Russian municipal authorities have reportedly threatened to take away a local art school teacher’s children after she protested against low pay.

Yoshkar-Ola art school teacher Yekaterina Sokolova went on a hunger strike in mid-March after her salary was cut by more than half, from 27,000 rubles to 15,000 rubles ($263), the local 7x7 news website reported. Teachers in Russia earned an average 34,921 rubles per month nationwide last year, while teachers in the republic of Marii-El, where the city of Yoshkar-Ola is located, earned 22,387 rubles.