A video has been published in Daghestani Telegram channels showing a man photographing a naked woman at a popular waterfall. The footage provoked heated discussion among users, many of whom called for both the woman and the man accompanying her to be punished.
In the video in question, the woman, reportedly a tourist, poses naked on the roof of a hotel with the Khuchninsky waterfall in the background. According to local sources, the photographer was a guide.
The video was first published by the Telegram channel Golos Daghestana (Voice of Daghestan). The woman’s body was covered with emojis in the footage.
The national Telegram channel Krysha Turdoma (The Roof of the Guesthouse) then reshared the video along with a poll asking subscribers to choose measures against such tourists. More than 3,000 people took part in the poll: 25% voted for a fine for petty hooliganism, 22% suggested ignoring such behaviour, and 19% said the local guide who organised the shoot should be punished. The remaining respondents supported options such as an explanatory conversation, eviction from their hotel, or blacklisting in the region.
Within local public groups in Daghestan, the woman’s behaviour was condemned.
This video was not the only recent incident related to clothing, or a lack thereof, in Daghestan.
On Monday, the Investigative Committee of Russia for Daghestan announced the detention of a resident of Kaspiysk in a hooliganism case. According to investigators, on 21 August, the man publicly insulted a group of holidaymakers and then used physical violence against two women. As a result, one of them sustained injuries including a concussion and was hospitalised.
The agency did not specify what the assaulted women were wearing or what exactly had provoked the anger of the detained Kaspiysk resident.
According to local Telegram channels, clothing was the cause of the conflict. After approaching the women, the man reportedly made a remark to one of them, saying, ‘Hey you, dress properly’. She replied, ‘Mind your own wife’, and after these words, he hit her while she was holding her baby in her arms. The woman’s mother then hit the attacker on the head with a bag, but he responded by punching her in the face causing her to fall, hitting her head on the asphalt.
Questions related to the appearance of tourists in the North Caucasus have been raised for several years. In 2021, Daghestani authorities prepared guidelines for visitors to the republic recommending that men refrain from wearing shorts. In 2023, an updated version of the document was issued, again stating that shorts and T-shirts should not be worn in the region. In 2024, a similar dress code for tourists, banning ‘short shorts’, was introduced in Kabarda–Balkaria.
In July, in North Ossetia, two men beat up a shop visitor who was wearing shorts. The victim insisted that his clothing was sufficiently long. One of the assailants was later detained and apologised.
Elizaveta Chukharova
