A trash stream (or patostream in Poland) is a type of live broadcast where the host engages in shocking, dangerous, humiliating, or otherwise controversial actions, often involving themselves or their guests.
By the 2020s, trash streams had gained significant popularity in the post-Soviet states (CIS), particularly among audiences seeking sensational or extreme content.
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.
[8] In December 2021, a criminal case was initiated against Kirill for a stream where he chained a fellow streamer, Maksim Moskalev, to a radiator, abused him, and threw firecrackers at him.
[14] 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.
[19] 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.
[20] 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 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.
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 October 25, 2020, Moskovsky Komsomolets released an article about Mellstroy's case, urging for a legislative solution and intervention against trash streams.
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.