A BRUTAL new reality TV show set to be launched in Russia has sparked controversy after its rules promised to allow “fighting, murder and rape”.

The Hunger Games-style contest, called “Game2: Winter”, which is the brainchild of millionaire Yevgeny Pyatkovsky, has been accused by critics of promoting “savage and bestial behaviour”.

Game2: Winter has sparked controversy over its extreme rules

But what is Game2: Winter, where will it be filmed and who is the wealthy Russian behind it? Here's all you need to know:



What is Game2: Winter?

Game2: Winter will see 30 participants, evenly split between men and women, armed with knives and dropped into the Siberian wilderness for a nine-month survival test.

Starting in July 2017, they will be competing for a £1.3 million prize, and are expected to hunt and fish for food in the bleak taiga forest in order to stay alive.

The daring contestants – who must be over 18 and declared “mentally sane” – will be allowed 100kg of equipment to last them until April 1 2018, and are not permitted to take in guns.

Contestants will be allowed just 100kg of equipment to last nine months

They will have to pay £132,000 just to enter, and their trials and tribulations will be filmed by 2,000 fixed cameras and broadcast live online 24/7.

The extreme survival show will be translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese and Arabic, and there has reportedly been interest from mainstream broadcasters in five countries to air it on television.

Shockingly, the rules for the contest originally stated: “Everything is allowed. Fighting, alcohol, murder, rape, smoking, anything.”

Despite rules stating anything goes, entrants could be prosecuted for their actions

However, after an outcry, the team behind the show removed the controversial “rule”.

But when asked if he will step in if there is “physical violence, rape, a murder”, millionaire organiser Yevgeny Pyatkovsky, 35, 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 has also made clear: “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 spelt out in a document to be signed by the participant before the start of the show.”

However, Russian criminal laws will still apply, with contestants told “the police will come and take you away” if there is proof of criminality.

Each participant will have a panic button linked to a satellite. If they use it, they will be evacuated from the taiga, but not allowed to return. All who survive nine months will share the prize money.

Who are the contestants?

A glamorous swimming coach, a Russian actress, and a ‘professional blonde’ are among the "mentally sane" contestants bidding to take part the real-life Hunger Games.

The swimming coach, Irina Agisheva from Nizhny Novgorod, said: "I want to do something so mad and unforgettable so that people later say 'do you remember that girl."

Prospective contestant Irina Agisheva, a swimming coach Credit: The Siberian Times

Sportsman Mikhail Utrobun claimed he wanted to be in the show because "finally I'll become a millionaire".

Those vying for a spot are not all Russian – Jonghyun Lee, a 22-year-old student who has served in the South Korean Air Force also wants to take his chances against the elements.

"I want to go through difficulties because it'll make me better," he said.

"The primitive instinct of fighting nature without any help is what excites me."



Where is Siberia?

The Russian region of Siberia is one of the most notoriously desolate territories on the planet – it accounts for three-quarters of the country’s immense landmass, but is home to just 40 million people.

Its sparse population is easily explained. Game2’s contestants will have to face temperatures ranging from a roasting 35C in the summer to minus 40C or lower in the depths of the Siberian winter.

Siberia is one of the most uninhabitable and desolate places on the planet

Finding food will provide a huge challenge for the foolhardy few who take part. The boreal forest, or taiga, where they will be struggling to survive supports little wildlife, particularly in winter.

The Siberian Times reports: “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.”

Wolves stalk the Siberian taiga where the entrants will be fighting for survival Credit: Getty Images

Brown bears could also put the daring Game2: Winter contestants in danger

However, not being eaten may prove an even more pressing matter: the region supports vicious predators such as the grey wolf and brown bear.

Who is Yevgeny Pyatkovsky?

Yevgeny Pyatkovsky is a 35-year-old millionaire from Novosibirsk, Russia’s third most populous city, and is the man behind what he describes as “a very entertaining and educational project”.

A programmer, he hit the headlines when he created a smartphone app called Antikollektor, which allows users to block calls and text messages from debt collectors.

The app, which has hundreds of thousands of users, has itself been the subject of some controversy since being launched on Android in recession-hit Russia in 2014.

Yevgeny Pyatkovsky's Antikollektor app has caused some controversy in Russia

It was removed from the Google Play app store in 2015, a move Pyatkovsky believed was prompted by debt collectors’ complaints, but a group of New York-based lawyers fought for it to be reinstated.

Speaking about his proposal for Game2: Winter, Pyatkovsky said: “There have been no reality TV projects before that stay on air 24/7.

“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 at minus 40 degrees Celsius.”