on our brains all the time, and we began to believe and dream about other countries. When the money ran out, when they stopped inviting us to concerts, when they began to forget us, we were finally convinced of this ... The Irkutsk Regional School of Musical Arts is located in the very center of the city. Everyone here knows Romanenko. He changed a lot after the trial. Then the teacher had a thick dark beard, lush hair. He looks even younger now. Clean shaven face, neatly trimmed. “I’m not going to talk to you,” he interrupted us immediately. - And so they dragged around the courts, wrote so much, and everything is not true. We have always been friends with this family, even now. The guys write me letters, come and talk. Everything is working out, and you are reopening old wounds! Romanenko at the trial denied all of Igor's testimony that he had repeatedly advised them to leave. He had not communicated with the Ovechkins for about 10 years. - Honestly, the musicians of them were not so hot, - the head teacher of the school Boris Kryukov got into conversation with us. - Some were lazy, others were not given. For example, we took the earring three times, and it was all to no avail. The guy didn’t want to, and he couldn’t study. Of course, the boarding school spoiled him, bad company. There were two talents in this family - Igor and Mishka. One has perfect pitch, the other is very assiduous. But Igor, due to drunkenness, could not continue his studies, and Misha is a fine fellow. He left for St. Petersburg, created his own group. He generally tries to communicate with his family less. Mikhail's fate was, perhaps, the best. He married the daughter of a famous Irkutsk poet. He left for St. Petersburg, created his own group. Already went on tour to Italy. True, the performances ended again in the spirit of the Ovechkins. “They got drunk there, or something, and they did such things that they were urgently deported from the country,” laughs Luda. 24-year-old Mikhail can be taken into the army. "I will never go there," he says, "I will do anything, I will pay any money, but after that day I cannot even see the weapon, let alone hold it." Ulyana turned 22, she works today in the Irkutsk reception and distribution center. Recently, two 17-year-old girls escaped from under her supervision. It is not easy to live in Irkutsk with the surname "Ovechkin". Many relatives have replaced her. - I often think, what if they did emigrate? Who would need them there? - reflects Kryukov. - No, nobody. It's just that in Soviet times it was necessary to show once what kind of families we have, what an exemplary country we have, so they rode on tour for a year, the state paid them bonuses, gave them money. But it all ended quickly. No one needed them even in Moscow, what can we say about England ?! During the last campaign terrorists were gathered by the whole world. Turner of the regional consumer union Yakovlev made threads and plugs for explosive devices for a bottle of vodka. Former industrial training foreman Trushkov took 30 rubles for grooving metal glasses. Prusha obtained and illegally sold them weapons, on which he welded 150 rubles. The locksmith of the Melnikovskaya poultry farm and at the same time the sound engineer of the ensemble bought gunpowder for them and loaded their guns, supposedly for hunting. At the same time, he knew very well that no one in the Ovechkin family hunted. The contrabass, stuffed with weapons and an improvised explosive device, hit the plane solely due to the negligence of the inspection service. The plane could have been released without the slightest damage to the pride of the USSR, but it was landed near Vyborg, where the capture group was already waiting. The assault was stupid. Flight attendant Tamara Zharkaya was killed, three passengers were shot and killed, Igor and Sergei were wounded. When the Ovechkins set the plane on fire, there was only one fire engine on the territory of the airfield. She failed, and the signal to the paramilitary fire department of Vyborg arrived when the plane was already on fire. The rest of the cars arrived at the charred remains. Excerpts from the testimony of Mikhail Ovechkin: “The brothers realized that they were surrounded and decided to shoot themselves. Dima was the first to shoot himself under the chin. Then Vasily and Oleg approached Sasha, stood around the explosive device, and Sasha set it on fire. When the explosion came, none of the guys was not injured, only Sasha's trousers and the upholstery of the chair caught fire, and the window glass was knocked out. Then Sasha took the sawn-off shotgun from Oleg and shot himself ... When Oleg fell, his mother asked Vasya to shoot her ... He shot mom in the temple. When mom fell, he told us to run away, and shot himself. " This tragedy is ridiculous in the first place. In 1988, the Ovechkins did not have the slightest opportunity to break out of the border. And they went over the corpses. Towards a bright, as it seemed to them, future. Now it is impossible to believe in it, but the fear of the OVIR, which will refuse them, the fear of the consequences of the refusal, was stronger than the fear of retribution for the armed seizure of the plane, for the death of hostages in the Ovechkins. - The authors of "Mama" did not understand anything about what had happened, - the Ovechkins say with one voice, - there was nothing to take the history of our family as the basis of the script. Some video merchants define Mama as an action movie, others call it a melodrama. “Buy Mama,” advised a woman selling cassettes in a subway passage, “a wonderful family movie” ... The Iron Curtain was opened two years after the bloody hijacking of the plane.

