Rina Palenkova is where the Blue Whale challenge’s narrative started. Rina, a girl from south-eastern Russia, uploaded a selfie on November 22, 2015. She is seen standing outdoors in the picture. She has a black scarf covering her mouth and nose. Her middle finger is raised towards the camera. It appears to be coated in dried blood. “Nya bye” was written in the photo’s caption. She committed suicide the next day.
Daria Radchencko, who is a researcher at the Russian Academy of National Economy said that nobody actually knew the reason behind her suicide. In Georgia, a 16-year old girl killed herself. Her parents didn’t understand the paintings that the girl had finished in her school, but later they confirmed that she drew blue whales in all of her drawings. Then came many other suicides of which one was a 19 year old boy from Hyderabad, India.
The Suspect
Philipp Budeikin, a former psychology student who was dismissed from his institution at the age of 21, said that he created the game in 2013. In a may interview with Saint Petersberg News in Russia, he was questioned about if he actually encouraged kids to commit suicide. He replied, “Yes, I was truly doing that. Don’t worry, you’ll understand everything. Everyone will understand”.
“There are people and there is bilogical waste. Those who do not represent any value for society. Who cause or will cause only harm to the society. I was cleaning our society of such people”, he added. Budeikin said that he provided those individuals “warmth,” “understanding,” and “contact,” and that the young people who killed themselves as a result of him “died happily”. Later Budeikin was arrested and held in Kresty Prison, Saint Petersburg.
