A man has been detained by the police in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, on suspicion of assaulting a 22-year-old native of Daghestan, who resides in Stavropol Krai, for allegedly wearing shorts.
The incident took place on 9 July at a local store in Vladikavkaz.
CCTV footage of the altercation was widely circulated on social media, showing a verbal altercation escalating into violence, with one man punching the Daghestani man in the face several times.
The footage shows two men entering the shop and immediately addressing the customer inside. ‘Nice shorts’, one of them says sarcastically. ‘They’re long, down to the knees’, the man in shorts replied, adding that he was from Daghestan.
The men responded that the length was irrelevant, after which one of them struck the Daghestani visitor in the jaw. The young man fell to the floor and was then punched several more times.
The store clerk then attempts to intervene and calm the situation, but he too was struck in the face. As the assailants were leaving, one of them threw a soda can at the store clerk.
According to an official statement from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the individual who ‘expressed his opinion with his fists’ was a 28-year-old local resident. He was taken to a police station for further investigation. The authorities are currently considering whether to charge him with hooliganism.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs emphasised that conflicts must not be resolved through unlawful means and urged citizens to maintain public order and mutual respect. While in custody, the suspect was made to record a video apology.
‘I regret my actions and acknowledge my guilt in this situation. I offer my sincere apologies to the guest of our republic and to the residents of the republic’, the unidentified man said.
This was not the first incident in North Ossetia involving shorts. In June 2024, a female tourist wearing short shorts was forced to leave a shopping centre in Vladikavkaz. Bystanders shouted at her and poked at her with a piece of wood.
Back in 2020, attention to clothing also became an issue when authorities recommended that archaeologists working in North Ossetia refrain from wearing shorts. This was advised to avoid offending ‘local traditional norms of behaviour’ during excavations.
Similar recommendations have been made in other republics of the North Caucasus. In 2021, the authorities of Daghestan issued a guide for tourists advising men not to wear shorts. An updated version of the guide was released in 2023, repeating the recommendation and also advising against wearing tank tops. In 2024, a similar dress code for tourists, discouraging the wearing of ‘short shorts’, was introduced in Kabarda–Balkaria.
Shota Kincha
