Russian women are stripping off in protest after a teacher was forced out of a school for being accused of dressing “like a prostitute”. Tatiana Kuvshinnikova, 38, faced a barrage of complaints from “outdated” mums and dads after she was accused of provoking male pupils to lust after her.
But now under the hashtag #учителятожелюди – meaning “teachers are humans too” – she has won nationwide support from hundreds of female colleagues proudly posting their revealing pictures.
A protest video showed teachers walking into the sea in their classroom clothes to mock complainants who say school staff should never be seen revealing any flesh.
Anastasia, a teacher of Russian language from Ivanovo, said that Tatiana, from Barnaul in Siberia, is an ice swimmer and the pictures were linked to her sporting prowess.
Posting her own beach picture, Anastasia taunted her own bosses to dismiss her if they don’t like it.
She said: “How do you think a modern teacher must meet the requirements of parents and their superiors…? “Family status? Breast size? The length of her skirt? Waist? Hobbies?
“Being a great lover of experiments, I will post these photos. Let’s see how soon I get fired…”
Dasha Lukashenskaya, a teacher from Velikie Luki, said “people have gone entirely mad” over the Kuvshinnikova case.
She said: “Are teachers a different race? A teacher’s private life is a teacher’s private life.”
Kuvshinnikova was fired by the school but following a protest by parents she stayed. However, this month she quit her post, citing harassment at school.
This prompted regional education minister Maxim Kostenko to find her another job, branding the reaction of the school director as outdated.
