[en] Multiplicity, momentum and angular characteristics of π^- mesons produced in interactions of light nuclei (p, d, a, C) with carbon at a momentum of 4.2 GeV/c per nucleon are investigated. It is shown that the average multiplicity of π^- mesons, <π>, increases proportionally to the number of nucleons of the projectile nucleus which participate in the interaction with a carbon nucleus. A linear dependence of the dispersion of the π^- meson multiplicity distribution on < n> is observed. The shape of the π^- meson distributions over Psub(lab.), THETAsub(lab.), Psub(tr) and ysub(lab.) weakly depends on the atomic weight of the projectile. The experimental data can be satisfactorily described by the Dubna version of the cascade model and by the multiple scattering model