22:40, 21 October 2010

Twelve persons dancing lezginka in the street arrested in Stavropol

Twelve men who danced lezginka in the streets and verbally abused passers-by, received ten days in jail for breaking public order, said Victoria Baigulova, head of the press service of the Stavropol administration.

The date of the arrest was not specified; and yesterday, on October 20, the arrest of 12 lezginka dancers was confirmed by Vasily Litvinov, head of public security militia of the UVD (Interior Department) of Stavropol at an extraordinary closed meeting of the city's Security Council.

The RIA "Novosti" reports with reference to Litvinov that the behaviour of the detainees, who used foul language, was "a clear disrespect for the society."

Vasily Balditsyn, deputy chair of the regional government, reported earlier that local authorities planned to hold a lezginka contest later this year for the youth from all regions of Northern Caucasus, "in order to solve the problem of dancing in the street at improper time in the territory."