According to the administration, the girl damaged the rubber surface.
Officials in Bolokhovo, Tula Oblast, filed a police complaint over a drawing of Smeshariki (Kikoriki) characters on the rubber surface of a playground. They described it as damage to municipal property and submitted surveillance footage that, according to them, showed the alleged culprit, a child.
The administration cited Articles 214 and 167 of Russia's Criminal Code, which cover vandalism and intentional damage to property. The girl and her parents were asked to restore the playground surface themselves before the review was completed. Bolokhovo Mayor Maria Chuikina told Baza that the park had been renovated under a state program and that the drawings had been made with permanent paint that municipal workers were unable to remove.
After the administration's statement was published, social media users came to the child's defense and criticized the officials' response.
“Do I understand correctly that ADULTS from the ‘administration’ filed a police complaint against a CHILD with extraordinary talent? Seriously?” local resident Liya Osokina wrote.
“There is a lot of talk about patriotic education these days, and a lot is being done to promote it. But just one incident like this is enough to outweigh all those school ‘Conversations About Important Things.’ What lesson will this girl take away from this situation? What about all her friends and classmates, and many other children as well? Children read the news too. The lesson is that the state is an evil overseer that hates and suppresses any initiative, even the most positive one, and is ready to bring the police and the courts into a fight against a child,” local resident Irina Timonina concluded.
