Chain smoking wolf sneaks past Russian censors

A chain-smoking wolf who kicks over trash cans while swilling beer in a striped navy shirt delighted Russians by sneaking past the censor and assuming his place among the morning cartoons.

Millions of Russian children woke up this weekend to the first official day of school and the knowledge that a new media law meant to protect them from bad conduct had just entered into force.

Any show with the type of behaviour displayed by the wolf in question in "Nu, Pogodi!" ("You Just Wait!") -- an iconic set of nine-minute cartoons that have defined childhoods since Soviet ages -- would have to wait until 11:00 pm.

The penalty would have been especially severe in the wolf's case: his habits qualified him for the strongest of the five possible ratings -- an 18+.

The younger-age television guidance is only advisory to parents and also applies to other media such as Russian websites and even radio stations.

Tabloids and magazines fall under the category because of their advertising content and photographs while films are required to carry tags that should theoretically only let six-year-olds see violence in which good trumps evil.

And even Winnie-the-Pooh faced potential punishment because he unregretfully stole honey from bees.

But little stirred as much soul searching among all ages of Russians as the fate of "Nu, Pogodi!" -- one of the first Soviet shows to include jazz music and the kind of meaningless violence that defines a Western cartoon.

The solution came in the shape of a decision by the federal mass media oversight body to classify the wolf and rabbit as part of Russia's cultural heritage that could be shown at any time.

"People were making apocalyptic forecasts about something that several generations were raised on being banned," the agency's chief Alexander Zharov told the government's Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"But there is now no need to limit the time at which it airs or to rate it," he explained.

A wolf who chases endlessly after a rather cocky rabbit with buck teeth was not the only chain smoker of Soviet cartoon lore.

A smartly-dressed crocodile named Gena liked to puff on a Cuban cigar or a pipe while breaking into soothing song.

And many famous dads smoked in the kitchen while unfolding their morning papers or sharing a few words of wisdom with their children.

Zharov said all these classics would be spared the censors as well.

But none of this means that some of the lesser-known creatures born in the 21st century will be allowed to knock back booze on their couches.

"We have a lot more work on our hands these days," state children's television programming director Tatyana Tsyvareva told her company's website.

"The most difficult part is the swearing," she admitted. "We have a list of banned words. But we also realise that just about any expression can be turned into an expletive."

Her co-workers conceded that some 40-minutes of children's shows -- including ones shipped in from overseas -- have already been cut by as much as five minutes to still fit them into their morning slots.

But the federal oversight agency's Zharov said Russia was simply trying to help parents raise their kids in an increasingly frenzied media environment as safely as they possibly could.

"Obviously, this is a law meant for parents," said Zharov.

"The kids right now want to see it all. And this is also an extreme."