Only 1% of teen suicide in Russia is connected to 'death groups' - Interior Ministry
ST. PETERSBURG. March 30 (Interfax) - The main causes of teenage suicide in Russia are connected to unrequited love and family conflicts and only one percent of teenagers who committed suicide were under the influence of so-called death groups on social networking sites, Vadim Gaidov, deputy head of the Interior Ministry's Main Department for the Protection of Public Order, said.
"Suicide among minors remains an acute problem. Alarming reports remain on the front pages, but the problem did not appear yesterday. Seven hundred and twenty teenagers committed suicide in 2016, against 685 in 2015," Gaidov said at the meeting of the 5th Our Children forum held in St. Petersburg on Thursday.
"The main causes of suicide are unrequited love or family conflicts [30% each], one percent of suicides are connected with the influence of secret groups on websites," he said.
Gaidov said the agency gives special attention to the spread of "death groups." Some 5,000 links to suicide themes were found last year, they were all blocked in cooperation with Roskomnadzor.