December 13, 2023

School Shooting Shakes Bryansk


School Shooting Shakes Bryansk
Bryansk City Center
Pavel Demin

On December 7, 9-a.m. classes at the Nº 5 Gymnasium in Bryansk were interrupted by gunshots. A fourteen-year-old student entered a biology classroom with a gun, killing a student and injuring 5. Then she killed herself.

Alina Afanaskina's father, a boxer and hunter who worked at a private security firm, owned a rifle kept under lock and key. It is believed that Alina took her father's gun the day before the attack during his birthday celebration. Afanaskina hid the weapon and a hunting knife among art supplies and went to school with her twin sister Daria. The security guard on duty at the Nº 5 Gymnasium, Galina Chertkova, did not suspect anything was out of the ordinary with the eighth-grader. The school metal detectors were not working.

During the second period, Alina entered her biology class and immediately began shooting. The teacher in charge, Ofelya Mkrtchyan, tried to convince her to stop as students hid under their desks. A 13-year-old was shot and died on the way to the hospital. Two of the wounded were carried by plane to Moscow. Alina Afanaskina shot herself. Her twin sister was unharmed.

Authorities have not concluded what the motive was for the shooting. Among Alina's belongings, there was ammunition and a notebook with a note that read, "You must definitely meet with a friend." A former student at the gymnasium said Alina was being bullied. The Executive Director of the National Center for Children's Assistance, Ekaterina Mizulina, claims that Afanaskina had a conflict with the dead victim over a boy.

The police have detained the head of the security company in charge of the gymnasium, the security guard on duty, and the schoolgirl's father. 

Residents have left stuffed animals and flowers on the Gymnasium gate. School authorities have not announced when the school will reopen.

You Might Also Like

Integration through Education?
  • October 08, 2023

Integration through Education?

Russian President Putin stressed the importance of education in regions newly annexed from Ukraine. But is there a more sinister motive at play?
From Trenches to Schools
  • September 18, 2023

From Trenches to Schools

Russian soldiers returned from the war in Ukraine will give new practical courses on security and defense for schoolchildren.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Tolstoy Bilingual

Tolstoy Bilingual

This compact, yet surprisingly broad look at the life and work of Tolstoy spans from one of his earliest stories to one of his last, looking at works that made him famous and others that made him notorious. 
Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
White Magic

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955