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On November 23, 2015,[1] 16-year-old Russian student Renata Kambolina committed suicide in Ussuriysk.[2] Her death drew attention online, particularly her last post on VKontakte (where she went by the name Rina Palenkova), in which she wrote "nya,bye".[3][4] Kambolina's death has influenced and been exploited by Russian "death groups" that encourage teenagers to commit suicide.[5][6][7][8][9]
Renata Igorevna Kambolina (Russian: Рената Игоревна Камболина) was born on December 18, 1998, in Ussuriysk. In 2015, after receiving a certificate of basic general education from school No. 28, she entered the Far Eastern Technical College of Ussuriysk to specialize in computer networks.[10][11]
While studying at school and college, she attended the Ussuriysk “School of Rock Music”, where, along with her friends, who took the name Needless in honor of the anime series of the same name, she mastered the art of playing percussion instruments.[10][11]
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On November 23, 2015, the teenager came to a train crossing at 10:30 local time[12] at 9179 km of the Far Eastern Railway to a spot near the bridge over the Komarovka River, near the Sakhzavod station,[13] Twenty-four hours before she took her own life, she posted selfies with the caption “ня.пока.” which is translated to, “nya.bye.”[14] but the post didn't initially attract attention, only after her death when the page was discovered;[2][6][3] her death was then discussed on internet forums and groups. Online, anonymous people posted links to Renata's page, her relatives. Renata became a virtual idol of suicide. Teenagers from all over the country started writing messages to Renata's friends, offering money for pictures of the girl or some additional information. Locals went to the grave, filming videos from there.[15]
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On the fact of the girl's death, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case.[16] A criminal case was opened against Renata's mother under Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for 'driving her to suicide'.
On May 21, 2016, Renata's case materials from Vladivostok were transferred for additional investigation to Moscow.[1] According to the investigator, “possibly due to the public outcry, the capital requested the criminal case for verification.”[1][13]
In late 2016, the Russian Investigative Committee closed the case of Kambolina's death, concluding that she had voluntarily committed suicide.[17][16] According to the dead girl's mother, the case of leaked photos from the scene of the incident to the Internet was also closed. The perpetrators were not found.[17][5]
On June 7, 2017, Russia passed a law criminalizing the creation of online “death groups” provoking suicides - up to six years in prison.[17][18]
According to the statements of the victim's acquaintances, one of the reasons for the suicide could have been difficulties in her relationship with a young man.[19]
Renata's mother appealed to the court with a claim against the college where her daughter studied, in her opinion the college did not fulfill its duties properly, namely: did not inform parents about the absence of children's studies, and the teaching staff should have identified suicidal tendencies and reported them to the parents.[20]
“Far East Technical College” in court session with the claim did not agree in full, from the materials of the criminal case, it follows that the plaintiff's daughter was in a chronic suicidal state. The deceased was unconflicted, calm, no suicidal manifestations in the college was not noticed. The girl had conflicts with her mother, meeting with a guy named Alexei was also in a conflictual relationship with him, did not find contact with her mother, discussed with strangers the situation in the family. Within the framework of study in the educational institution children participate in various activities, but Kambolina did not declare a desire to participate in various competitions, from the first days of study was on sick leave.[20]
The court also found that the plaintiff's arguments that the death of her daughter was the fault of the employees of “Russian Railways”, in particular the controller of the railway track, who did not take, in the opinion of the mother, measures to preserve life and health are unfounded.[20]
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After her death, Kambolina became a kind of icon for depressed teenagers on social networks.[21] New cases of suicides[9][22] were added to the group stories. In April 2016, Russian journalist Galina Mursalieva first wrote about “death groups” in an article published in the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.[23] The article described the “F57” groups on the Russian social network VKontakte, which it claimed incited 130 teenagers to commit suicide.[24] Among other pages, Renata was subscribed to the group f57, a public with psychedelic content. After her death, the group was actively promoted on the internet as a cult, of which Renata was the first victim. Participants were offered to “learn the truth” through suicide.[25]
The mother of the girl for the first time in an interview with “REN TV” explained why her daughter became popular online after her death. In her opinion, “the reason for the popularity is in this photo, which is exposed from the scene of the accident”[26]
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation launched an investigation into the activities of suicidal communities on the social network VKontakte at the request of Elena Mizulina, deputy chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Constitutional Legislation.[27]
One case of possible imitation of Renata occurred on October 17, 2019, when an 18-year-old student in Moscow[28] broadcast his suicide on his VKontakte page. He reportedly held a Saiga-12K carbine to his head, after which he shouted a phrase from Renata Kambolina's suicide post “nya.bye!” and pulled the trigger.[28][29]
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On 27 October 2018, an episode of the programme «Bitva extrasensov» was filmed about the tragedy.[30][31]
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