Russian Emergencies Ministry Lists Main Rules for Pokemon Go Players' Safety

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, Russian Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov said that specialists from the State Fire Academy of EMERCOM of Russia had prepared recommendations for Pokemon Go players.

"First of all, we warn against Pokemon hunts near roadways, regardless of whether you a pedestrian or a driver. There are no Pokemons right on the roadway but there are a lot of them on roadsides. If you are a pedestrian just cross the road and catch the Pokemon after that. If you are a driver — establish a rule for yourself not to play Pokemon Go on your telephone while driving. Do not play, when you are wearing headphones," Teterin told RIA Novosti.

He added that people should not catch Pokemons in remote or deserted areas, because of the threats posed by wrongdoers, or in the vicinity of highly dangerous transport facilities, such as railways or subways.

Teterin said that it was prohibited to violate Russian laws, adding that the game could bring players onto "private territories, church-grounds or state borders."

According to Teterin, not everyone in Russia is aware of the game and people could think that they are being photographed when players direct their smartphones at them, or even think that players are criminals when they hunt for Pokemons at night.

Pokemon Go is a location-based augmented reality game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. Mobile game app users need to capture Pokemon creatures that appear on the screen of their device as if they were actually located in the same place as the person. The Pokemon creatures can then be trained and used in virtual battles.