In the Karelian town of Suoyarvi, the district administration has requested the police to check the legality of holding a flash mob by parents who opposed closing one of the kindergarten’s buildings. Olga Semyonova, a participant of the action and mother of four children, told 7x7 about it.
According to Semyonova, officials and law enforcement agencies misinterpreted the actions of the event’s participants, and the residents of Suoyarvi held a flash mob that is not related to the rallies.
“We were not holding a rally. It was nothing like that. It was just a flash mob. They simply do not even understand what to relate it to. In fact, flash mobs are not prohibited. We went there, took pictures, rolled our posters, and left,” Olga Semyonova explained and added that the participants of the action who had been holding one poster for two people had attracted the attention of the security forces.
The woman believes that closing the kindergarten’s building is going to create significant problems for parents who will have to take their children to another part of the town. The authorities promised the citizens to allocate a bus that would take their children and them to another building of the kindergarten, but the participants of the action do not support this idea.
Action against closing a kindergarten in the town of Suoyarvi. Source: vk.com/alarssuoyarvi
The Administration of the Suoyarvi District explained that they had reported the flash mob to the police, since no one had notified them about holding a public event, and they had not agreed upon any actions.
A source in Karelian law enforcement agencies confirmed to 7x7 that the report to the police of the town of Suoyarvi had been filed by the Administration of the Suoyarvi District. The appeal contains a request to check the legality of the action in defense of the kindergarten. The source suggested that the police might find signs of violating the procedure of holding one-person pickets in the actions of some people who had participated in the event. In this case, the parents will be fined for participating in the flash mob.
Residents of the town of Suoyarvi opposed the plans of the local authorities to close the kindergarten’s building. Officials intend to accommodate preschoolers in other buildings of the institution, since the kindergarten's maintenance has become not cost-effective. The parents did not agree with the opinion of authorities. According to them, their children and they will have longer journeys every day in this case.