February 16, 2022

Crimes Against Hu-mine-ity


Crimes Against Hu-mine-ity
Don't go playing with fire, real or virtual. Flickr user Bill Sung

A teenager from Kansk, Russia, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison for "undergoing training in order to carry out terrorist activities." The (supposedly) heinous things that this teenager has done include: playing with homemade firecrackers, hanging posters around town, and destroying a model of FSB offices in Minecraft.

16-year-old Nikita Uvarov was detained two years ago along with two friends for hanging posters in support of Azat Miftakhov. Uvarov was the only one of the three boys to be charged, as his two friends were released for aiding with the investigation.

After arresting the teenagers, law enforcement officers found evidence in the boys' group chats that they had built an FSB building in MInecraft and were planning on blowing it up. (Kids and their darn video games!) They also found out that the boys had been playing with homemade firecrackers in abandoned buildings.

Although it is doubtful whether Uvarov deserves to be sent to prison for his antics (and let's be honest, who didn't get up to trouble as a teenager?), we can only hope that he will make the most of his time behind bars.

 

You Might Also Like

Not Cu-Cumbersome for Prisoners
  • July 16, 2021

Not Cu-Cumbersome for Prisoners

It looks like a penal colony in Russia’s Oryol region has met the challenge of prison reform with a solution as cool as a cucumber.
A Pixelated Palace for Putin
  • February 09, 2021

A Pixelated Palace for Putin

Now you, too, can experience the glamor of Putin's Black Sea palace without the pricetag in the digital worlds of Minecraft.
Tetris: The Perfect Video Game?
  • May 17, 2020

Tetris: The Perfect Video Game?

A deep dive into the history and philosophy behind Tetris, and the reasons why it has managed to stay relevant for so long and will probably still be in the future.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955