Influencer Who Threw 2-Month-Old Baby into Snow Pile Investigated by Russian FBI

Controversy Date "Did Not Throw Son"
"Dressed Son's Clothes on Doll for Filming and Editing"

A Russian influencer who posted a video on social media (SNS) showing a 2-month-old baby being thrown into a pile of snow is now facing a thorough investigation by authorities.

On the 9th (local time), local media including 'Lenta.ru' reported that Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Russian Federal Investigative Committee, ordered an investigation into influencer Sergey Kosenko. The Federal Investigative Committee is the agency responsible for investigating serious crimes in Russia and is often referred to as the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Earlier, Kosenko, known as a "millionaire influencer" in Russia, posted a video on the 7th showing a 2-month-old baby being thrown into a pile of snow. He captioned the video "Leo's (his son's name) first flight," and the controversy intensified as he uploaded it to Instagram, a social media platform banned in Russia. The video quickly spread online, and Chairman Bastrykin ordered a tax investigation into Kosenko and also instructed to pursue options for extraditing him to Russia. Kosenko is currently reported to be residing in Beverly Hills, California, USA.

Russian influencer who caused controversy by throwing a baby into a snow pile.
[Image source=Sergei Kosenko Instagram]

Vitaly Milonov, Deputy Chairman of the Family, Women, and Children Committee of the Russian State Duma, also proposed detaining Kosenko for 15 days. As the controversy grew, Kosenko deleted the video and reiterated that he did not throw his son. Kosenko claimed, "I dressed a doll in Leo's clothes and filmed the video, then edited the doll's face with Leo's face and expressions," and posted new photos and videos showing the editing process.

Kosenko had previously explained that the video was filmed using a doll in response to criticism from netizens. However, netizens did not believe him, citing the baby's facial expressions moving in the video as evidence.

He defended himself by saying that he also provides viral content education and "wanted to raise interest in artificial intelligence (AI), deepfake, and video editing education through this video." He added that throwing the baby into the snow was imitating a video that had already gone viral on Instagram. However, he admitted it was a bad idea and apologized.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Kosenko has been embroiled in controversy. He has been criticized for posting videos such as one showing a handcuffed woman hanging from a car roof while speeding through downtown Moscow, and another where he rides a motorcycle with a woman on a pier in Bali, Indonesia, and rushes into the sea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.