Exactly 30 years ago, on March 8, 1988, the Ovechkin family with many children - a mother and ten of her eleven children - decided to flee the USSR, hijacked a regular plane Irkutsk - Kurgan - Leningrad and demanded to fly to England. But instead of Heathrow, the Tu-154 landed at the Veschevo military airfield near Vyborg. The negotiations ended in a firefight, as a result of which the plane completely burned down, 11 people were killed, 35 were injured. Almost all air terrorists committed suicide during the assault. All these years, the materials of the criminal case and the trial were stored in the Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg, and, according to the employees, none of the media representatives tried to get acquainted with them. In search of new details, the correspondent studied the history of the last flight of the Ovechkin family.

Problem family

On March 8, 1988, at 14:52 Moscow time, the crew of the Tu-154, flying 85413 on the Irkutsk - Kurgan - Leningrad route, through a flight attendant, one of the passengers conveyed a note with the following content: “The crew should go to any capital country (England). Do not descend, otherwise we will blow up the plane. The flight is under our control. " The note itself is not in the case file - it burned down along with the plane.

This business went down in the history of world aviation under the name "Seven Simeons" - this is how the Ovechkin family jazz band was called. It differs from other similar stories by one feature: the mastermind of the operation was a 53-year-old peasant woman, Ninel Ovechkina. The modern generation does not know that the name Ninel is one of the first Soviet neologisms, resulting from rearranging the letters of the pseudonym of the leader of the world proletariat (Lenin).

The Ovechkins were a simple Siberian family, in some ways even an ordinary. She has many children, living in an ordinary Irkutsk wooden-stone house with “amenities in the yard,” as they said at the time. They had a large subsidiary farm on which they had to work from morning to night. Father, Dmitry Vasilyevich, worked as a mechanic - and, as they will later write in the indictment, "on the basis of alcohol abuse he became disabled and died in 1984".

The mother was left alone with ten children: seven boys and three girls. She worked as a salesman in the wine and vodka department. In the materials of the criminal case on the hijacking of the plane, there is a short, non-binding phrase, "characterizing", as the lawyers say: including at home, in the presence of her children, for which she was brought to criminal responsibility. Constantly striving for profit by any means, the mother, possessing a strong and domineering character, raised her children in a spirit of acquisitiveness. "

In fact, people who lived in the Soviet Union remember very well: because of the widespread deficit and the beggarly wages of the majority of the population, everyone was spinning as best he could: someone took "hack", someone did needlework at night, someone from spring to autumn plowed on personal plots.

From this point of view, the Ovechkins were absolutely no different from millions of other families in the USSR. In villages, and even in small towns, children, from the beginning of the sowing season to the end of the harvest, spent more time with adults: the problem of attending lessons was very acute for most provincial schools. Hence - and long, not the same as in the rest of the world, summer holidays.

