Residents of Chechnya treat protest against Sobchak's visit as a staged performance

A protest of young people who demanded from Ksenia Sobchak to leave Chechnya after her picket in Grozny contradicted the laws of hospitality. This opinion was voiced by some of the residents interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 28, presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak held a solo picket in Grozny with the demand to release Oyub Titiev, the head of the Chechen office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial". After the picket, several young people started shouting insults addressed to Ksenia Sobchak and demanded from her to leave Grozny.

"I am not a fan of Ksenia Sobchak. Meanwhile, the guys, who came up to her and demanded to get out and so on, behaved very disgusting and mean. Such things are unacceptable ... At our place, we met any guest, even an enemy, with respect," the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Malika, an NGO member.

A head of one of the local NGOs has called the Ksenia Sobchak's arrival in Chechnya unexpected. "I did not think that she would come to the republic and even organize a picket with the demand to release Oyub Titiev," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The source preferred to remain anonymous.

According to his assumption, the young people's protest was organized by the authorities. "It has been a staged performance, designed to show that everyone here agrees with the authorities in everything," the NGO head voiced his version.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.