Inspiration for Perm massacre? Music of rapper Morgenshtern encourages teenagers to ‘commit violent acts,’ Russian official claims
Following this week’s deadly shooting at a university in Perm, the head of Russia’s Safe Internet League has pointed her finger at famous rapper Morgenshtern, accusing him of encouraging young people to become more aggressive.
Speaking to online publication Gazeta.ru, Ekaterina Mizulina said she believes that the Perm State University shooter, Timur Bekmansurov, was a fan of the artist.
On Monday, Bekmansurov entered the college with a shotgun, killing six and injuring 43 more. Prior to the shooting, he wrote online that he had no ideology or extremist views, and was neither political nor religious, but wanted to carry out a dream.
“All these communities, groups, and bloggers are working in the same vein to shape certain attitudes among teenagers,” she said. “They aim to change the behavior of youths and teenagers to push them to commit violent acts.”
Mizulina, the daughter of famous Russian MP Yelena Mizulina, has led the Safe Internet League since 2017, which focuses on protecting children from the dangers of the online world. She is also a member of the Civic Chamber, a consultative civil society that monitors the work of the Russian government and parliament.
This is not the first time that Mizulina has taken aim at Morgenshtern, a rapper who became a household name in 2020 and is currently one of the country’s most-listened-to artists. Earlier this year, the Safe Internet League called for the rapper to be investigated over allegedly encouraging the use of drugs.
Also on rt.com Russian university shooter published sick post detailing his planned crime before murdering six people in brutal Perm gun attack“It’s blatant. It’s just the cruelest propaganda,” she said.
In July this year, music streaming service Spotify declared Morgenshtern Russia’s most popular artist during its first year of operations in the country.
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