Philipp Budeikin, 21, from Russia, says he was ‘cleansing society’ when he invented the ‘game’ (Picture: Vkontakte / east2west)

The man who invented a sick suicide ‘game’ targeted at children claims he was ‘cleansing society’.

‘Blue Whale’ suicide game linked to 130 teen deaths makes its way to UK

Philipp Budeikin, 21, from Russia, is being held on charges of inciting at least 16 schoolgirls to kill themselves by taking part in a game he invented called ‘Blue Whale’.

The 21-year-old, who has now confessed to the crimes, says he thinks his victims were just ‘biological waste’ and told police that they were ‘happy to die’ and that he was ‘cleansing society’.

The fatal game, which police fear is spreading to the UK, involves urging vulnerable teenages to carry out a series of tasks over a period of 50 days.


Police fear the Blue Whale ‘game’ is spreading to the UK (Picture: Getty)

These can include watching horror movies, waking up in the middle of the night and self-harming. On the last day, they’re urged to take their own life.



Police fear that dozens have ‘played’ the game in Russia at the instruction fo Budeikin and other ‘mentors’.

Teenagers are taking their own lives ‘as a result of social media game called Blue Whale’

And there are fears the game is heading to the UK, with a school in Essex making parents aware about it following talks with police.

But rather than being seen as the inventor of such a twisted ‘game’, Russian prison authorities say they have received dozens of love letters from teenage girls addressed to the suspect, who is being held at Kresty jail in St Petersburg.

They say that by law they cannot ban Budeikin from receiving or replying to teenage girls, who provide their home addresses.

Vilena Piven, 15, jumped from the 13th floor in Mariupol, Ukraine and died on the spot. (Picture: Vkontakte / east2west)

Psychologists say young girls have most likely fallen in love with Budeikin because they were lacking love in their own lives from their parents and he provided them with the attention.

Anton Breido, a senior official from the Investigative Committee in Russia, said: ‘Budeikin very clearly knew what he had to do to get the result (he wanted).

‘He started in 2013 and ever since he has polished his tactics and corrected his mistakes. Philipp and his aides at first attracted children into VK (social media) groups by using mega-scary videos.

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‘Their task was to attract as many children as possible, then figure out those who would be the most affected by psychological manipulation.

‘Those who stayed were given much stronger tasks like cutting their veins, to balance on a roof top, to kill an animal and post a video or pictures to prove it.

‘Most children left at this stage. A small group that was left obediently went through all the tasks, with teenagers being physiologically ready to follow whatever the administrators told them, no matter how strange or scary the tasks.

Budeikin is being held at Kresty prison in St. Petersburg, Russia (Picture: Shutterstock)

Two school girls Yulia Konstantinova, 15, and Veronika Volkova, 16, fell to their deaths in February after it is believed they were involved in Blue Whale.

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Another victim was Angelina Davydova, 12, who fell to her death from the 14th floor of a block in central Russia on Christmas Day 2015, 50 days after logging onto a user group called ‘Wake Me Up at 4.20.’

While Vilena Piven, 15, jumped from the 13th floor in Mariupol, Ukraine and died on the spot. Her classmates said that she was shy and had been seen as school with cuts on her arms.

In an interview in St Petersburg, when asked if he really pushed teenagers to their deaths, Budeikin said: ‘Yes. I truly was doing that. Don’t worry, you’ll understand everything. Everyone will understand.



‘They were dying happy. I was giving them what they didn’t have in real life: warmth, understanding, connections.’

‘There are people – and there is biological waste. Those who do not represent any value for society. Who cause or will cause only harm to society. I was cleaning our society of such people.’

Worryingly, despite Budeikin being detained, the suicides are reportedly continuing to be promoted by death groups.

For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116 123, or visit a local Samaritans branch. See http://www.samaritans.org for details.