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'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia

By 0 and 0 and 0
09 March 2017

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The ultimate brutal television reality contest. Picture: Yevgeny Pyatkovsky

The show to be broadcast worldwide on the web starting in July will see 30 participants, 15 of them women, ditched on a large island in the Ob River, the seventh longest in the world, chasing a 100 million rouble ($1.7 million) prize on a nine month survival mission in winter temperatures as low as minus 50C.

Called Game2:Winter, the reality TV programme has quietly dropped a shocking rule that stated: 'Everything is allowed. Fighting, alcohol, murder, rape, smoking, anything.'

When asked if he will intervene if there is 'physical violence, rape, a murder', organiser Yevgeny Pyatkovsky, 35, a Novosibirsk millionaire, told The Siberian Times: 'No we won't. I am pretty sure there will be fights, and more. We are not scared of negative reaction if that happens either.'

He insisted it would be made clear to the international participants ahead of the show 'that punishment will follow according to the Russian Criminal Code'. In other words, any action would be for the police or other law enforcement agencies only, not the show's organisers. 

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
Called Game2:Winter, the reality TV programme has quietly dropped a shocking rule that stated: 'Everything is allowed. Fighting, alcohol, murder, rape, smoking, anything.' Picture: Yevgeny Pyatkovsky


Pyatkovsky has stated previously: 'We will refuse any claim of participants even if they were to be killed or raped. We will have nothing to do with this. This will be spelled out in a document to be signed by the participant before the start of the show.'

There would be no rules restricting sex between the participants, he said. 

'We will not intervene into relations between participants nor monitor their sexual life either, and our cameras will not be able to follow every move in every corner of the island. 

'They are free to form any couple or union, and there is no limits or rules regarding sex. 

'If a woman falls pregnant - and manages to carry the baby - that's fine with us. 

'We will show the baby after the project is over.' 

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia


'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
It gets to minus 50C in winter in Tomsk region of Siberia. Picture: Danil Barashkov


The survival race on the island will be filmed and broadcast 24 hours a day on an internet TV channel, Pyatkovsky said. The island of nine square kilometres is in Tomsk region, he announced.

'It gets to minus 50C in winter, and it is infested with brown bears. This area of Siberia has always lots of bears, but recently numbers doubled because more animals migrated from the north of Krasnoyarsk region, pushed away by wildfires.'

He made clear that the conditions would be more testing than on any TV reality game show. At the start of the show, 'brown bears will be at the end of their mating season. Days after they calm down a bit, the biting gnats will arrive'. 

They will be allowed knives but no other weapons and he admitted that if a bear attacks a participant, there may be nothing the organisers can do. 

'There will be a ground team on duty, and one or two helicopters for emergency situations,' he said. 'Having said that, bears can run as fast as 60 kph, and our two thousand cameras on the island would not be able to cover every centimetre  of the forests 

'This is the raw Siberian taiga: anything can happen, and we might not be on time to solve an emergency. 

'The participants will have knives only, no guns will be allowed. They won't be allowed to bring anything with them.'

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
The show is a brainchild of Yevgeny Pyatkovsky, pictured 


Survival will depend on growing food and storing it for winter, catching fish from a plenteous supply in the Ob, or killing game. 

'We will give one set of clothes to every participant and it must last till the end of the show. Right after the arrival our survivors will be given the task of building a house, shelter, or anything they decide to live in during autumn and winter.'

At the start, they will chose from a storage 100 kg worth of winter clothes, tools like a hand saw and axe, fishing rods, ropes, soaps, salt and sugar. 

'The set of clothes, food and instruments will not be replaced,' Pyatkovsky said.'There will presenters whose role is to give initial tips about surviving in Siberia - for example, how to catch an otter, or how to behave when you meet a wild bear, and also to organise various competitions and quests.

'One might be being woken early in the morning from a loud alarm. 

'A worried presenter's voice will announce that a group of criminals broke out of a nearby jail and is already on the island. 

'The task will be to catch the criminals, and whoever does so gets a prize from a sponsor.'

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
The island of nine square kilometres is in Tomsk region. Picture: Tourist Club Tomsk 


Pyatkovsky, a father-of-two,  said: 'There is nothing like this show in the whole world. No-one has done it as a real thing where people will actually have to use every skill they ever gained, social, physical, psychological, to survive.'

'You will be able to watch it from every corner of the world at any moment of the day and night, as you move, work, drink with your girlfriend in the bar, or relax with a cup of tea at the end of the day.'

Asked for his goal in running the extreme show, he said bluntly: 'To earn money, this is my main task. I will however reach several other goals at the meantime. I will show what Siberians are worth as survivors, how strong and resilient, but also how warm, fair and humorous we are. 

'I am hoping we will become  heroes in the eyes of an international audience who I hope will have better grip of how we managed to conquer this part of Russia, and make it home. 

'I will show stunningly beautiful nature of Siberia and will increase interest from tourists from all over the world.'

