On June 12, the channel «112» published a video showing a child pouring water on the Eternal Flame in the village of Semibratovo, Yaroslavl region. A statement to the police was filed by «outraged residents».
Two days later, the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, called the child's actions a desecration of symbols of military glory and demanded that the leadership of the Yaroslavl department of the agency initiate a criminal case due to the child's actions. The Investigative Committee did not specify under which article and against whom the case would be initiated. Meanwhile, the police reported that a «preventive conversation» had already been held with the eight-year-old boy and his parents.
As noted by «7x7»*, in December 2024, officials from the Kovrov city administration in the Vladimir region filed a statement against children who extinguished the Eternal Flame with snowballs, and in February 2025, a similar statement was filed by the administration of Berezniki in the Perm region. In both cases, there was no report of a case being initiated.
* Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».