Russia probes satirical children's book Harmful Advice over parenting concerns
Head of Russia's Investigative Committee Calls for Review of Grigory Oster's Harmful Advice
Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia's Investigative Committee, has proposed examining the poems in writer Grigory Oster's Harmful Advice series over concerns about their questionable pedagogical influence.
The committee will review the collection for potentially harmful educational messages, following Bastrykin's directive at a meeting of the agency's coordinating council on assisting children affected by humanitarian disasters, natural catastrophes, terrorism, and armed conflicts, according to the Investigative Committee's website.
During the session, officials discussed measures to counter juvenile delinquency, including early detection of minors planning crimes. The meeting also addressed children's literature.
"Oster's works were cited as a negative example, as participants believed they contained pedagogically dubious messages. In response, the committee chairman ordered a review of the author's books," the agency stated.
Harmful Advice is a satirical collection by Oster offering tongue-in-cheek recommendations for mischievous children and their parents. The book explicitly warns that well-behaved children are forbidden from reading it. Its opening lines read: "Scientists have recently discovered that some children are so contrary that they do the opposite of what they're told. If you advise them, 'Wash your face in the morning,' they won't wash it. If you say, 'Greet each other,' they'll refuse to say hello. So scientists decided that such children should be given harmful advice instead of useful ones. Since they'll do the opposite, everything will turn out right."
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