Two schools in Russia ban students from wearing clothing with foreign-language inscriptions
Two schools in the Tomsk region have banned students from wearing clothing with foreign-language inscriptions.
The Gubernatorial Svetlensky Lyceum published such an order, dated May 15, amending its internal regulations to prohibit “wearing clothing with inscriptions in foreign languages” — unless the inscription is part of a registered trademark and does not violate “Russian law and the principles of universal human decency.”
The order cites directives from the Tomsk region Department of Education, though the underlying document has not been made public.
School No. 1 in Kedrovy issued a similar order, stating that foreign-language inscriptions on clothing were prohibited “in order to counter the promotion of unlawful behavior, radicalization, and antisocial ideas.” The page on the school’s website now shows a “page not found” error.
Ilya Leontyev, first deputy speaker of the Tomsk regional legislature and deputy secretary of the regional branch of United Russia, said the situation “requires careful consideration.” “I would not rule out that local officials may have interpreted the regional education department’s recommendations somewhat too literally or not entirely correctly,” he wrote, adding that an official comment from the department itself should be awaited.
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