A school in Nakhodka held a New Year's party in which the role of the Snow Maiden was played by a physical education teacher. According to the telegram channel “City N”, after accusing the educational institution of “propaganda of Western values”, its management had to explain itself.
On December 22, at school No. 26 in the village of Livadia in Nakhodka, primary school teachers held a Masquerade Party — a traditional costume party. “City N” and the publication “Vladivostok Online” report that the appearance of a man in a Snow Maiden costume caused “outrage on social networks.”
“I ask the prosecutor’s office to pay attention to the matinee in school 26 in the village of Livadia. What kind of family values can we talk about if the overgrown Snow Maiden is played by a guy? The children came in shock… I ask you to take action, the Ministry of Education of Primorye is not responding, nor is the Ministry of Culture. I’m waiting for an official response to contact you further,” Vladivostok Online quotes a message from a resident of Nakhodka, left in the telegram channel of Primorsky Territory Governor Oleg Kozhemyaka.
At the same time, as the publication notes, no one wrote a statement to the departments. “City N” adds that “for some reason there were no complaints about Santa Claus performed by the girl.”
On its page on VKontakte, the school management explained that such matinees are a tradition of the educational institution.
“Teachers, dressed in costumes, performed scenes from Soviet cartoons. Our favorite cartoon “Well, just wait!” was no exception. The role of the Wolf in the Snow Maiden costume was played by our physical education teacher, who congratulated the children on the holiday. <…> We did not pursue any subtext or malicious intent in the plot with the heroes of the event. Our only goal is to please, amuse the children and embellish our school days,” the post says.
Former students of the school confirmed to Vladivostok Online that such a tradition has indeed existed for many years, and it “made everyone very happy.” The regional authorities have not yet responded to this.