Bullying among classmates
The bullying in class 8A of Gymnasium 5 in Bryansk followed a standard pattern, which is described in many publications on this topic. This pattern includes:
The instigator of the bullying (aggressor): a student who harasses, intimidates, and humiliates the victim, often seeking power and self-affirmation.
Accomplices: actively participate in the bullying, supporting the aggressor (for example, by laughing).
Supporters: are on the aggressor's side, but do not participate directly.
Passive observers: know what is happening but remain silent out of fear or indifference.
Defender: a student who is on the victim's side.
Many media outlets wrote about what happened in the class where Alina studied, for example:
Almost everyone familiar with the situation claimed that Alina had been an outcast in her class since elementary school. But the bullying intensified especially in the last year after the schoolgirl had a conflict with an aggressive girl, who became the instigator of the bullying.
“A resident of Bryansk, who identified herself as a "close family friend" of the Afanaskin family, pointed to those responsible for the bullying of the eighth grader who carried out the shooting at Gymnasium No. 5.
“There was a nest of vipers in the school,” Komsomolskaya Pravda quotes the woman as saying. “There is one ‘black sheep’ in the class (the instigator) ... “Two boys who were injured were henchmen of that same girl; they helped oppress Alina.”
https://bryansk.bezformata.com/listnews/bryanske-ukazali-na-vinovnih-v-travle/125243117/
This entire paragraph about the "black sheep" has already been included in the "General information about the tragedy" section.
Thus, Alina's entire class could be divided according to the scheme described above. Information about the active participants in the bullying is provided in the "Active participants in the bullying" section.
"According to the class teacher, last spring Alina and a classmate (the instigator of the bullying) had a conflict: the teachers spoke with the girls and their parents, and, according to the teacher, the quarrel was quickly forgotten."
https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/12/12/ty-tupaia-kak-taburetka
This was a lie; the conflict was not resolved. After the tragedy, the teachers wanted to whitewash themselves and present everything in a way that would make them look good. In reality:
"A classmate (the instigator of the bullying) allegedly "started to turn the children against Alina even more," and "two months ago, the teachers summoned the children's parents and tried to resolve the situation, but failed," the publication says."
https://news.ru/society/devochka-s-drobovikom-v-bryanske-kto-vinovat-pochemu-reshilas-na-strelbu
Other witnesses reported that:
“The last time she (Alina) ‘clashed’ with a classmate (the instigator) was sometime last spring. The conflict was resolved after a conversation with the girls' parents. However, people familiar with the situation claim that the girl (Alina) continued to be bullied.”
The teachers' inability to resolve the conflict was obvious to both the aggressors and Alina herself.
The fruitless meetings with the parents only had the opposite effect. The girl became completely convinced that the situation was hopeless, that she was defenseless, and that there was no help to be expected. Many witnesses believe that this was the last straw that broke the camel's back, and that it led to the shooting.
“She was normal until they told her: ‘You can't do anything to us, you're helpless,’” another student shared.
https://www.gazeta.ru/social/2023/12/07/17978425.shtml?utm_auth=false
The boys who were accomplices of the instigators helped, as stated in the article, to "morally oppress Alina." Whether the bullying included only moral violence is not reliably known. The investigation also considered the possibility of other forms of abuse.
https://avchernov.ru/mnenie/god-proshel-s-rasstrela-detej-i-vzroslyh-v-gimnazii-5-goroda-bryanska/
"If we are to believe the unofficial information coming from various sources, the investigation seems to be leaning towards this version again. The version of possible school violence – not only moral, by the way."
https://dzen.ru/a/Z1RAgH38gjzm_lXD
Since the investigation was conducted under intense pressure from the authorities, its conclusions cannot be considered objective, see "The Authorities' Concealment of the Truth." And it is quite likely that school violence (not only moral) did indeed occur.
Some evidence appeared online suggesting that Alina was also subjected to physical abuse. For example, it is claimed: "Some students saw Alina and Timofey (the injured boy) hugging and heard the boy confessing his love."
However, the girl had no relationships with her classmates, this is confirmed by absolutely everyone. Therefore, it appears that the described embraces were not voluntary on Alina's part. That is, the classmate essentially "groped" her and, in essence, sexually assaulted her. Subsequently, this article, published on the Internet, was deleted by someone. Probably, the facts described there proved inconvenient for the students and teachers of the gymnasium.
"Be that as it may, the teachers apparently knew about Alina's psychological state. The class teacher herself told Novaya Gazeta-Europe that Alina didn't make friends with anyone and was very quiet, and in the last two days she was " more dead than alive."
https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/12/12/ty-tupaia-kak-taburetka
More details on this in the section "Responsibility of educators; Lyudmila Zhireshonkova". It all ended in tragedy on December 7, 2023.
Psychologists' opinion
Child psychologist Natalia Naumova, analyzing the causes of the tragedy, noted:"
"Today's tragedy in Bryansk, where an eighth-grade girl opened fire in a school with her father's rifle, could have been provoked by bullying."
"She felt helplessness and despair. Neither the teachers nor the school psychologists noticed that the child was suffering. We cannot allow such lawlessness, where a child is in a state of heightened stress for so many years. Being an outcast is very traumatic for a child."
"She no longer valued her own life. The child felt that the situation was completely hopeless."
https://kashira.bezformata.com/listnews/psiholog-poyasnila-kakie-motivi/125059124/
This fully corresponds to the opinion expressed by school students familiar with the situation, see the section "Other victims of the shooting." According to them, Alina was a normal girl, and it was the bullying that drove her mad.
Here is the opinion of another psychologist: "If there is a child in the class who sits and doesn't talk to anyone, a child who is being bullied, they must be given help. The problem of bullying is very serious today. It's more than just one broken life."
https://dolgoprudniy.bezformata.com/listnews/psiholog-obyasnila-chto-sprovotcirovalo/125062004/
"According to Artem Gilev, the eighth-grader's mental state was clearly unstable. Most likely, she was suffering from severe depression."
https://www.kp.ru/daily/27591/4862796/
If this conclusion had been reached a few days earlier and the girl had received at least some help, it could have saved two children's lives.