Tumult Surrounds a Children’s Book in the Karatuzsky District
In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, staff at a Breeze store reportedly removed the sole copy of the children’s book Bad Advice by Grigory Oster after its illustrations drew complaints from local authorities. The update came via TASS, citing the store owner, Lyubov Deryusheva.
One account described the book as being available for sale before it was taken off the shelf. Deryusheva later told NGS24.RU that the volume was destroyed, though she did not provide details on how this occurred.
According to a source for NGS24.RU, seven illustrations in the book triggered the authorities’ concerns. The visuals reportedly showed actions such as tattooing a child, a flying knife aimed at a teacher, a gallows scene involving a teacher, a child directing an airplane pilot toward the west at gunpoint, and doctors removing a child’s tooth with a rope and a door.
Another acquaintance of the investigation suggested that the illustrations were the main basis for the inspection, noting that the text itself did not face complaints from law enforcement.
Prosecutors Call the Book a Source of Fear and Pain for Children
The Karatuzsky District prosecutor’s office reportedly requested the seizure of Bad Advice, a development first shared on Telegram by Anton Oreh, who included elements of the supervisory authority’s request signed by the regional prosecutor, Alexander Kuleshov. The office argued that the work contains depictions of cruelty, physical and psychological violence, and antisocial actions that induce fear, horror or panic in children, described as degrading to human dignity.
The filing also stated that there was no stated age limit for the material and invoked the law designed to shield children from information harmful to their health and development. The department indicated it would consider removing the book from shelves and halting its circulation.
On Telegram, one customer expressed outrage at the illustrations. The network reported that there were no plans to withdraw other editions of Bad Advice from sale, and there has been no official comment from the prosecutor’s office.
Published for More Than Thirty Years
AST Publishing House, which released Bad Advice, indicated that there had been no official demand from the Karatuzsky prosecutor to remove the book. They noted that Oster’s works have circulated for more than three decades and questioned whether a prosecutor could order seizure and destruction without an appropriate court mandate. The publisher also mentioned that the children’s literature section undergoes careful editing and must pass a lengthy set of checks before being offered for purchase.
Bad Advice is a collection of poems for children that humorously explains how not to behave with peers. The work appeared in various magazines through the 1980s, with its first book collection published in 1990 and later reissued several times. The book has remained a staple in discussions about children’s literature and responsibly edited content in the market.