Teachers increasingly tried for child abuse in Russian schools
Recently, the State Duma proposed granting school teachers legal immunity, including in conflicts with parents and students. An example is close at hand: criminal cases are often initiated against teachers in Russia. Some have even been convicted of child abuse, though they deny any guilt.
How protected are both teachers and children in schools today — our colleagues from 29.RU asked experts.
Beat with a hand, pointer, and belt
Here is a case that occurred in Solvychegodsk, Kotlassky District (Arkhangelsk Oblast). A teacher at a local secondary school was found guilty of abusing a second-grader, whose homeroom teacher she was. According to the Kotlas City Court, the teacher beat the boy with her hand, a wooden pointer, and a belt when the student violated discipline.
The teacher herself denies her guilt: at the court hearing, she stated that she did not use violence against the student. But the judge considered that the facts of violence were proven: they were confirmed by the boy«s classmates during interrogations. In addition, other details of the case pointed to this.
«During the preliminary investigation, while partially admitting guilt for what had been done, the teacher provided details that could only be known to the person who committed the crimes she was charged with. During the check by the investigative authorities in the course of the preliminary investigation, these details found objective confirmation,» the court commented.
On December 29, the Solvychegodsk teacher was given a suspended sentence of 3 years and 1 month with a probation period of 2 years, and was also banned from teaching for a year.
Teachers install cameras at their own expense
As 29.RU knows from personal sources, another investigation was underway in 2025 at a school in the Plesetsky District (Arkhangelsk Oblast). There, a teacher was similarly accused of abusing a student: according to a parent, the child«s ears were twisted, and he was dragged by the arms, neck, and pushed. The teacher himself categorically disagrees with the accusations and claims he did not touch the student. But in this case, the teacher was also convicted — to 3 years of probation.
Against the backdrop of this case, other teachers are installing video cameras in their classrooms, even if they have to pay for it themselves.
«Video surveillance is conducted to preserve the safety of the educational process,» one of the teachers told 29.RU. «It protects not only children but also teachers. There are classrooms where additional cameras are installed, and there are those where teachers install them at their own desire, without using school funds. In my case, I installed a camera for my own safety, as well as the safety of the children, for example during breaks. It is a prevention of exactly such negative situations and conflicts. I started thinking that I need to keep recordings of lessons myself. Perhaps someday, for various reasons, this could play in my favor.
Fight caught on video
A high-profile case was also a fight between a teacher and a student, which occurred in 2021 at Arkhangelsk School No. 1. Most Russians learned about this conflict when a video filmed by a camera in the school corridor appeared online. It showed the teacher leading the boy out of the classroom, grabbing him by the neck, and pushing him. The student, in response, raised his hand against the teacher, fell, and kicked her with his feet.
According to lawyer Alexander Sukhikh, hired by the student«s parents, a scuffle broke out in the classroom between two boys, and then the art teacher grabbed one of them by the scruff of the neck and began to choke him, causing bodily harm to the teenager.
However, according to law enforcement, after the teacher separated the schoolchildren, a chair and a box of gouache were thrown at her, and insults were hurled by the boy, whom she then led out of the classroom to calm him down and ensure the safety of other students.
Nevertheless, the court sided with the student. A couple of years later, the school was ordered to pay the minor«s family 408,000 rubles (approx. $4,300 at current rates).
«Teachers are in no way protected from such situations»
Lawyer, member of the movement «Russian Children — Accessible Preschool Education» Elena Shulgina believes that today teachers are protected by law, and they can defend their position precisely within its framework.
«The issue of protecting teachers and students can only be discussed in the context of a specific criminal case regarding the sufficiency or insufficiency of the collected evidence. Teachers today are protected precisely by the norms of the procedural code in terms of proof,» she commented.
According to lawyer Dmitry Deren, recently many criminal cases related specifically to teaching have been considered in courts — both in schools and kindergartens. Moreover, they often end with the teacher being convicted.
