Pskov's Bonnie and Clyde
 | |
| Location | Strugi Krasnye, Russia, Kudryavtsev Street |
|---|---|
| Perpetrator | Denis Muravyev, Ekaterina Vlasova |
Denis Muravyov and Ekaterina Vlasova[1][2] were two 15-year-old teenagers from Pskov, Russia who barricaded themselves in a private house in Strugi Krasnye on the afternoon of November 14, 2016 and opened fire on police officers before committing suicide.[3][4][5] They showed the whole event on their social media pages,[6] broadcasting on Periscope[7] and calling themselves the Russian Bonnie and Clyde. The case caused a wide resonance and discussion online.[7]
Background
[edit]Denis Muravyev and Katya Vlasova met at school in the spring of 2016. After meeting, Muravyev and Vlasova added each other in VKontakte. The two continued to meet in person and soon began dating.[8]
Course of events
[edit]On the morning of 11 November, Muravyev took his mother's bank card from her bag, which he used to withdraw money for two tickets for a shuttle bus to Strug Krasnye.[9][10][8] Muravyev and Vlasova ran away from home following a quarrel with their parents.[11] The parents started searching for them and called the police. On the afternoon of 14 November, the teenagers were found in a dacha house 80 kilometers from Pskov, belonging to the Vlasova's stepfather. There the schoolchildren had been hiding from their parents for three days and planned to “sit out".[9] The teenagers barricaded themselves in the room, opened the stepfather's safe, which contained weapons.[12][11] Shortly before that, Denis wounded the girl's mother who had come to the address to look for them.[3][1] On Monday, a police car pulled up to the house on Kudryavtsev Street. The teenagers opened fire at her from the second floor window, the police tried to negotiate with the teenagers for several hours, eventually deciding to launch an assault.[9][13]
Before the suicide, the teenagers posted identical farewell messages to their relatives on their VKontakte pages, accusing them of “destroying their psyche and lives".[4]
Investigation
[edit]Muravyev and Vlasova's parents were recognized as victims, and several criminal cases were opened, including negligence, negligent storage of firearms, and abuse of power by law enforcers.[8]
According to a representative of the Department of Internal Affairs in the Pskov region, law enforcers went to the village of Strugi Krasnye to check information about Muravyev, who had been reported missing. When the police officers were fired upon, they blocked the building and entered into negotiations with the teenagers. The teenagers did not make any demands.[14]
Charging law enforcers with murdering teenagers
[edit]A number of media outlets and online users speculated and accused law enforcers of deliberately killing the teens. Prosecutors claimed that the pair committed suicide before the SWAT team approached their room. On the live feed, the teens discussed that they did not want to commit suicide and that they had no ammunition left to fight a gunfight. The version that Muravyev shot Vlasova and then himself contradicts their words about the lack of ammunition. Social media reacted to this contradiction. Since Rosgvardia, claims that the police special forces did not open fire during the attack, some users speculate that the teens may have lied that they ran out of ammunition[1]
A police officer who failed to check a report of missing teenagers in the Pskov region was charged with negligence. After receiving a report about the missing minors, the officer failed to organize proper verification of the report, collecting and studying data about the personalities and social circle of the teenagers.[15]
Denis Muravyev's family stated that they believed the officers who arrived on the scene acted wrongly, leaving the teenagers with no choice other than suicide.[8]
Popularity and online discussions
[edit]This tragedy instantly became a topic of discussion among the peers of the deceased teenagers.[16] Groups dedicated to Muravyev and Vlasova began to appear on social networks. Young people quote them in their statuses, write posts calling them “defenseless and freedom fighters”, and compose fanfics. The total number of subscribers to the groups amounted to almost 25,000. 60% of them are girls.[16] Romantic interpretations of the tragedy appeared online. Teenagers began to be compared to Bonnie and Clyde - famous American robber-lovers.[10]
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, several theories emerged to explain what had happened. Speaking on the radio station “Govorit Moskva”, a clinical psychologist suggested that the teenagers could have joined a sect or suffered from mental illness.[1]
MP Elena Mizulina, on her Twitter page, blamed the tragedy on computer games.[17][18][19]
In popular culture
[edit]British composer Philip Venables adapted the event into an opera called Denis & Katya.[20] It premiered in Philadelphia in 2019[21] and in the United Kingdom in 2020.[22]
On June 23, 2022, the Russian crime drama "Interseason" based on the case of Pskov teenagers was released.[23]
Notes
[edit]![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (October 2024) |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Sinelschikova, Yekaterina; Yegorov, Oleg; RBTH (2016-11-16). "Russian teenagers open fire at police from house before killing themselves". Russia Beyond. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "Two Russian teens die after firing at police in live web drama". BBC News. 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ a b https://www.vesti.ru/article/1514278.
{{cite web}}: External link in|last=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Бонни и Клайд: влюбленные подростки расстреляли полицейских, а потом застрелились" [Bonnie and Clyde: Teenage lovers shoot police officers and then shoot themselves]. Gazeta.ua (in Russian). 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "The Horror of Russian Teens' Social Media Suicide Games". The Daily Beast. 2017-04-26. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "denismurav". Instagram. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ a b "Псковские Бонни и Клайд: соседи подростков о трагедии в "Пусть говорят"" [Pskov Bonnie and Clyde: Teenage Neighbors on the Tragedy in "Let Them Talk"]. STARHIT (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ a b c d "Они дети. А взрослые не смогли их спасти Три года назад двое школьников из Пскова обстреляли полицейских и покончили с собой. Саша Сулим рассказывает их историю". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ a b c pskov.kp.ru https://www.pskov.kp.ru/daily/26608/3624847/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b Трагедия в Пскове: влюбленные подростки обстреляли полицейских и убили себя. Новости. Первый канал (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-10-18 – via www.1tv.ru.
- ^ a b "В соцсетях обнародовали посмертные фото псковских подростков (18+)". РЕН ТВ (in Russian). 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "Кто убил "Бонни и Клайда"? Прокуратура проверяет действия псковских полицейских". Life.ru (in Russian). 2016-11-19. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ https://smotrim.ru/article/1615625.
{{cite web}}: External link in|last=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ pskov.kp.ru https://www.pskov.kp.ru/daily/26609.7/3625679/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Полицейскому, проигнорировавшему пропажу псковских "Бонни и Клайда", предъявили обвинение". РЕН ТВ (in Russian). 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ a b ""Псковские Бонни и Клайд" не Ромео и Джульетта. Как дети выдумали себе героев". Life.ru (in Russian). 2016-12-18. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "Мизулина считает, что на псковских подростков повлияли шутеры". Life.ru (in Russian). 2016-11-14. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "Мизулина объяснила трагедию с подростками под Псковом влиянием компьютерных игр - Газета.Ru | Новости". Газета.Ru (in Russian). 2024-10-18. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ https://www.kp.ru/online/news/2570060/.
{{cite web}}: External link in|last=|title=(help); Missing or empty|url=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Denis & Katya". Philip Venables. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ Ross, Alex (2019-10-07). "Star-Crossed Pairings in "Porgy and Bess" and "Denis & Katya"". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ Evans, Rian (2020-02-28). "Denis & Katya review – Venables turns real-life tragedy into chilling opera". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
- ^ "В Екатеринбурге ждут начала съёмок нового фильма Ханта". В Екатеринбурге ждут начала съёмок нового фильма Ханта (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-10-18.