Photo via Russia's Interior Ministry
Photo via Russia’s Interior Ministry

Apparently, accidents from ill-advised selfie-taking positions have become such a problem in Russia that the government has issued a campaign about it.

From the BBC, the Russians posted a guide to taking safer selfies and even made a nifty chart illustrating several situations a person should avoid when taking a selfie, like oh, standing in front of a train, large, wild animals or posing with firearms.

Many activities on the chart look like vodka-fueled acts of derring-do. While we know most Russians are, uh, tougher than the rest of the world, it makes us wonder if enough Russians are actually doing these things that it necessitates the government actually depicting them as no-go activities?

Apparently so. The BBC reports, via a Russian newspaper I can’t read, “The interior ministry’s Safe Selfie campaign is a response to a spate of incidents in which youngsters were seriously injured, or in some cases killed, while trying to take pictures of themselves, the Izvestia newspaper reports. The campaign’s motto is: ‘Even a million “likes” on social media are not worth your life and well-being.’ ”

The BBC adds that the incidents have involved a “21-year-old accidentally shooting herself in the head while posing for a selfie with a gun in Moscow” (she survived) and “several cases of children being electrocuted while taking selfies on top of railway carriages.”

And we thought selfie sticks were dangerous.

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