Video of kissing tourists sparks disputes over keeping traditions in Dagestan

In Dagestan, a law should be adopted on observance of traditions and the dress code, users of the "VKontakte" social network have suggested after watching a video, in which a resident of Dagestan made a remark to tourists who were kissing in the street. However, their opponents have noted that locals themselves fail to follow the demands they put forward to vacationers.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the introduction of a dress code for tourists is repeatedly raised in Dagestan; and there have been disputes about behaviour rules for vacationers. Thus, on June 6, 2022, a video appeared in social networks, in which Abdulla-Khadji Khidirbekov, an assistant to the republic's Mufti, stated that tourists would begin observing local customs and dress codes if Dagestanis set an example for them. Some social network users then supported this call; others expressed sharp criticism of tourists.

On May 1, a video appeared in the "VKontakte" social network showing a man and a woman.

"We've noticed tourists kissing in the street. I stopped the car on the roadside and made not even a remark, but a polite reminder that this is not welcomed in our republic; I apologized and wished them a pleasant rest," the author of the video has explained.

Some commentators praised him for making a remark to the tourists.

"It was the right approach – nice, neat and intelligible," the user Shamil Rubinov has noted.

Others have expressed the need to introduce a dress code. "It is necessary ... to adopt a law prohibiting such behaviour in public places," the user Pavel Saveliev believes.

"Fines should be imposed for not observing traditions," Yasmin Ibragimova has suggested.

Other commentators have pointed out that residents of Dagestan themselves fail to observe traditions.

Let us remind you that in 2020, after visiting Dagestan, two girls posted their topless photo made near Sulak Canyon. This outraged a deputy head of the administration of the Untsukul District. He demanded that the post be deleted, threatening to complain to law enforcers about insulting believers' feelings. To this one of the girls objected that the canyon is not marked as a sacred place.