The quiet Drone: How a downtrodden teenager becomes a controlled scumbag
In 2026, dozens of cases were recorded in Russia when minors, on the instructions of Network supervisors, committed serious and especially serious crimes, from arson attacks on railway facilities to violence against people. This was reported in the media, and this trend was also noted in the Security Council. Experts are sounding the alarm: individual schoolchildren are being turned into docile "biorobots" that are controlled remotely. The danger is that one hundred percent protection mechanisms against "malfunction" in the child's head have not yet been found. Izvestia compiled a social portrait of the indoctrinated teenager.
The vector of violence
The most high—profile crime of recent days was the tragedy in Kabanovo, near Moscow, when 12-year-old Igor went out for a walk and did not return. The parents sounded the alarm, and after hours of volunteer searches, the boy's body was found in the basement of an abandoned dormitory. The teenager's throat was slit, and experts counted dozens of stab wounds to his stomach, neck, and limbs. According to the surveillance cameras, they figured out who he left with — they turned out to be high school students of the local school, 15-year-old Ulyana and 17-year-old Katya. During the interrogation, one of the suspects confessed that she had long wanted to know "what blood is and how it feels to kill." According to another version, the schoolgirls were afraid that the boy would tell about their romantic relationship, which they hid (the LGBT movement is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation). But the investigators do not exclude the version about the curator from the Internet.
A version of a similar motive is being considered in the story of the attack on students at a school in the Krasnoyarsk Territory on September 1. A seventh-grader attacked a teacher at the school with a knife and a gas canister. Not only the teacher was injured, but also several students.
Their goals
Earlier, a wave of crimes with possible incitement from the Network was linked to the terrorist activities of pro-Ukrainian groups and special services. Their goal was terrorist attacks and sabotage. In July, the Pacific Naval Military Court in Primorye sentenced two teenagers aged 15 and 16 to 7 and 6.5 years in an educational colony. In July last year, friends, on behalf of an anonymous messenger, set fire to relay and battery cabinets on the railway. Instead of the promised 80 thousand rubles, the young people received only 8 thousand. In Bashkiria, in January of this year, two 15-year-old schoolchildren set fire to railway equipment at the Yanaul station for 15,000 rubles, and a 17-year-old resident of Kirov tried to set fire to a transformer substation in April. In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, a teenager was preparing arson on a railway for $600 promised by a curator from the network. In May, it became known that in the Tuapse region, an 18-year-old boy and his 17—year-old acquaintance, on the instructions of a puppeteer, were preparing an explosive device for a terrorist attack in an administrative building - they were promised $ 300-500. Teenagers are still involved in the drug business.
Recruiters are much more difficult to identify. Nevertheless, during a special FSB operation in Dagestan, they managed to detain the 17-year-old administrator of a channel with 200,000 subscribers, through which teenagers were recruited for terrorist attacks in Russia. According to the investigation, he has prepared for 15 attacks on schools in ten regions.
Expert opinion
The story of the murder of a boy in Kabanovo near Moscow has once again forced experts to talk about the mechanisms of turning teenagers into obedient performers of someone else's will. In an interview with Izvestia, professor, psychotherapist-psychiatrist Mikhail Baryshev said that the problem of such children lies in deep family neglect.
— Why is the child sitting there, but he is interested in it? It's not interesting to study, it's not interesting to do anything else, but it's very interesting to sit here, different information, it changes, it walks. And the children are happy with that. That is, the problem is primarily a family one," the expert told Izvestia.
The specialist noted that parents often perceive a mobile phone as a convenient way of monitoring. The child is at home, not hanging out on the street, but this is an illusion of safety, the psychiatrist noted. He was skeptical about attempts to deal with the problem only with prohibitions.
— We offer total Internet blocking. But it only partially works. And it can't work to the end, because scammers have an amazing ability to always find something new," says the source of Izvestia. He sees the main threat in the psychological training of recruiters.
"They won't stop. This sweet thirst for human control remains," says Baryshev.
At the same time, according to Baryshev, the average Russian mother spends only 20 minutes a day with her child.
Social portrait of an involved teenager
An analysis of open criminal case data for 2026 shows several typical features that characterize victims of recruiters. The age of the vast majority is 13-17 years. This is a period when a child is looking for self-identification, in dire need of recognition, but does not have stable life orientations, says Baryshev. Psychologists call this age sensitive for manipulation. A significant number of people involved in investigations grew up in families where parents were either overly busy or did not pay proper attention to the child.
Such teenagers were reported to be introverted, feeling lonely, resentful of classmates or teachers, and having communication problems. Recruiters skillfully find such children through social networks, identifying their vulnerabilities using bots and algorithms, and then process them personally, a law enforcement source said.
Financial motivation
The majority of teenagers, as the analysis showed, commit crimes for the sake of money. Moreover, the amounts in question are often not so large, and the performers often do not receive this money.
