Vitaly Kaloyev

Murder of Peter Nielsen

On the afternoon of 24 February 2004, he set off for Nielsen's house. A neighbor spotted Kaloyev and asked what he wanted. He waved a piece of paper with Nielsen's name on it. The neighbor pointed to Nielsen's front door, but instead of knocking, Kaloyev sat down in the garden.^[5]

Nielsen, who had lived in Switzerland since 1995, spotted the intruder, went outside and asked what he wanted. His children accompanied him into the garden as well, but his wife tried to call them back; she was still inside when she heard a "kind of scream". Nielsen was stabbed several times and died of his injuries a few minutes later in the presence of his wife and three children.^[5]

Answering questions from the judge, Kaloyev said the plane crash above Lake Constance had ended his life. He said his children were the youngest on board Flight 2937, so there was no need for him to identify the bodies. Kaloyev said he was crushed by the loss of his family: "I have been living in the cemetery for almost two years, sitting behind their graves".^[6]

Kaloyev presented a document received from a law firm in Hamburg dated 11 November 2003. It was an agreement in which Skyguide offered him 60,000 Swiss francs for the death of his wife and 50,000 francs for the death of each of his two children. In return, Skyguide asked Kaloyev to decline any claims to the company. The document infuriated him; he decided to meet the company director Alan Rossier and Nielsen in person.

"Apparently he did not expect that he would have to answer for the results of his work," Kaloyev said. "He murmured something to me. Then I showed him some pictures of my children and said: "They were my children. What would you feel if you saw your children in coffins? I was infuriated about Skyguide's initiative to haggle over my dead children."

Kaloyev wanted Nielsen to apologize to him for the death of his family. "He hit me on the hand, when I was holding the envelope with the photographs of my children. I only remember that I had a very disturbing feeling, as if the bodies of my children were turning over in their graves", he said.

Kaloyev offered no explanation of why he brought the murder weapon with him on a peaceful errand and initially denied the killing entirely.^[5]

Trial

On 26 October 2005, Kaloyev was convicted of murder and sentenced to eight years in prison.^[7] In 2007, he was paroled by the court, but the prosecution appealed the decision.^[8]

On 23 August 2007, the court accepted the appeal, so that Kaloyev remained in prison.^[9] On 8 November 2007, Kaloyev was released from prison, because his mental condition was not sufficiently considered in the initial sentence.^[10]

Return

Returning to his home in North Ossetian city of Vladikavkaz, Kaloyev was met with enthusiastic crowds who cheered him as a hero. Members of the youth movement Nashi were standing with the accompanying acclamation: "You are the real man."^[11]

"Kaloyev is a hero. Those guilty of causing air crashes often remain unpunished. Such a radical punishment is the only way to make them carry responsibility for their crimes," said Vitaly Yusko, a member of a Russian organisation dedicated to helping the relatives of air crash victims. Many Russians shared that sentiment, and believed that he committed "a heroic deed avenging for the death of his family."^[11] The positive reaction and appointment in Russia were met with a negative reception in Switzerland.^[12]

I don't really take offense at people who call me a murderer. People who say that would betray their own children, their own motherland… I protected the honor of my children and the memory of my children.

He's nobody to me. He's nobody to me. He was an idiot and that's why he paid for it with his life. If he'd been smarter, it wouldn't have been like this. If he'd invited me into the house, the conversation would have happened in softer tones and the tragedy might not have happened.

— Vitaly Kaloyev^[13]

The Swiss government asked Kaloyev to repay the costs of his incarceration, about US$157,000. Kaloyev has refused to do so. When Kaloyev travelled to Germany to attend the 10th-anniversary memorial, he was detained by German authorities, saying that he was on a Swiss watch list. Russian consular authorities protested the man's detainment. The Germans released Kaloyev after Russian diplomats agreed to accompany him.^[12]

In his native North Ossetia, Kaloyev was appointed Deputy Minister of Construction of the Republic. He held this post until 15 January 2016, when he retired, receiving the highest state award by the local government, the medal "To the Glory of Ossetia", on his 60th birthday.^[1] The medal was awarded for the highest achievements, improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of the region, for educating the younger generation and maintaining law and order.

Music

U.K. powerpop band Semion recorded a song "Honour", about Vitaly Kuloyev's story, on their 2006 album Help Me I Work In An Office.

U.S. rock band Delta Spirit recorded the song "Ballad of Vitaly", featured as the closing track on their 2010 album History from Below, chronicling Kaloyev's story.

German futurepop band Edge of Dawn alludes to Kaloyev's story and mentions his name in the song "The Flight (Lux)", which appears on their 2005 EP The Flight, and later their full-length 2007 album Enjoy the Fall.

Singer-songwriter Michael Wadlow relates Kaloyev's story in his song "Paper Chains".

Film

The 2017 U.S. film Aftermath is based on the Überlingen mid-air collision with Arnold Schwarzenegger portraying a character largely based on Kaloyev.^[14][15]

The 2018 Russian film Unforgiven is based on the Überlingen mid-air collision with Dmitry Nagiyev portraying Kaloyev^[16]

Television

Kaloyev was played by actor Kresimir Bosiljevac in "Deadly Crossroads", an episode of Discovery Channel's Mayday TV series.^[4]

Theater

In a U.S. off-Broadway play entitled "My Eyes Went Dark", which opened June 7, 2017 and closed July 2, playwright and director Matthew Wilkinson tells Kaloyev's story, which featured, among other characters, Declan Conlon as Kaloyev and Thusitha Jayasundera as his wife. It played at 59E59 Theaters in New York City.