But one and the same work on a personal plot in the characteristics could be reflected in different ways. For beloved students they wrote: "A caring and hardworking student who constantly helps parents." And for violators, the same thing was indicated by a completely different phrase: "Inclined to skip lessons under the pretext of helping the family, inclined to money-grubbing."
In the characteristics of the Ovechkins, collected by the operatives, both phrases are found: in particular, for going abroad to the international festival of youth and students, they indicated about all children: “Persevering, caring, take a great part in public life, actively discuss with teachers in the classroom; help the mother, including keeping an eye on the younger brothers and sisters. " A year later, the same people signed completely different characteristics: "I missed school without good reason, negatively influenced my younger brothers and sisters, and entered into disputes with teachers."

There was a similar ambiguity with the criminal case against Ninel Ovechkina: the officers of the KGB of the USSR removed it from the archive, and the investigator filed it in the appropriate volumes. This is typical for the mid-80s of the last century: at first, the district police officer interviews several local alcoholics under the protocol, and they voluntarily and sincerely tell that you can buy vodka from Ninel at any time. Then these same people give the same testimony to the police investigator. After that, a search is carried out in the house and a couple of bottles of vodka are found.

In March 1984, the Kuibyshevsky of the city of Irkutsk initiates a criminal case under the article “speculation”. The hostess of the house herself explains that she stores alcohol for personal needs. For six months, no new papers appear in the criminal case, and in January 1985 (when the composition of delegations from Irkutsk to the international festival of youth and students are being formed) the investigator decides to release Ninel Ovechkina from criminal liability, since she is a heroine mother and can improve with the help of the team.

It is clear that such a criminal case was simply a certain form of pressure on workers or residents. We can, of course, assume that Ninel gave a bribe to the investigator ... Be that as it may, now we will no longer know the truth. The children saw everything that was happening - and knew a lot from the words of their parents and friends. The duplicity of power was projected onto the duplicity of every full member of progressive Soviet society.

And, by the way, the cult of men reigned in the Ovechkin family. Despite the fact that everyone worked on an equal footing, the best always went to men. Daughters were preparing to be on the sidelines all their lives. Although Ninel Ovechkina herself, according to the same neighbors, was a very domineering and decisive woman. But the saleswoman of the wine and vodka department cannot be a sissy ... It is because of a certain “privileged” position that all Ovechkin boys have been playing music in circles since childhood. According to the mother, all her sons were talented, although the teachers questioned later did not confirm this.

On the jazz wave

Whatever it was, but at the beginning of 1982, the Ovechkins created a jazz band "Seven Simeons": in honor of the heroes of the Siberian fairy tale of the same name about seven twin brothers who attracted the local tsar with their prowess. It included seven brothers - the girls were not taken. The eldest, Vasily, at that moment was 20 years old, the youngest, Seryozha, was three years old.

Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg

Actually, it was the external data and the repertoire unusual for the Soviet Union - not very popular then jazz - that attracted attention to the Ovechins. In their native Irkutsk, they were quite popular, but not among everyone: for example, at the airport only three or four people recognized them from the passengers, mainly by musical instruments. And of the entire crew of the hijacked plane, only the flight attendant knew who they were and told everyone else. As follows from the testimony of the crew, everyone heard about the "Seven Simeons", but they did not know by sight and were not even familiar with the work.

Nevertheless, an excellent profile (children from a peasant family who became brilliant musicians at a young age), the similarity of faces and the contrast of age, an unusual repertoire and youthful enthusiasm, as well as feedback from public and Komsomol organizations that actively invited an ensemble with an unusual repertoire, played a role - The Ovechkins were noticed. As they said then, they "got into the stream" that carried them upstairs.

In 1985, they entered the cultural delegation of Irkutsk to the International Festival of Youth and Students in Moscow. They filmed reports about the delegates of this event - and the Ovechkins were noticed. In the same 1985, a documentary was shot about them, the leitmotif of which was peasant hands making amazing roulades. And, of course, there is an interview with Ninela Sergeevna (with the Mother Heroine Order on her chest) and the sisters who are proud of their brothers and say a big thank you to the relatives of the party and the government, who managed to reveal their talent in ordinary farmers.

