# Trash stream

A trash stream (or patostream in Poland, meaning "pathological stream") is a type of live broadcast where the host engages in shocking, dangerous, humiliating, or otherwise controversial actions, often involving themselves or their guests. These streams are typically monetized through viewer donations, often using services like DonationAlerts, and are primarily hosted on platforms such as YouTube. Trash streaming is mostly popular in Russia, Ukraine and Poland.

## Origins and development

The genre is believed to have originated in Russia in the early 2010s, with streamer Kirill Zyryanov (known as VJLink) regarded as a pioneer of the format. By the 2020s, trash streams had gained significant popularity in the post-Soviet states (CIS), particularly among audiences seeking sensational or extreme content. One of the most infamous figures in the genre is Nikolay Belov, often referred to as the "King of Trash" for his particularly shocking and reckless live broadcasts.

## Characteristics

Trash streams are characterized by:
* Donations: Viewers provide financial incentives, often encouraging increasingly extreme behavior.
* Shocking content: Includes themes of violence, degradation, and physical harm.
* Association with "lower internet": The genre is tied to a subculture known as the "lower internet," a term coined by gaming journalist Anton Logvinov to describe niches of the web focused on marginal and provocative content.

## Controversies and legal issues

Trash streams have been the subject of significant controversy due to incidents involving physical harm or death during live broadcasts. These events have led to administrative and criminal investigations against some trash streamers.
On July 30, 2024, Russia's State Duma passed legislation banning trash streams, citing public safety concerns and the negative societal impact of such content.
Poland has also implemented legislative measures to restrict destructive trash-streaming in 2022 and 2023.

## Cultural context

The "lower internet," where trash streams typically thrive, encompasses online communities known for their edgy, often transgressive content. A notable example is the anonymous imageboard Dvach, which serves as a hub for discussions and dissemination of niche internet trends.

## Incidents
### VJLink

In February 2021, VJLink (Kirill Zyryanov) conducted a livestream during which he humiliated a man named Eduard, who complained about being deprived of sleep. By the end of the stream, Eduard suffered an epileptic seizure due to fatigue and alcohol intoxication.
In December 2021, a criminal case was initiated against Kirill for a stream where he chained a fellow streamer, Maksim Moskalyov, to a radiator, abused him, and threw firecrackers at him.
In February 2022, outside of a stream, he injured his girlfriend's head. She later started a stream asking for financial help, even as little as 50 rubles.

### Gobzavr and Lyudmuryk

Since 2016, blogger Andrey Yashin, known as Gobzavr, along with his mother Lyudmila Yashina, known as Lyudmuryk, started streaming on YouTube. They drank alcohol and performed tasks for money, such as Andrey kissing his mother on the lips or smashing an egg on her head. Lyudmila often cursed viewers and feuded with fellow bloggers.
On December 1, 2019, Gobzavr beat his mother with a champagne bottle during a stream. In a subsequent video, he publicly apologized.
In February 2023, on Yashina's birthday, a coffin with a pig's head inside was delivered to her apartment door.
In June 2023, a recording of a phone conversation was leaked, in which Lyudmila admitted that her son regularly beat her outside of streams. Hours later, she released a video denying these claims, but viewers noticed bruises on her arms poorly concealed with makeup. The incident was commented on by Ekaterina Mizulina, promising to take action against Andrey Yashin.

### Mops Dyadya Pyos

In the summer of 2016, Ukrainian ex-prisoners Andrey Shchadylo and Sergey Novik, known as Mops Dyadya Pyos, started streaming, where Novik endured humiliation and beatings from Shchadylo for viewer donations. On October 30, Novik defecated on a cake and attempted to send it to Petro Poroshenko. In 2017, Shchadylo shot Mops in the head with a non-lethal gun for 50,000 rubles. On December 17, 2019, Mops died at 46 from pneumonia.

### Shkilla Team

In December 2021, two trash-streamers, Arkady Starikov and Ivan Filatov, were sentenced to 2.6 and 2.3 years in a general regime colony for illegal actions during their streams in Bryansk.