«This is how it usually happens: there is a class where the children behave very badly. The teacher tries to somehow restore order and calm them down, to carry out some educational measures. The children react negatively to this. Even if the teacher shouts at a child — this, one can say, is already considered illegal, although sometimes there is no other way to calm children down. Not to mention somehow touching a minor. Then the children complain to their parents, and they, in turn, turn to law enforcement agencies, which begin an investigation.»
However, when investigating each case, all nuances must be taken into account, including the interrogation of the child. Hearings in such cases are usually held in closed format because minors are present.
«Indeed, today teachers are in no way protected from such situations,» the lawyer believes. «The words of children are usually believed, as such interrogations are conducted with the participation of specialists, psychologists. The child can tell exactly how he was offended, and the investigators must establish all these facts. All this forms the basis of the accusation. Video recording is significant evidence, but it must not contradict what the victim says. All this will be taken into account in the final verdict.»
Another important detail of the trial is the psychological and psychiatric examination, which assesses the sanity of the conflict participants, their ability to testify or understand what is happening. If it was not conducted during the hearings, the decision can be challenged.
«In my practice, there was a similar case. The prosecutor«s office appealed it in the Arkhangelsk Regional Court, and it overturned the acquittal, citing the fact that the psychological and psychiatric examination was not conducted. This procedure must be carried out to exclude all unproven facts,» adds Dmitry Deren.
«Children themselves used to expose the bully, the community should do this»
Honored Teacher of Russia Alexander Snegurov believes that the problem of such conflicts is broader than it seems at first glance. In his opinion, cases where a teacher is disrespected by students occur more often than the reverse: the status of a teacher today is fragile and practically unprotected.
«It would seem that we have enough materials to provide real protection for teachers: there is the Criminal Code and the Administrative Code — nothing additional needs to be introduced, their articles should work,» he reflects. «There are internal regulations, the school charter, meetings, student self-government, pedagogical and parent councils. The mechanisms exist, but for some reason they don«t function. And officials and deputies propose other options, without trying to activate what is already there. The situation itself is strange.»
According to the teacher, the reason is the lack of a real demand for protecting the teacher«s reputation and rights. This is largely due to the fact that the teaching community is disunited and not tuned to common collective work.
«In many schools, even identifying a conflict is considered a violation of an unwritten corporate agreement,» says Alexander Snegurov. «No one airs dirty laundry in public — the house is already choking on dirt, but it cannot be taken out. This speaks to the detraining of civil society and the lack of feedback. Teachers sometimes have to hide offenses against them so as not to become guilty themselves. Partly because of this, we see an increase in attacks by students, unruly behavior of schoolchildren, and bullying.»
The teacher believes that real live dialogue and real teachers« councils, where teachers consult with each other, should return to schools. He cites the practice of classical pedagogues like Anton Makarenko (Soviet educator), and how they solved problems within the team.
«In their educational institutions, any conflict was known and was discussed at a general meeting where everyone had a voice. And children themselves exposed the bully who insulted the teacher or other children. The community should do this. This is the foundation, the basis of moral influence. The majority of students today are inert, they do not support the bully, but they do not condemn him either. Again, hence we have an outflow of students from real learning to home and part-time education. Simply, people do not want to be witnesses to constant clashes and vices that spread during breaks and even lessons.»
As for the presence of video cameras in every classroom, Alexander Snegurov believes that such technological know-how can also harm teachers directly.
«It seems to me that in such a case, the teacher ceases to feel free in his actions, it is still a kind of moral pressure. The probability that the camera will capture some immoral act is less than the influence on the teacher of this watching eye. The teacher is already exhausted, worn out. Even if the cameras record one or two violations per year, every day the workers will have additional anxiety. In school, even without cameras, what happens in lessons is known.»
The problem of school conflicts was discussed with a psychologist — she believes that this is a reason to think about the problems of education and upbringing in Russia.
