22-year-old Philipp Budeikin, the creator of the Blue Whale Challenge was sentenced to three years in prison.
Budeikin, in an interview in May, was asked if he was deliberately inciting young teenagers to commit suicide. He said, "Yes, I truly was doing that. Don't worry, you'll understand everything. Everyone will understand".
Budeikin claimed that he gave those people "warmth", "understanding" and "contact" and that the kids who committed suicide because of him "died happily".
"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", Budeikin said during an interview with Saint Petersburg News.
In the interview, Budeikin confessed to have been directly involved in inciting suicide in 17 cases, although he disregarded claims of the Blue Whale Challenge claiming 130 lives across Russia and Europe.