A certain olitical scientist and activist named Vadim Popov has decided to make a name for himself by proposing that Russia restrict screenings of the beloved (indeed, globally beloved) cartoon “Masha and the Bear.” The activist claims that the show contains “a scattering of harmful meanings that contradict traditional Russian values.”

This is not the first time a self-appointed moralist has said such a thing. Back in 1928, another activist used almost identical phrasing when suggesting a ban on Korney Chukovsky’s children’s poems “Doctor Aybolit,” “Moydodyr” and “The Monster Cockroach.” That activist, however, was Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya — Lenin’s widow, who had clearly lost her wits by then.

“How can it be that a little girl lives alone?” Popov frets.

But that’s exactly the point: the unsupervised life of a child — an extraordinary situation — is what creates emotional tension and the foundation for drama, comedy and sometimes tragedy. A child shouldn’t live alone, which is precisely why it’s so fascinating........

© The Moscow Times