Philip Lis and his networks

The administrator and creator of one of the “death groups” on social networks has been charged

On November 22, the Main Investigation Department of the Russian Investigative Committee for St. Petersburg accused 21-year-old Philip Budeykin, known online under the nickname Philip Lis, of the tragic death of at least 15 teenagers. In total, according to investigators, more than 20 teenagers who were incited to suicide suffered from the activities of Philip Lis’s group in different regions of Russia. The St. Petersburg Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation charged Filipp Budeikin (b. 1995) with Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Incitement to suicide.” The accused does not admit his guilt and refuses to testify.

Let us recall that in May 2016, Novaya Gazeta published an article by Galina Mursalieva, “Groups of Death,” dedicated to teenage suicides. Then Budeikin deleted his VKontakte accounts, but a few months later he resumed activity again.

The investigation brought charges to court on November 22, although Budeikin was detained several days earlier, on November 16, in the Moscow region. As the press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation told Novaya, investigators, together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB of Russia, established the location of the administrator of one of the “death groups.” Budeikin lived in Solnechnogorsk, Moscow region, and his like-minded people and followers were found in ten regions of Russia - in the Krasnodar Territory, the Komi and Bashkortostan republics, Leningrad, Volgograd, Voronezh, Tula, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk, Omsk regions.

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According to investigators, from December 2013 to May 2016, Budeikin and several other defendants in the case created eight closed communities on VKontakte, in which they promoted suicide and persuaded teenagers to commit suicide using interactive games and tasks in chats. All administrators and participants of “death groups” with various pseudonyms (Philip More, Miron Stekh, Guardian of Truth, etc.) were searched. For now, the young people have been questioned as witnesses, but in the future the investigation does not rule out changing their status to accomplices. All those interrogated gave detailed and consistent testimony, reporting, in particular, that Philip Lis encouraged and persuaded minors through correspondence in groups to commit suicide.

As the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation clarified to Novaya, investigators have begun analyzing what was seized during the searches. After which a legal assessment will be given to the actions of the administrators and participants of the “death groups.” A forensic psychiatric examination of Budeikin is planned to determine his sanity. He is currently in custody.

It has now been established that 15 minors committed suicide in different cities, and five suicides were prevented. According to the conclusions of a psychological and linguistic examination, the correspondence of group administrators on the social network VKontakte contained an inducement to commit suicide.