Kyle Lamar Myers (born: May 9, 1986) and Keith Ratliff † (February 7, 1980 - January 6, 2013 [aged 32]), better known online as FPSRussia, are popular American YouTubers whose videos largely consist of firearms and explosives destroying various objects. Kyle's stereotypical imitations of a Russian with weapons once placed him in the top ten most subscribed YouTube channels. His last video was uploaded on April 16, 2016 and has ceased producing new videos since.
About[]
In Kyle's videos, he calls himself Dmitri Potapoff, a Russian whose accent fooled many people when he was starting in 2010. As of March 2020, he has almost 7 million subscribers and 900 million video views. Contrary to popular belief, Myers is a full-blooded American from Livonia, Georgia whose Russian accent is impressive.
In March of 2013, in collaboration with game developer's Zaah, FPS Russia The Game was released on both IOS and Android devices. The game has had more than 10,000 downloads on Google Play as of April 2014. He hasn't uploaded a video since and may not again due to controversy surrounding his gun usage since his inception to it on YouTube and due to the Las Vegas Shooting Massacre, YouTube has restricted gun modification videos on their website. Some do not like his stereotypical potrayal of Russians too and that number may grow if he remains on YouTube.
Death of Keith Ratliff[]
On January 6, 2013, Keith was found shot in his office with one bullet in his head. There were no signs of a struggle and Georgia Bureau of Investigation are continuing the investigation. Theories range from his ex-wife killing him, to Kyle, or even a government hit.
ATF Raids[]
Following the death of Keith Ratliff, FPSRussia was raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on March 29, 2013. Myers' father's farm was also raided, as it was a common filming location for Myers. An ATF spokesman Richard Coes said that the raids occurred due to his use of explosives on YouTube.
In August 2017, Myers was once again raided by the ATF. This time, Myers was prosecuted due to his possession of owning illegal drugs while owning a firearm. His collection of firearms was also confiscated and destroyed by the ATF. Myers was sentenced to two months in prison with charges of Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana and Butane Hash Oil, along with two years of probation and a fine of $7,500. Since his release, Myers has talked about his case and experience on the Painkiller Already podcast.
Subscriber milestones[]
- 1 million subscribers: June 21, 2011
- 2 million subscribers: December 30, 2011
- 3 million subscribers: November 18, 2012
- 4 million subscribers: April 2, 2013
- 5 million subscribers: April 21, 2014
- 6 million subscribers: March 9, 2016 - March 22, 2016