### "Deputy" Valentin Ganichev

In 2017, the channel owner of Tupa Splash, Vladislav "Demon" Pekonidi, started collaborating with "Deputy" Valentin Ganichev. In his streams, Demon intoxicated and abused Valentin.
In 2020, a trash-streamer from Bryansk kidnapped Valentin and forced him to participate in streams where he was beaten, humiliated, intoxicated, and buried alive. In February 2023, Valentin and trash-streamer Vladimir Samovolkin, known as Pochta, were detained for expressing support for Ukraine during the Russian invasion on a stream. Valentin claimed he did it for a 1,000 ruble donation.

### German Yagodka

In March 2019, trash-streamer German Yagodka (Herman Aleksandrovich Vasilenko) uploaded a stream where he humiliated a veteran. On March 6, 2019, St. Petersburg police located and detained the blogger who urinated on the veteran.
On August 31, 2020, German Yagodka was beaten by a motorcyclist after he provocatively stepped onto the road while drunk, causing an accident.
On January 2, 2024, it was reported that a group of trash-streamers, including VJLink, German Yagodka, and Vladislav Pekonidi, arrived in Thailand and immediately violated local laws, harassing people on live streams, and using substances, causing public outrage.

### Mellstroy

On October 16, 2020, trash-streamer Andrey Burim, known as Mellstroy, assaulted model Elena Efremova during a stream, slamming her head against a table multiple times. On October 23, a criminal case was initiated under the article "Assault." On July 9, 2021, Mellstroy was sentenced to six months of correctional labor. Efremova's appeal against the court's decision was rejected.

### Reeflay

On December 2, 2020, trash-streamer Stanislav Reshetnyak, known as Reeflay, killed his girlfriend, Valentina "Genialnaya" Grigoryeva, off-stream, and then streamed with her lifeless body on the sofa. Reshetnyak was detained, and an examination revealed she had died from a brain injury caused by a closed head trauma. On April 27, the following year, Reshetnyak was sentenced to six years in a strict regime colony for "causing grievous bodily harm, resulting in death through negligence." He apologized to Grigoryeva's mother in court.

### Commentary

In 2018, the first significant articles in Russia about trash streams began to appear. Meduza released an article where journalists studied the phenomenon, conversed with participants, and noted that the genre existed in different formats in other countries, citing Jackass as an example. On March 2, 2019, after an incident involving German Yagodka, Argumenty i Fakty warned readers that, unlike bloggers, trash-streamers were not involved in creativity but used explicit material to attract audiences, urging readers not to view their broadcasts.
On October 25, 2020, Moskovsky Komsomolets released an article about Mellstroy's case, urging for a legislative solution and intervention against trash streams.
On February 25, 2021, Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article, "Legislation for Trash Streamers," detailing how to combat trash streams. On December 20, 2021, Yaroslavl Newspaper wrote an article about trash streams, highlighting the Mellstroy and Reeflay cases, describing trash streams as a blend of Jerry Springer Show and Big Brother, pointing out the lack of national television oversight, leading to extreme expressions for entertainment. On August 30, 2022, Dni.ru remarked that trash streams no longer brought the desired fame, and in their attempts to generate buzz, the genre led to numerous crimes.

## Research in Poland

Most Polish researchers agree with the typology of trash streams proposed by scholars Bek and Popiołek.
* Alco-streaming – Live streaming of alcohol abuse and "drunken actions," also known as "drunken streams."
* Violence broadcasting – Streaming of various types of violence, including physical violence (live beatings) and verbal violence (racist content, calls for violence, threats, insults, etc.). This can sometimes result in fatalities among stream participants.
* Sex-streaming – Streaming situations involving various sexual deviations, including acts of pedophilia.
* Daily trash-streaming – Broadcasting the everyday life of marginalized individuals, with a particular focus on so-called "fights."

## In popular culture

2020 American film Spree features a protagonist who is a trash streamer.