This was the facade. Behind him - many plaintive letters: to the director of the house of pioneers with a request to be admitted to the music section on preferential terms, to the State Concert - to help purchase musical instruments at discounted prices, to the Komsomol city committee - to allocate funds for sewing concert costumes ... apartments. Ovechkina, being an employee of the Soviet trade, knew better than many others what it meant to "go with the flow." And how to do it.

Actually, the group "Seven Simeons" did not have enough stars from the sky, but it was profitable and convenient in many respects because it remained amateur and did not require funding. In the end, everyone was happy: the musicians who became popular and in demand, and the local authorities who discovered the nuggets, and Ninel Ovechkina ...

“Possessing musical abilities, the Ovechkin brothers, with the help of city organizations, created the Seven Simeons family musical ensemble in 1982, but they pursued only one goal - to get rid of the unattractive, in their opinion, labor in their subsidiary farm, earning money as a member of the ensemble ... (…) Soon the Ovechkin ensemble gained fame, but the salary did not suit the selfish aspirations of the family. And even when the brothers Vasily, Dmitry, Alexander and Oleg, as an exception, were admitted to the Gnessin School of Music, and Igor and Mikhail were given the opportunity to study at the Dunaevsky School, after studying for one semester, they left their studies and returned to Irkutsk, as the dream of large earnings were postponed indefinitely.

Behind the iron curtain

In November 1987, "Seven Simeons" as part of the cultural delegation of Irkutsk went on tour to Japan. According to an unspoken, but strictly observed rule in the USSR, the whole family could not go abroad, and only sons flew to Tokyo: their mother and sisters remained in Irkutsk.

The indictment indicates that in Japan, the Ovechkin brothers intended to apply to the US Embassy with a request for asylum, but could not find an acceptable method for this and abandoned their intention. From the testimony of the accused Olga and Igor Ovechkin, it follows that the older brothers really wanted to ask for political asylum abroad, but without fail - with the whole family; they did not want to leave their mother and younger sisters in the USSR. Be that as it may, but "the competent authorities did not record any attempts by the Ovechkins to contact the US Embassy during their stay in Japan in November 1987".

Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg

Inspection of the test site of the improvised bomb.

However, it was after returning from the Land of the Rising Sun that the Ovechkin family thought about emigration. Moreover, the "Seven Simeons" not only completely freely purchased very scarce and standard-quality radio receivers and cassette tape recorders there, but also brought them to the USSR, where they sold them very profitably. At first, the dreams were abstract, according to the principle "it would be nice to live there ..." Then they began to grow overgrown with concrete details.

From the indictment:“Initially, the mother and sister Olga did not support this decision, but then, under the influence of the persuasion of the rest of the family members, they agreed, and in mid-February the family council made the final decision - to hijack the plane in flight and force the crew to land outside the USSR. From that moment, the Ovechkins began to actively prepare for the implementation of their plan: family members, including Igor, began to sell various household items, furniture, radio equipment, carpets, personal belongings, etc., and Olga closed her personal account on March 2, 1988 at the savings bank of the city of Irkutsk ".

Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg

The uniform of a military medic who was sitting in the second row and wounded during the assault on the plane.

The investigation painstakingly restored the last months of the Ovechkin's life - and the slightest signs that they began to prepare for the hijacking of the plane really appeared only in February 1988, less than a month before March 8.

The day before

Even giving testimony, the surviving members of the Ovechkin family defended their mother: apparently, they loved her. Therefore, the main "engines" of the seizure, as follows from the indictment, were the brothers Vasily, Dmitry, Oleg and Igor. By that time, three of them had already completed their military service in the Soviet army, and, contrary to the tradition of serving away from home, they served in Irkutsk, in the Red Barracks, which were occupied by the Air Defense Division. They had combat training - but in general Siberians already from early childhood know what a weapon is and from which end it is loaded.