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
Tomsk region, north of Western Siberia. Picture: Andrey Bosh


Pyatkovsky said: I've been thinking about this show since the time I first saw Lost. I thought that surely there must be a way to do a real survival show, where people face all the real problems of daily life in the Siberian taiga. 

'I envisaged it being organised in Siberia, but I had no idea as to how to transmit it so that the whole world could see it. Now I know, and the time has finally come. 

'Several years ago I realised that I could set up cameras and arrange seamless broadcast, and this is when I started to work on the details of the show. 

'It took me long two and a half years of preparations, and now I am ready.'

Hundreds of would-be participants have applied, and the selection will be made by online viewers.

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia


'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia 


'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
Real-life adventurers to a 'professional blonde' queue to participate. Pictures: Yevgeny Pyatkovsky


Among the hopefuls are:

Natalya Korneva, 26, an actress from St Petersburg: 'I travel whenever I have some spare time, during the last 5 years I covered more than 150,000 km, most of them alone. 

'I've been to the mighty Lena River in Siberia, to Magadan, to the Altai Mountains and the Far East of Russia. I've been dreaming about moving to Siberia for a long while, but first I want to feel how hospitable the taiga will be towards me. This is why I am taking part.'

Jonghyun Lee, 22, from South Korea: 'I have served in the South Korean Air Force, and currently I am a student. Right now I am in the middle of America, biking from Los-Angeles to the East Coast. Regardless of the prize, I love problems.

'I want to go through difficulties because it'll make me better. The primitive instinct of fighting nature without any help is what excites me.'

Dmitry Russkikh, 31, a security service officer from Saratov: 'Extreme, sport and travelling while getting new impressions is what drives me. I grew up on the shores of great Russian Volga River, fishing with my father and grandfather. I spent a lot of time diving, mountain climbing, snowboarding and mountain biking.'

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
Jonghyun Lee, 22, from South Korea: 'I have served in the South Korean Air Force, and currently I am a student.' 


Yelena Grischenko, 21, a student from Kazakhstan: 'I love playing computer games, specially Perfect World and Wow. I read a lot, love Russian classics and fantasy.'

Irina Agisheva, 30, a swimming coach from Nizhny Novgorod: 'I want to do something so mad and unforgettable so that people later say 'do you remember that girl...'. We only live once and we must  make the best of our lives. I'm ready.'

Klara Yuchyugyaeva, 33, a real estate agent from Yakutsk (Siberia): 'I love sport since childhood, I was born in Yakutia and I am not afraid of difficulties. For me the taiga is something mysterious and amazing, so please help me discover it.'

Oksana Shiganova, a 28 year old driver from Murmansk in the Russian Arctic: 'I am a professional blonde, a girl who loves dresses, manicure and shopping. I love myself and will definitely not make it through the show without help.  But this is what will make it so interesting to follow me.' 

Oleg Baturin, a 35 year old economist, said: 'I live in Chelyabinsk, the capital city of the South Urals. Our city has always been known for its strong men - and to prove it I challenge myself and all other participants. I want to spend long time in the wild, try new places and go through new hardships.'

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
Matts David Goldberg, 36, a student from Sweden: 'I want to take part to inspire people and to help them fight for their dreams'


Matts David Goldberg, 36, a student from Sweden: 'I want to take part to inspire people and to help them fight for their dreams. I also want to go through exactly what my grandfather endured when he worked all around the Siberian taiga after being captured during World War II. I am an adventurer, a teacher and a journalist.'

Mikhail Utrobun, 29, a sportsman from Khabarovsk: 'This is my chance, finally I'll become a millionaire.'

Those taking part will be given survival training from Russia's elite former GRU Spetznaz operatives, but after that they will be on their own coping with temperatures ranging from 35C in high summer to minus 50C or lower in the depths of the Siberian winter. 

'Probably all of you have watched the Lost TV series, but surviving in a tropical climate is quite different from trying to stay alive in the Siberian taiga - boreal forest - at minus 40 degrees Celsius,' said Pyatkovsky.

'There will be no film crew: the whole area will be dotted with cameras and each participant will be carrying a portable camera with 7-hour life rechargeable battery.'

Contestants must be at least 18 and 'mentally sane', he said. 

'Real Hunger Games' gears up for TV launch from bear-infested island in Siberia
The ultimate brutal television reality contest. Picture: Yevgeny Pyatkovsky


Those taking part will be urged to forage and store food before winter in order to survive the cold months. 

In winter, contestants will need to catch fish through ice holes to feed themselves. 

Their target: to survive until 1 April - but it will be no joke. 

All participants will have to sign release of liability for injury and death waivers, he said. 

Each week participants may request some item from viewers who will be able to donate money for it via the project's website.

Purchased items will then be delivered to participants. 

