Nikita Lytkin's letter to the editorial office:
"Here, in the detention center, I have already spent a year and a half. I have gone through a lot and had a lot of time to think. I thought about my life, remembered my childhood, my mother, and my childhood friends. And I realized that once, long ago, in my childhood, I really was happy.
Then, in the sixth grade, I met Artyom and transferred to another class. That period became the beginning of my downfall. In the new class I had no friends, my childhood friends had all moved away in different directions, my classmates did not accept me and humiliated me. I no longer wanted anything — neither to study, nor to attend training sessions, and, to be honest, I didn't even want to live.
I couldn't tell my mother — I thought it was shameful, and besides, I was afraid she would go to the school and try to sort things out.
I became angry at everyone and lost faith in myself, in people, and in justice. I only shared my feelings with Artyom. He supported me in everything. Things were not going well for him either, both at home with his mother and at school.
Now I look back on it all and think: I was a fool. I should have lived differently, ignored the mockery and humiliation, and proven my worth in other ways. I should have focused on my studies and returned to wrestling practice. Now I understand that by killing weak and defenseless people, I only demonstrated my own weakness once again and proved nothing to anyone.
I am guilty before the people, and I am ready to accept punishment. It hurts me when I think about what I did. Sometimes I see myself as if from the outside and cannot believe that it was really me. If I could change everything and start life over, I would never commit those crimes again.
Lytkin, November 2012"