In mid-February, Vasily and Dmitry came to a neighbor, a famous hunter, and asked him for a gun. They explained their interest by the fact that on March 8 they were invited to hunt together with the big Irkutsk chiefs. The neighbor gave the gun.

The brothers immediately made a sawn-off shotgun from the received weapon, but then the unexpected happened: the owner of the gun, frightened of something, demanded to return the weapon back. And then Dmitry and Vasily imitated the rupture of the barrels of the weapon, allegedly occurring during an accidental shot. So they managed, albeit through a quarrel, but did not attract attention to themselves.

They took two new guns under the same pretext from another neighbor, as well as from an officer of the unit where the older brothers were serving. He also bought with his hunting ticket and gave the brothers primers, gunpowder, cartridge cases ... The officer gave the brothers devices for equipping cartridges and poured off the shots.

Igor helped the older brothers to make improvised explosive devices (homemade bombs): it was he who, through his former classmates, found an approach to the master of industrial training of the school UIC (training and production plant). Under the guise of some kind of "glasses for musical instruments, which are needed as counterweights," the teacher carved them three cases for grenades. Judging by the fact that Vasily paid ten rubles for each of the parts, the main condition was speed: in normal times, such work did not cost more than three rubles.

Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg

Examination of the weapons found in the burned-out plane.

1 /10

Three more similar details "by acquaintance" were made by the turner of the garage of the Irkutsk Regional Consumer Union - also under the guise of musical counterweights. Having equipped the grenades with gunpowder, the brothers carried out their test: a tree was blown up in the city garden. The birch resisted, but, apparently, the Ovechkins were satisfied with the achieved effect.

In the early 70s in the USSR there were several cases of aircraft hijacking and hijacking abroad. At that time they hardly wrote about this, but they talked a lot among the people. The most striking confirmation of the veracity of the tales was the inspection system introduced: all the airports of the Soviet Union in a short period were equipped with X-ray installations (intrascopes) and hand-held metal detectors, and the boarding gate was redesigned so that it became impossible to pass without inspection. The Ovechkins, who several times flew to performances in Moscow, carrying musical instruments with them, knew both the peculiarities of the check and the procedure for transporting bulky luggage.

Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg

A drawing by Misha Ovechkin, in which he showed how the older brothers hid their weapons in the double bass.

From the indictment: “The Ovechkin brothers decided to carry weapons, ammunition and explosive devices on board the plane in a double bass. Wanting to check whether the double bass was being examined at airports, Dmitry and Alexander on 02/17/1988 flew with the double bass to Moscow, went by train to Leningrad, from where they returned by plane to Irkutsk. Having made sure that during the inspection the contrabass could be placed in the intrascope and find a weapon, Dmitry installed a pickup on the contrabass, which increased its dimensions, but did not allow placing the contrabass in the intrascope, and placed and strengthened weapons, ammunition and explosive devices inside the double bass. "

At the same time, the Ovechkins were hastily selling off all their property. When, immediately after the seizure, KGB operatives of the USSR came to search their house, they found literally empty walls: there were no carpets, no radio equipment, no clocks and valuables. The fate of the jewelry and money is unknown; most likely, they burned down along with the owners.

Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg

In this form, the KGB officers found the Ovechkin's apartment in Irkutsk.

The route to Leningrad was not chosen by chance: unlike flights to Moscow, planes flew to the city on the Neva regularly and often, but half empty. This was important for the capture: the whole family could gather together in a convenient place in the cabin, surrounding themselves with hostages.

To a better life

The flight from Irkutsk to Leningrad made a stopover at Kurgan. An hour after the flight from this city, the Ovechkins handed the flight attendant a note written on a piece of paper torn from a school notebook in a box: “The crew should go to any capitalist country (England). Do not descend, otherwise we will blow up the plane. The flight is under our control. " Immediately after that, one of the Ovechkin girls, for some reason, pasted two pieces of adhesive plaster on the partition in the cabin - so that they formed a white cross. It was not possible to find out why this was done, but it was this white cross that was remembered better than the rest by all the participants in the tragedy: both the passengers and the crew.

