A good news is that there are no Iranians among the Pazyryk Scythians, unless they learned to speak Mansi and Kazakh, wear 40% East Asian genes, and don't mind looking somewhat East Asian. Read any historical or archeological description of Central Asia composed in the 20th century west of Urals, and the first page will tell you in your face that before the invasion of the Türks, that area belonged to Indo-Europeans, Indo-Iranians, Iranians, Arians and their brood. Since every child knows that the Iranians as a mass are as blond as the Swedes, the blindingly blond Iranian inhabitants of the Central Asia are assured a first runner up place in the race for a place in history, from the eternity up to the 5th c. AD. For a time, the second runner-up were the Celts, but the same scientists who once promoted them ended up soundly disqualifying them. Which left only the Iranian blonds as a viable option. The Iranian postulate did not need no scientific scrutiny, like many other widely accepted and canonized doctrines. The superb artistry and sophistication of the people could only be Iranian, or, as a bare minimum, learnt from the Iranian blonds. In other words, it is we, we, we, the glorious Indo-Europeans.

The study demonstrates that these Pazyryk Scythians had nothing to do with Iranians. They were 60/40% Caucasoids/East Asians, with protruding noses and reddish hair, basically Caucasoid features, and their own and unique Kurgan burial tradition. The raised noses, reddish hair, monkey-like appearance in the Chinese eyes, the dilution of the Siberian-Asian genes with Far Eastern genes are the facts well documented in the Chinese annals as a contribution to the Hunnic genes in the form of brides, slaves, prisoners of war, and escapees from the Chinese principalities and statelets. Other documented Far Eastern contributions are the mutual incorporations between Huns, Central Asians, Tunguses and Mongol branch, that took place in the past 2,500+ years, and associated cross-flow of genes and languages. The obvious problem with the overall approach to analysis is that Nenets/Mansi-Tuva/Kazakh samples contain different clades of the same haplogroups, and 40/60% of lemons/apples is not the same as 40/60% of oranges/pears, even though both cases reflect a 40/60% citruses/pomes. A non-discriminatory, primitive racistic approach of Russian perspective has a centuries-old crippling effect. The report's final misinterpretation of the genetical picture is a mockery of this scholarly research by the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

A separate issue is misleading timing announced in the title of the work. It is not only that the samples seem not to be individually dated, if they were, the authors were not shy to be mum on the subject. It is that the Pazyryk kurgans represent a spectrum of 1,200 years, from 13th to the 1st cc. BC, instrumentally dated (see here and here and here). We know that not only the time between the 4th-2nd cc. BC was a tumultuous time in the life around Pazyryk, but the previous centuries were not any quieter. The Ases subjugated Tochars, Usuns and Huns, all before the 4th c. BC; in around 7th c. BC the Huns approached the Chinese territories; before then came Pazyrykans and brought along their Kurgan Culture. All these events brought about genetical changes, and to interpret the analyzed 10 samples as a monolithic homogenous extraction from a homogenous and synchronous population, and expect a solid ratio across the millennia is a profanation of the study. The study is good enough to bludgeon the Scytho-Iranian Theory to its death, but it is not good enough to take a peek into the true demography of the history.

The present research is a part of an extensive program in study the problem of formation of races and ethnic groups, and the routes of settling the Eurasian continent. This work discovers the phylogenetic connections of Pazyryk Culture with modern ethnic groups of Eurasia.

The object of research was a mitochondrial DNA, representing a small section of 16569 nucleonic pairs of the DNA ring molecule. Molekular-genetic analysis subjected the structure of hypervariable DNA segment (GBS1 between pos. 16024 n.p. and 16400 n.p.) in the most variable site of mitochondrial genome called control area or "D-loop"....As a standard is used the so-called Cambridge mtDNA sequence.... . On the Eurasian continent are distinguish the haplogroups typical for Caucasoid populations (HV, N, V, J, T, U, To, I, W, X) and haplogroups, spread among Mongoloid populations (A, B, E, F, Y, M (C, D, G, Z)). The mtDNA is a  suitable genetic marker for reconstruction of the migration picture on Eurasian continent, and formation of races and ethnic groups, which seems quite probable with the start of mass analysis of the ancient material.

The sources for the genetic research in the present work were the anthropological samples given to us by V.I.Molodin and N.V.Polosmak, from the collections of their archeological excavations on Ukok  plateau(1990-1996). The Ukok plateau is located in the south of the Altai Republic at the junction of of Chinese, Mongolian, Kazakhstan and Russian borders. The greater part of the burials belongs to the Pazyryk Culture (4-2 cc. BC). Mostly these are the burials containing bone remains, however some Pazyryk kurgans contain frozen burials.

