Sochi authorities' response to a report of child abuse at a kindergarten has outraged parents.

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Sochi residents who complained about the cruel treatment of kindergarten children received a response from the administration stating that a psychological investigation had been conducted, which had not revealed any negative emotional or psychological climate in the group. However, a video recording of the cruel treatment was ignored.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," in early March, the mother of a child at a kindergarten in Sochi accidentally filmed a video showing a teacher treating children roughly. She grabbed one of the girls and shoved her face into a plate, then passed the food to another child. The video was first posted in a parent chat and then republished by several Telegram channels. On March 12, more than 100 parents sent a collective complaint to the prosecutor's office, the education department, and the presidential administration of the Russian Federation. They asked for a criminal case to be opened, an internal investigation to be conducted, and the teacher to be banned from working with children. The Kuban prosecutor's office stated that those responsible for the inappropriate treatment of children had been punished, and the psychological climate at Kindergarten No. 121 was normal. The parents believe that the teacher's dismissal and disciplinary action against the kindergarten director are insufficient. At the end of December 2025, the children's parents received another refusal from the police, who found no criminal offense in the teacher's actions.

Parents of children at a Sochi kindergarten complained to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent on January 17 that almost a year after the incident with the teacher, they have been unable to protect their children's rights. They received a response to their complaint from the Sochi administration, signed by Deputy Head of Sochi Elena Kanyuk (a copy is in the possession of "Caucasian Knot").

The response states that following a verbal appeal from the child's parent, Svetlana Alekseeva, an internal investigation was conducted at the kindergarten on March 6, 2025. The institution's psychologists observed the children and concluded that the "emotional and psychological climate in the group was satisfactory" and that the children "were easy to communicate with." However, according to the document, no individual work with the children was conducted.

However, according to Svetlana Alekseeva, the response contains no information about the analysis of the video recording, which was the basis for the complaints. "There is a video with a specific episode of humiliation of a child, but instead of evaluating it, they simply looked at how the children behave on a normal day," she commented to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The document also reports an additional internal investigation into Elena Baranetskaya's complaint. Following its results, the director of the kindergarten was reprimanded, and the teacher resigned voluntarily. The response emphasizes that there are no grounds for dismissing the director, and no abuse on her part has been established.

It turns out that the complaints were handled by those we complained about.

"Our complaint from the prosecutor's office was simply forwarded to the administration, and the administration forwarded it to its own subordinates. It turns out that the complaints were handled by those we complained about," Elena Baranetskaya commented to a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Baranetskaya is perplexed "how those who violate the law and children's rights can punish themselves." "This is the absurdity of system employees who violate the laws they are obligated to uphold." And in practice, we see that a system made up of people in the wrong place protects not children, but those who occupy positions within it,” she added.

Lawyer Alexander Mikhailov, who helps parents protect their children’s rights, believes that in this situation, the very essence of the investigation is being substituted.

“The parents reported a specific episode of child abuse recorded on video. This is a report of a possible crime and requires a procedural investigation by law enforcement agencies, and not just internal official investigations,” he told a “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

According to the lawyer, monitoring the children after the incident, as Kanyuk writes in her response, cannot replace a legal assessment of what happened. “Administrative and official investigations do not replace or cancel "Criminal procedure. Forwarding complaints within a single chain of command creates a conflict of interest and effectively deprives parents of effective protection," Mikhailov believes.

The lawyer advises parents in such cases to: "Ensure that crime reports are registered under Articles 144–145 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code; appeal refusals to initiate a case not only to the prosecutor's office but also to the court under Article 125 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code; submit appeals to the Investigative Committee and the Children's Rights Commissioner; document all instances of pressure and attempts to hold parents accountable in response to complaints; "We must unite in the fight for the rights of our children, many of whom, at such a young age, cannot even tell us what is happening to them in kindergarten, so the demand for video cameras is entirely justified."

The priority is not protecting children, but maintaining administrative calm.

"When the system responds with formal replies, it is important to escalate the conflict beyond the local administrative hierarchy. Otherwise, the priority is not protecting children, but maintaining administrative calm," emphasizes Alexander Mikhailov.

The parents stated that they intend to continue to seek an investigation at the federal level and demand a response from the Investigative Committee, since, in their opinion, the teacher violated the Criminal Code. Elena Baranetskaya noted that the parents are seeking a fair punishment for the teacher in order to show other "pseudo-teachers" that the times of violence and cruelty towards children must be left in the past and their approach must be completely changed. to the upbringing of minors in the country.