The governor of central Russia’s Tula region has come to the defense of a young girl after local officials threatened criminal prosecution over artwork she drew onto a city playground earlier this week.
In a post on the VKontakte social media platform, authorities in the town of Bolokhovo said they had filed a police complaint after identifying a child who drew characters from a popular animated series onto the rubber safety surface of a newly renovated playground.
Officials threatened to pursue criminal charges against the girl and her parents for vandalism and property destruction unless they voluntarily removed the drawings.
“This surface is designed for children’s safety, not artistic expression,” the VKontakte post read. “Damaging public property is an offense for which you will be held legally accountable.”
The threat of legal action triggered public backlash online. Tula region Governor Dmitry Milyaev joined the criticism, demanding that local officials “leave the child alone” and accusing them of “pushing things to the point of absurdity.”
“Instead of scaring a child over a creative spark, we should help them nurture their talent,” Milyaev wrote in a post on Telegram. “We will certainly make sure to channel the local authorities’ enthusiasm in the right direction.”
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