October 10, 2022

Dangerous 10-year-olds


Dangerous 10-year-olds
Mental Calculation ~ At S.A. Rachinsky Public School. Bogdanov-Belsky (1895)

Moscow police have detained a 10-year-old girl after the director of the school where she studies told the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the fifth grader was using an avatar with yellow and blue colors [the colors of the Ukrainian flag] in a chat with classmates. The girl's mother informed the human rights group OVD-Info about the situation. OVD-Info has not disclosed the name of the mother and child.

According to the mother, at the end of September she was summoned to the "School in Nekrasovka" to discuss why her daughter was missing "Conversations on Important Things" - the new patriotic classes that began this school year. At the meeting, the woman was questioned about her daughter's avatar, and was told that another classmate's parent had complained that her child had posted a survey about war and peace in the chat.

On September 29, the school principal wrote to the Department of Internal Affairs for the Nekrasovka district. In her letter, quoted by OVD-Info, she commented on the girl's academic performance, and also asked MVD to "examine the living conditions of the family and establish cause-and-effect relationships for such a child's behavior, her civic attitude." The director also asked the police to "alter the educational position" of the mother.

The mother said that, at around 10 a.m. on October 5, the police detained the girl while she was at school. While the woman was on her way to get her daughter, a police officer and a juvenile inspector asked the fifth-grader if her mother worked, what she did, and how the family spent their free time. Then the police took the girl to the offices of Ministry of Internal Affairs, and her mother was brought there separately. “In front of the crying child, security forces rudely led the mother to the [school] exit,” OVD-Info wrote.

The mother and daughter were questioned by police, along with guardianship authorities, for three hours at the offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In particular, they were interested in why the girl had chosen an avatar with this particular combination of colors. Employees of the Center for Combating Extremism also read the messaging and email correspondence on the woman's phone. As a result, the police drew up a protocol stating that they had brought the minor to the station and took down her explanations.

Protocol of investigation, a legal document
The investigation protocol.

After some time, the police visited the family's home and, without presenting a warrant or any required documents, began to examine the correspondence and search history on the mother's phone and laptop, and also "rummaged through the bed linens," the mother said. Recently, the juvenile inspector told the mother that they were going to put her family on a watch list.

Source: Meduza

Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

Faith & Humor
December 01, 2011

Faith & Humor

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955