Police in Kaliningrad want a local principal fired after she let her students celebrate subcultures

Investigators have charged Kaliningrad school director Lyudmila Osipova with abusing her authority, after her school celebrated a holiday to honor various subcultures.

Police say Osipova essentially forced parents into compulsory donations, collecting more than 3.5 million rubles ($61,425) between 2015 and 2016. Most of this money reportedly funded the school’s security system, despite the fact that the local city government is responsible for paying most of these costs.

Osipova told Meduza that these charges are false, and says the case against her is actually retaliation for the school’s recent “subculture” holiday. Osipova says she has received threats and plans to hire a lawyer and meet with investigators.

In October 2017, Osipova’s school — one of the most prestigious in Kaliningrad — held a “subculture” ceremony where students came dressed as goths, punks, soccer fans, and even carried water bottles labeled “vodka,” as well as a pig’s head. Local prosecutors later concluded that the holiday did not conform to the standards of “patriotic education” and said it violated Russia’s ban on propagating suicide, drugs, and alcohol. Teachers, alumni, and students’ parents have opposed local officials’ calls to fire Osipova.