Comments (73)

All the complaints are from America?
How did this nation become so soft?
Thought criminal, Nowhere, kansas
24/11/2020 18:06
1
1
I am just 12 years old, and this is the most sickening thing I have EVER read. I love Hunger Games, and I even share the main female protagonist's name, but this is ridiculous! They are letting people rape and kill, and are just going to sit back and watch while sipping wine on their sofa. If a woman gets pregnant, they should take her out of there, not leave her to die! Think about the families of these contestants! Parents watching their children die, spouses and children watching their wives, husband, and mothers/fathers get raped and murdered! They are not even able to hold the creators responsible because of the death/injury waivers. I wholeheartedly agree with Sue Ellen's comment. I also want the creators to burn in hell. The creator also deserves to be a contestant on this show, and then get ripped to shreds by bears or other contestants. People like YOU think this is cool, but then you will see the show and be sickened. You will watch innocent women get raped, and even ore innocent, yet, utterly stupid contestants get killed! Imagine watching your mother, sister, friend, wife, cousin, or child get brutally raped and or murdered on live television. Anyone who supports this show is a sick, sadistic PSYCHOPATH who deserves to ROT IN HELL.
Katniss (12 year old female), USA
19/11/2020 22:10
2
2
If ppl want to join this game its there problem not yours. If you cant do it dont join. I want to join just dont know how. Its a type of show that will sort the weak from the strong. People need to remember before singing up that there is 85% chance dying. So that being said dont try it if deep in ur hard you cant handle it and for the people who can handle it. Good luck stay on your toes and always keep a eye open don't be scared to get your hands dirty dont forget People are playing for keeps! GOOD LUCK remember its not a video game its real life....
Zack, Santa rosa ca
13/05/2018 11:28
1
4
I WOULD LIKE TO SIGN UP SO I CAN PLAY TO.

HOW CAN I JOIN???

PLEASE SEND ME A FORM TO FILL OUT.

EMAIL: R_Isaac2172@outlook.com
Richard Isaac, Regina, Saskatchewan CANADA
22/04/2018 20:21
0
3
I'm a 13 year old. This is ridiculous. I hope the creator burns in hell. Think of what you people are starting. I would think that many people like you or just you in general would not like to die. Because that is what is going to happen if we continue to do this. This is very despicable. I think that this world is already going to crap. Im sorry but I really think that. And the reason is is because of people like you. I hope you all understand what I am saying and thinking. Thank you for your time to read this. And I hope that you are smart enough not to go sign up.
Katy Parker, United States
26/10/2017 03:43
5
8
This is gonna be pretty awesome
Aldi, Indonesia
07/09/2017 05:56
1
4
Cancelled? =(
Sam Xera, Finland
15/07/2017 14:04
1
3
Is it just me who thinks this will be pretty awsome?
Wulfric, canada
14/07/2017 06:31
3
4
this is not human where the world go.............. seriously dont do that dont support this tv show
kev, ca
08/07/2017 10:25
7
7
When and where can I find the show?
Bill, Us
02/07/2017 01:12
1
4
By the comments I'm seeing ,the creator (not The Creator) Yevgeny Pyatkovsky, is evoking the kind of reaction he wants. Truman show meets Survivor. Very interesting!! What people will do for money astonishes.

Speaking of money, I own www.siberianhungergames.com. I'm thinking of making a fan site. Good idea? Nothing on it yet. What would you want to see?
Scott, America
06/05/2017 03:56
7
3
This is probably the best TV show I have ever heard of. If I had known sooner I would have loved to sign up. Anyway I will definitely be watching this as much as possible and hopefully if they make a season two I will have the chance to sign up.
Jordan H, UK
13/04/2017 06:30
9
5
I don't understand u. You let people kill? Or is it that they actually can't kill (the laws) but u state that they can kill just to attract attention. Anyways, this is a bad tv show.
Mellisa, America
03/04/2017 09:02
7
11
You people make me sick to my stomach. How dare the creator have this idea. And you don't care about the women who might get pregnant? No you don't give a crap. Think about the human beings who will be growing inside of the woman's stomach, do you want them growing up without a mother, knowing that she got slaughtered in a stupid "hunger games" it's a movie!!! Give them a birth control pills those babies don't deserve this. And I can't even to begin to understand why anyone would love the creator.
I don't know if you're reading this but YOU ARE THE MOST STUPID HUMAN BEING I HAVE EVER HEARD OF.
I can't believe your letting these people kill themselves or each other. And the fact that your not giving the baby a chance.
Stupid. You don't deserve to be happy
Sue Ellen , America
31/03/2017 22:00
12
20
I sent in my application for this game, and I hope I can get on. It's going to be different from anything I've ever experienced, but I think the whole thing will be very fun assuming I don't get myself killed.

https://game2winter.ru/chad-bagwell

Michael from New Jersey is right. It ain't the bears and wolves you have to worry about in the wilderness, it's the insects and rodents that can really bugger you.

The rest of y'all should learn not to believe everything you read. Yes, the rules of the game might say that you can do whatever you want to the other participants, but the rules of Russia say that rapists and murderers go to gulag. I would be very surprised if we see anything worse than a few fistfights, and probably not even that. We'll need to work together if we're going to survive the winter.

As for recapturing the escaped criminals, that sounds really fun to me. The only way it could be better is if they provide me with a horse and some lassos.
Chad Bagwell, McCord Crossroads, Alabama
30/03/2017 11:47
12
4

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