At 14:52 Moscow time, the note was handed over to the aircraft commander. After reading it, he immediately pressed a special "distress" button, and a little later reported on the radio to the Vologda Air Traffic Control Center: in his area of ​​responsibility at an altitude of 11,600 meters at that time there was an aircraft.

From the interrogation protocol of the aircraft commander Kupriyanov:“Immediately after receiving the note, I kicked the flight attendants out of the cockpit, locked the door, then the crew and I loaded service pistols and read the instructions on what to do in case of capture. After that, I asked the flight attendant to report on the situation in the cabin. Vasilyeva reported that the invaders were a group of 11 people, including three children aged 9-10-11. They are armed with two sawn-off shotguns, a cross is glued to the panel on the left. The crew and I agreed to simulate a flight abroad. "

At 15:11 the crew was asked to go to Tallinn, but after 20 minutes a new team arrived - either the Siverskaya airport or the Veshchevo airport. At the same time, changing the route required a significant U-turn. And although the earth was hidden by clouds, the terrorists could not fail to notice such a turn from the sun shining through the windows.

At 15:19, flight engineer Ilya Stupakov went to negotiations with the terrorists - he was the oldest of the crew and the most representative. “When I entered the salon, they immediately pointed two sawn-off shotguns at me and forbade me to approach. I said that we are going to refuel, since there will not be enough fuel even to the border of the USSR. In response, I was demanded to refuel in any country outside the socialist camp, except Finland. I said that we did not have enough kerosene anywhere, and then the criminals agreed to Finland, ”- recorded in the protocol of his interrogation.

At 15:24 in the North-Western Military District of the USSR, the Nabat plan was announced. Details are not reflected in the materials of the criminal case. At 15:25 the alarm was announced to the Alpha group. At 15:30, on alarm, they began to gather the officers of the Vyborg police departments and the KGB of the USSR.

Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg

At this time, the plane, in order to simulate a long flight to Finland, reduced its speed as much as possible ...

At about 15:45 the board began to descend. Only at this time did the flight attendants announce to the passengers that the plane had been hijacked and, at the request of the criminals, was flying abroad. But by this time, many had already guessed that something strange was happening: those who tried to go to the toilet saw two young men armed with sawn-off shotguns, and a strange cylindrical object was hanging on the chest of one of them.

Veshchevo airport at that time was a military unit. Its commander, having received an alarm, ordered the personnel to cordon off the runway. Nobody told him that this should not be done (later in the newspapers they wrote that the soldiers turned a Soviet military facility into a kind of Finnish small town in a few minutes, but this is not true).

From the interrogation protocol of the stewardess:“Before the landing, Ninel Ovechkina, and then Olga Ovechkina, demanded from the male criminals to make sure that the plane was landing in Finland. However, under the pretext of lack of fuel, the crew immediately went to land. Olga Ovechkina, who was watching through the window, saw the soldiers and shouted that the plane was landing on a Soviet airfield. "

The plane landed at 16:05. The Ovechkins immediately demanded that the passengers not get up and move. Igor immediately after landing moved to the cockpit and demanded to open the door. Then he closed the peephole in the door with chewing gum. After 15 minutes, a flight engineer came out to him, who explained that he needed to refuel. In response, the Ovechkins took hostage the flight attendant-instructor Tamara Zharkuyu ... They forced her to sit on the row that they themselves occupied and forbade her to move.

“Igor behaved like this: he shouted in a menacing voice into the cabin so that the passengers would not move, and then turned to me and in a completely different, calm tone, talking about his life. Then he spoke in a terrible voice to the cockpit that in 10 minutes they would start killing the hostages, but then he calmly continued the conversation with me again. I got the impression that he was only imitating threats, ”flight attendant Irina Vasilyeva said during interrogation on March 9.

