Video of a tourist’s apology to Dagestani residents provokes a discussion on social media

A tourist who tried to find a deserted place to spend time with a woman in the mountains of Dagestan posted a video with an apology to residents of the republic. Guests of Dagestan should respect local customs, some users of the “VKontakte” media outlet point out. Their opponents considered unacceptable the behaviour of local residents who rudely scolded the couple.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the issue of introducing a dress code for tourists, as well as disputes about the rules of behaviour for vacationers, has been repeatedly raised in Dagestan.

On August 14, the “Street Fights Only” community posted a video with an apology of the guest of Dagestan for the behaviour that displeased a local resident. “Good evening everyone, I’m Alexander. Regarding this video, which was filmed by guys in the mountains of Dagestan. Of course, I apologize that it happened. I visited Dagestan for the first time, and I didn’t know what to do, what not to do there,” says the man in the video.

The same post contains a video of the incident, for which the tourist apologized. The person who was filming the video captured from afar a car parked in a deserted place with a man standing behind it. The video captures a woman sitting in the front seat of a car in front of a standing man. Both the man and the woman depicted in the video are dressed, while the man adjusts his shorts. The person filming the video comes up to them and emotionally, using obscene language, expresses his claims to them.

On August 15, several hundred comments were posted under the post that gained 62,000 views. In their comments, some users did not approve of the behaviour of the couple, who tried to spend time together in the place where they could be seen. “The man [who voiced the claim] did the right thing, there is a house for such affairs. Let them say thanks that they were not beaten and not kicked out,” user Kamil Abdullaev wrote, in particular. “[A resident of Dagestan] did everything right. Tourists should respect the culture and customs of the locals,” user Andrei Karkachyov emphasized.

In their comments, a significantly larger number of social media users condemned a resident of Dagestan for his behaviour and style of communication with the tourists. “It’s a shame! How ugly it was! It should be a shame! Firstly, there was no one there, and secondly, they are a husband and a wife, and they can do what they want. Why did that guy record a video with an apology!? The guy who filmed the video should apologize,” user Evgeniya Frolova expressed her indignation.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on August 15, 2022 at 12:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.