   The work with ancient DNA is always complicated by many unforeseen difficulties caused by a different degree of preservation of the DNA molecules, presence in biological preparations organic and inorganic impurities inhibiting the matrix synthesis of DNA, danger of polluting the analyzed samples with modern DNA and its products... ... In our research we attempted some methods of DNA extraction from the bone remains and its cleaning from impurities. These techniques included as a minimum two stages: extraction of greatest possible quantity of DNA from the bone, and its further cleaning of impurities. For evaluation of experiment cleanliness all stages were controlled with all added reagents on the absence of impurity. That allowed to monitor contamination and the presence of inhibitors. Finally we selected the method with immobilization of fragments DNA on magnetic particles, complimentary to the analyzed site of the mtDNA control area.

This method allows selective extraction from the pool of the total DNA of only those fragments that are of interest for the researcher. In our case they were fragments containing control area of the mitochondrial DNA. The main stages of the technique include:

1) extraction of DNA from the bone fabric and obtaining solution containing a mix of all DNA (nuclear and mitochondrial);
2) addition of a primer to DNA solution;
3) heat treatment;
4) removal of free primer molecules to increase efficiency of the subsequent interaction of the primer-DNA complex with streptovidin;
5) addition of streptovidin, immobilized on paramagnetic particles;
6) sedimentation of paramagnetic particles with connected DNA on walls of a test tube in a magnetic field;
7) selective extraction of research DNA from all other DNA and inhibitors.

The suggested method has a number of obvious advantages in comparison with existing methods of extraction the ancient DNA....

The Table 1 shows results of the genetic analysis of 10 samples of mtDNA, extracted from the ancient material (1-3 - from soft tissue, 4-10 - from bone remains). From the table is clear that the mtDNA genetic fund of the Pazyryk people is sufficiently heterogeneous. It includes the Caucasoid (U, Н) and Mongoloid (C, D) haplogroups with the ratio of 60 % to 40 %.

Comparing with the Central Asian human populations presently occupying the Mountain Altai territory and adjoining territories (Altaians, Tuvinians, Shors, Khakases, Kazakhs) found that none of them have a similar ratio of haplogroups (Table 2). By the ratio criteria the Pazyryk people appeared close to Nenetses and Finno-Ugric populations (Mansi).

А more detailed description of the haplotype variety among the Pazyryk people in comparison with the above-stated ethnic groups is shown in the Table 2.

Detailed review of haplogroups C and H, found numerously among Pazyryk people, in modern populations, indicated that two variations of haplogroups C, found among Pazyryk people: 129-223-298-327 (in 2 cases) and 129-223-327 the modern ethnic groups have in different proportions. The first variation, found in Finno-Ugrians with frequency of less than 1%, among the Central Asian people reaches 17 % at Tuvinians. The Nenets nations typically have intermediate frequency value of this haplotype (on the average, about 4 %) [Derbeneva O.A. and others, 2002].

As to the second variation, in a single instance it was found among the modern Tuvinians.

The haplogroup H was also found among Pazyryk people in two variations: the Cambridge sequence (CRS, twice) and haplotype with a replacement in the 261 position. The Cambridge sequence was found among Finno-Ugrians with a frequency from 5 % among Mansi and Komi to up to 10 % among Hantys. Among the populations of the Middle Asia, CRS was found with frequency less than 1% (except for Kazakhs - 4%).

The variation with replacement in the position 261 of the hypervariable segment 1 of the mtDNA control region among the examined populations was met only among the Kazakhs with a frequency of 2,7%. This haplotype is more typical for the Central Europe.

In summary, it is possible to attest a similarity of the Pazyryk people genotype by their haplogroup composition, with Selkups and Kets of the Nenets community on the one hand, and on another with some of Finno-Ugrian nations, for example, with Mansi. Extension of the genetic analysis for both ancient and modern samples will allow to gain a more accurate picture of mutual phylogenetic relations of the Pazyryk peoples with the modern ethnoses of Eurasia (The Pazyrykans are dead for 23 centuries, they happened not  to change since, but the live people could and must have changed the ratio, and how a sane scientist expect that people can freeze their genetical composition for 23 centuries? How can a team of scientists, after finding the closest genetical matches among the Middle Asian Kazakhs and Tuvinians, to come up with a conclusion that does not even mention these prime suspects, will remain an everlasting enigma and evidence of the mysteries and achievements of the Russian genetical thought. Stalin is dead, who are we brownnosing today? - Translator's Note).