[imagesource: Pizola]

This story really doesn’t help with Russia’s image of being hectic.

16-year-old Nikita Uvarov and his two buddies, Bogdan Andreyev and Denis Mikhailenko, were arrested two years ago for actions that the government concluded were part of a sinister plot.

The thing is, at least some of this criminal activity was committed in the popular block-based game Minecraft.

The virtual reality game allows players to build their own customisable structures and then blow them up if they so wish.

The boys were found guilty of “undergoing training for the purpose of carrying out terrorist activities”.

Yeah, it seems only in Russia can a couple of teens get arrested for playing a video game.

So what exactly was so heinous about their actions? Gizmodo, take it away:

In addition to planning to blow up a virtual version of the FSB [the country’s domestic intelligence agency], the trio also distributed fliers meant to show support for Azat Miftakhov, a Russian anarchist who was arrested for vandalism in 2019.

Authorities say they also experimented with improvised explosive devices, using them on abandoned buildings.

The real FSB:

Image: A. Savin. CC BY-SA

A Minecraft FSB:

Image: 9Gag / WTF

Uncanny.

For these acts of terrorism, Andreyev and Mikhailenko pleaded guilty and subsequently had their sentences suspended.

Uvarov, on the other hand, would not let up, adamant that he was innocent, which consequentially landed him a five-year prison sentence:

It’s not totally clear if the government’s contention is that the video game was used as some sort of virtual training exercise for actual terroristic acts, or if these kids just happened to be pretending to blow up Russia’s top domestic police agency.

…this is the latest in a string of incidents in Russia wherein young people have been incarcerated on preemptive “terrorism” charges related to flimsy cases.

Uvarov vehemently denied doing anything dangerous, saying in a recent court hearing, “For the last time in this court I want to say: I am not a terrorist.”

Although, if what he says is true, I wouldn’t blame him for walking out of prison at the age of 21 and really hating the government for taking his youth away.

You can’t play Minecraft in prison.

[source:gizmodo]