A resident of Sochi appealed the court's refusal to recognize the closure of the violence case in the kindergarten as illegal.

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Mother of many children Elena Baranetskaya filed an appeal against the decision of the Adler District Court, which refused to recognize the police's refusal to initiate a criminal case regarding the use of violence against the children in the kindergarten as illegal.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the conflict between parents and the administration of kindergarten No. 121 in Sochi has been ongoing since spring 2025. Parents of the children have repeatedly demanded the initiation of a criminal case regarding the cruel treatment of children, but law enforcement agencies found no elements of a crime in the actions of the teacher, who resigned voluntarily. In January, the administration of Sochi informed parents that psychologists did not identify a "negative emotional-psychological climate in the group", while officials ignored a recording of an episode of cruel treatment of a child. In April, a court in Krasnodar recognized as illegal the actions of officials from the Ministry of Education of Kuban, who ignored the violation of the rights of parents to freedom of speech and opinions in kindergarten No. 121 in Sochi, and ordered regional officials to eliminate the violations, however, officials do not consider themselves guilty.

On July 24, Sochi activist, mother of many children, and rural school teacher Elena Baranetskaya filed an appeal with the Krasnodar Regional Court against the decision of the Adler District Court, which refused to recognize the police's refusal to initiate a criminal case against the teacher of kindergarten No. 121 as illegal. The applicant points to the incompleteness of the procedural check, the lack of independent judicial examinations, and the ignoring of evidence of the use of force against minor students. She told this to a correspondent of "Caucasian Knot".

The district court denied her complaint filed under Article 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation. In her complaint, Baranetskaya requested to recognize as illegal the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case dated February 18, 2026, and the inaction of the employees of the Adler District Police Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sochi, who conducted the check.

Baranetskaya insists that "the first instance court did not give a proper assessment of the key arguments regarding the formal nature of the investigative actions, and the court's decision itself will limit the rights of minor children and their legal representatives to access to justice."

During the court session on April 28, 2026, in the Adler District Court, Elena Baranetskaya expressed a number of arguments. Materials on crimes against minor children were transferred from the Investigative Committee to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which, according to Baranetskaya, reduced the quality and completeness of the check. The police's conclusions are based solely on the testimonies of the teacher herself, the head of the kindergarten, and the staff of the institution, who are interested in concealing violations to protect their reputation, she also pointed out.

For a whole year, the investigation did not appoint or conduct a single independent psychological-pedagogical or comprehensive judicial examination of the provided video recordings.

Baranetskaya also emphasized that "for a whole year, the investigation did not appoint or conduct a single independent psychological-pedagogical or comprehensive judicial examination of the provided video recordings." The police's decision stated that the parents of one of the affected children refused to participate in procedural actions, however, the child's mother personally refuted this, stating her willingness to participate in the investigation.

The court, chaired by Judge B.A. Sikalchuk, sided with law enforcement agencies. The district court's ruling states that the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case was issued by an authorized person, the check was conducted within the framework of the law, and copies of procedural documents were sent to the applicant in a timely manner. On this basis, the complaint under Article 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation was denied, without analyzing the arguments of the parents and the real situation regarding the cruel treatment of children in this kindergarten.

A legal analysis of the court act, the materials of the procedural check, and the arguments of the appeal allows for a systematic breakdown of the legal positions of the parties, believes lawyer Valery Vashchenko.

He explained where law enforcement agencies and the first instance court were wrong. "According to the documents, we see formalism in the procedural check (violation of Articles 7, 140, 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation): With the presence of video recordings with clear signs of physical and psychological violence against a child, the refusal to initiate a case without conducting an independent judicial psychological-pedagogical and medical-psychiatric examination is a significant procedural violation. The police relied on internal 'service checks' of the kindergarten, which creates a direct conflict of interest. We see in the documents the incompleteness of the investigation of the circumstances. The investigation did not eliminate the contradictions between the explanations of the parents and the confessional or exculpatory testimonies of the teacher. The inclusion in the procedural document of knowingly false information about the 'refusal of parents from claims' indicates a superficial collection of materials," the lawyer concluded after reviewing the documents.

The conclusion that the teacher with higher/special pedagogical education "did not realize the nature of her actions" contradicts the law enforcement practice in this category of cases.

He also stated about the erroneous qualification of actions under Article 156 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. "The subject of the crime under Article 156 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (failure to fulfill duties for the upbringing of a minor, combined with cruel treatment) includes, among others, a teacher or educator. For the composition of Article 156 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, causing serious harm to health is not required - it is sufficient to have the fact of cruel or degrading treatment. The conclusion that the teacher with higher/special pedagogical education 'did not realize the nature of her actions' contradicts the law enforcement practice in this category of cases," noted the lawyer.

Vashchenko also pointed out the court's evasion of judicial control over the conflict situation. "The task of the court when considering a complaint under Article 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation is not just to check the presence of the investigator's signature on paper, but to assess whether the rights of citizens to effective judicial protection are observed and whether significant contradictions in the check have been eliminated. By limiting itself to a formal statement of compliance with the procedure for issuing copies, the first instance court actually evaded assessing the incompleteness of the investigation," he added.

An independent lawyer believes that the applicant Elena Baranetskaya is undoubtedly right in her demands to initiate a criminal case. "The applicant reasonably points out that the investigation and the court violated the requirements of part 4 of Article 7 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (the requirement for legality, justification, and motivation of judicial and procedural acts). The requirement to appoint an independent examination of the video recording and conduct interviews with all affected children with the participation of a child psychologist directly follows from Articles 144-145 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation and the legal positions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation," Vashchenko believes.

"In this procedural confrontation, the truth is on the side of the applicant and the affected parents. The ruling of the Adler District Court dated April 28, 2026, should be overturned in the appellate instance of the Krasnodar Regional Court, and the material KUSP No. 22389 should be returned to the prosecutor or the investigative body for a full additional check and a decision on the initiation of a criminal case under Article 156 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and Article 116 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation," the lawyer summarized.

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