After Public Outcry, Russia Launches Probe Into Suicide Of Bullied Teen Athlete

Russia's Investigative Committee said on August 23 that it launched an investigation into the death by suicide of teen athlete Ksenia Cheponova, which she apparently carried out as a result of a bullying over her ethnicity. The noted 17-year-old sambo wrestler's body was found on August 17 in Novosibirsk, where she studied at a sports college. Before her death, Cheponova left a message on Telegram saying she was tired of being humiliated for her ethnicity. Amid the public outcry that followed, the acting governor of the Altai region, Andrei Turchak, asked Investigative Committee chief Aleksandr Bastrykin to investigate Cheponova's death. Altais are Turkic-speaking indigenous people of Siberia. To read the original story by Current Time, click here.