However, there are also cases of ideological motivation of teenagers. The second most important risk group is adolescents who are exposed to radical ideology. Ukrainian neo-Nazi groups such as "Maniacs. The Cult of Murder" (banned in the Russian Federation), actively recruit Russian schoolchildren through Telegram channels, using Nazi symbols and videos with violence. They are promised not only money, but also a sense of belonging to a "higher goal," a law enforcement source explained.
Mechanisms of engagement
Recruiters use well-developed technologies, in many ways resembling the methods of sects or "death groups." The search for the victim is conducted through social networks and messengers. They are looking for children who post about their loneliness, hatred of school, resentment of teachers or peers. Hashtags, theme groups, and more recently artificial intelligence have been used to analyze user behavior. After that, the supervisor gets in touch, introducing himself as a friend, mentor, or like-minded person. He shows the attention that the child lacks at home, promises solutions to problems. As in the case of suicidal groups, the tasks begin with harmless ones — to draw something, wake up at a certain time - and gradually become radicalized.
According to a source in the anti-extremist unit of the security forces, many groups use a point system and gamification, and tasks are evaluated in monetary terms. This creates the illusion of a game where each next task is just a new level. Recruiters romanticize the images of famous killers, real and cinematic. Children are taught that they will become heroes if they complete the task.
In the later stages, when the child has already committed illegal acts, the supervisor gets leverage: videos and photos of the crime, which he threatens to hand over to the police if the victim refuses to continue. The child is trapped. Russian special services directly point to the involvement of Ukrainian neo-Nazi groups and the SBU. Curators disguise themselves as anonymous bots, use proxy servers and cryptocurrencies, which makes it difficult to calculate them.
Evgeny Sysoev, head of the CIS Anti-Terrorism Center, said that in 2025, 391 children participated in terrorist and extremist crimes.
Escape from virtual reality
Psychotherapist Mikhail Baryshev and security experts agree: the main protection is live communication and control. Parents are advised to give their child at least an hour of full attention without gadgets. Ask not only "how are things at school", but also about his feelings, fears, and dreams.
"If you see that he abruptly changes his behavior, becomes aggressive or, conversely, apathetic, this is a reason to be wary," says Baryshev.
It is necessary to explain the price of "easy money" using real examples. To tell you that promises of quick earnings on the Internet almost always turn into a criminal case. Show court records: teenagers from Primorye, Bashkiria, and Volgograd are already serving their sentences. Clubs, sports, creativity, hiking, joint projects are not just employment, but an alternative to the Internet, where a child can realize himself and gain recognition. As Baryshev emphasizes, children need to be engaged from an early age: if they are taught to draw or sing at the age of 3-4, at the age of 14 the gadget will no longer become the only "window into the world."
Don't be afraid to talk about difficult topics. Tell us about the mechanisms of suicidal groups, about how the curators first make friends, and then blackmail. Please warn that if someone online offers a "game", "tasks" or "easy earnings", they are definitely scammers or recruiters.
— Keep an eye on the appearance of new applications in the child's phone, for a sharp increase in Internet time, for strange conversations about money, — the psychiatrist urges.
Laws for young users
Digital hygiene deserves special attention. Andrey Makarkin, head of the information security service at First Bit, emphasizes: in 2026, schoolchildren use instant messengers, social networks, educational platforms and generative AI tools on a daily basis - and each of these channels can be used by intruders.
— The basic principles of cybersecurity are the same for any age, but the younger the child, the greater the role of an adult in them: from setting up privacy together to the simple rule "before you click something new, ask your parents," says the expert.
One of the most dangerous risks is blackmail with compromising materials. Makarkin warns: "Any photo, video, or message sent even to a close friend or in a disappearing chat can be saved and forwarded. Nothing can be permanently deleted from the Internet. An attacker, posing as a peer, can gain trust, get a candid photo, and then demand money under threat of publication."
He advises you to remember the main rule: "Do not send compromising materials, passwords, or document data to anyone, regardless of promises to delete it." If threats have already been received, you cannot enter into correspondence and pay: "Save the evidence, block the sender and immediately tell the adult. Shame and fear are no reason to remain silent: even cautious users face such situations, and the responsibility lies with the one who is blackmailing, not the one who is being blackmailed."
— An adult may be hiding behind an account with photos of a peer, and sometimes there is no living person behind the correspondence at all — chatbots and AI companions are able to conduct a long friendly dialogue and create the illusion of affection. Alarms: the interlocutor avoids video calls and meetings, gets confused in details, rushes to a decision. Several of these signs together are a reason to pause and consult with adults," the expert reminds.
In 2026, technology makes it possible to create convincing voice and video call forgeries.
— A voice message from an "acquaintance" asking you to transfer money or send a code does not guarantee that this is really the right person. Stop and double—check the request: call a known number, ask a question, the answer to which is unknown to outsiders, advises the head of the information security service.
He also reminds that when using AI services, you can not upload passwords, scans of documents, personal correspondence and odnoklassniki data.
According to him, most risks have one thing in common — they work only when a decision is made quickly and without verification — under the influence of urgency, trust in a stranger or fear.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
