Roslyakov played violent video games, including Doom and other first-person shooters, but his extensive online presence pointed to a broader obsession with violence.
He posted under numerous aliases, including: "Vladik Roslyakov," "I Want to Die," "Strange," "Anatoly Smirnov," and "Skin Art." In 2016, Roslyakov stopped using his personal accounts, although he continued to maintain an online presence through his other accounts.
Analysts found that he spent most of his online time on forums dedicated to serial and mass killers. Here are a few examples of the kinds of messages he left on those forums:
β Why write this? There are millions like me on this social network alone. I'll tell you why β I have virtually no empathy. I think I'm half a psychopath.
β I have little interest in interacting with people like myself. All feelings are lies, deception, and complete nonsense. We must hide them from ourselves. Besides, I'm surrounded by idiots, and I could shoot them all.
β But killing people is wrong. I just expressed my opinion and am not calling for murder.