Immediately after landing, the crew commander conveyed to the air traffic control center the terrorists' demand to remove the soldiers. And they were removed - taken outside the runway and hidden "in the folds of the terrain."

At 16:30, an operational group from Vyborg arrived at the Veshchevo airfield, consisting of 16 people - officers and sergeants of the police and the KGB, pulled out of the house and not trained in anything. They immediately from the side of the nose and tail - so that they could not be seen through the windows, ran up to the plane. And one of them, an investigator of the Vyborg OVD, Senior Lieutenant Petrov, climbed a ladder through a window into the cockpit. He had a pistol in one hand, a spare magazine for him in the other, and a bulletproof vest over his pea jacket.

“The capture group entered the cockpit with such a noise that it immediately became clear to the criminals that there were strangers on board,” all crew members repeated several times during interrogations. In response, Dmitry Ovechkin shot Tamara Zharkaya with a shot in the head. Her body was left lying in the aisle.

By 18:00 in the cockpit, in addition to the pilots, there were two police officers armed with Makarov pistols and bulletproof shields. At 18:30, the headquarters informed the board that the signal for the start of the assault would be the beginning of the aircraft's movement along the runway. And they were forbidden to move without a command.

Negotiations of varying degrees of intensity continued until 18:32. During this time, tankers drove up to the plane three times, and under their cover militiamen and KGB officers approached. They just gathered in the blind spot. With the help of ordinary pliers, they were able to open the hatches of the luggage compartment, get into it, and find the technological hatches leading to the passenger compartment. But, unfortunately, the Ovechkins heard all this well.
The command to "start takeoff" was received at 18:42 - and the plane began to move.

The militiamen in the cockpit opened the door to the cabin and opened fire along the aisle. At the same time, they hit the passengers sitting in the front rows and wounded Igor Ovechkin in the leg, who was standing near the door. Vasily and Dmitry opened fire from sawn-off shotguns in response to the shots - and wounded both policemen. Both sides ran out of ammo and the door to the cockpit was closed.

From the interrogation protocol of Igor Ovechkin: “At this time, my older brother Dmitry shouted that soldiers had entered the salon, and then showed us all to the carpet, which they were trying to lift from the bottom near the kitchen. The shooting started, I didn’t see who was shooting at that moment, because I was hiding in the kitchen.

From the protocol of interrogation of a minor witness Mikhail Ovechkin:“As a result of this shooting, Seryozha was wounded, at that time he was sitting with his mother and Ulya in a chair in the third row from the tail of the plane. Dima also shot back once. I remember well that first shots rang out from below, from under the rising carpet, and then Dima answered. At this time, the shooting in the first saloon ceased.

The brothers realized that they were surrounded and decided to blow themselves up. Dmitry at this time said that he would not be in a Soviet prison [and committed suicide]. Vasily and Oleg approached Sasha, who all this time was sitting in a chair in the last row on the left side of the plane, stood tightly around the explosive device, and Sasha set it on fire. They called Igor with them, so that he also blew up with them, but he did not answer, and the guys thought that he was killed. When the explosion rang out, none of the guys was hurt, only Sasha's trousers caught fire. In addition, the explosion set fire to the upholstery of the chair and knocked out the window glass. A fire started, then Sasha [committed suicide]. Then Oleg [committed suicide]. When Oleg fell, his mother asked Vasily to shoot her. Vasily took a single-barreled sawn-off shotgun from Dima's hands and shot his mother in the temple. After mom fell, Vasya told us to run away. All this took place at the very tail of the plane. At that time I was sitting in a chair in the last row on the right side of the plane and saw how the guys [committed suicide]. "

Leningrad Regional State Archives in Vyborg

The things that belonged to the Ovechkin, found during the examination of the scene and in the military hospital, where the survivors were taken.

As a result of the state of emergency, five criminals were killed, two more were injured; three passengers and one crew member were killed, 14 passengers received injuries of varying severity. The plane burned down completely. The first and only official announcement appeared only a day later, in the afternoon of March 9.