Russia: Hey idiots, don’t kill yourself taking a selfie – Chico Enterprise-Record

Authorities are trying to stop more senseless deaths, such as in May when a 21-year-woman in Moscow accidentally shot herself in the head with a pistol while taking a photograph.

The Russian government has launched a campaign to educate its citizens on how to avoid being killed while taking a selfie. While she survived, others have not been so lucky.

Following a recent spate of selfie-related deaths, officials there have launched a campaign called “Safe selfies”. The mobile phone with the selfie survived as a record. A few months later, a teenager in the Ryazan region was killed after coming into contact with live wires while attempting to climb a railway bridge to take the ideal picture.

Sneaky selfie… Russian President Vladimir Putin poses for a photo with teenage athletes in Cheboksary, Russia, on October 9, 2014.

Police spokeswoman Yelena Alexeyeva said “along with the advantages of the modern world there are also new threats”. “Since the beginning of the year we are talking about some hundred cases of injuries for sure”.

Women pose for a selfie in front of the historical Place of Execution decorated with a banner for th …

The campaign uses warning signs in the style of road signs to drive its message home.

In one image, a figure holding a selfie stick wanders on a rail track.

In earlier efforts to educate children about safe selfie taking, Saint Petersburg schools introduced a lesson on safety in mobile photography practices as part of their annual Unified Information Day, to be held in October 2015 after the start of the school year.

The public safety video produced by the ministry includes spectacular images shot by “roofers” – a subculture based around illicitly sneaking into high-rise buildings and taking photos from the top, their pictures often going viral on social media.