The Federal Security Service (FSB), responsible for Russia’s internal security, announced on November 23 that it had killed three people described as “terrorists”. It was claimed that the people killed in the operation in the Voronezh region could “sabotage the military and energy facilities in the region”.
The images from the scene after the operation revealed a completely different picture. These people were not a threat to Russia, they were cosplayers who carried the concept of the famous video game STALKER to real life, wearing the same costumes and insignia.
It turned out that the people who were killed were actually pretending to be game characters:
- Left: The flag found at the place where the people were killed is displayed by the Russian forces. Right: Symbol representing the Svoboda Group in the STALKER game
The flag found at the scene was associated by Russian forces with Ukraine’s ultranationalist Volia party. The footage of the operation was even projected on Russian television. But that flag actually represented one of the fictional groups in the STALKER game.
Other images from the scene:
However, when the social media accounts of the three people killed in the operation were examined, the same picture emerged. One of the murdered names, Vladimir Kotovsky, was managing the VK account under the name of his character ‘Stalker Fosgen’. In the account, it was seen that he and his friends were dressed as the characters in the game and posing with Airsoft guns.
These three people were also part of the community acting with the game characters. Contacting this community, The Moscow Times also confirmed that the three deceased were members of the community. Russian officials did not share a new statement on the subject.
Communities of such people, defined as ‘LARPer’ globally, can take the job to a higher level in the role-playing process. In addition to games, we can find examples of LARPers, especially in medieval-themed events, as follows:
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