"(Un)safe city": being a hipster means to endanger one's life in Chechnya

In Grozny, five hipsters have told authors of the project "(Un)safe city" that non-standard clothes, rap enthusiasm or atheistic views cause condemnation in the Chechen society and may become a reason for detention of a person by law enforcers.

In Chechnya, "a person may not necessary be deeply religious, opposition, or homosexual, since anyone who is slightly different from the rest can be persecuted," the authors of the project "(Un)safe City" claim. The material prepared by Ekaterina Neroznikova, posted on the project's website in February, reports about five hipsters from Grozny. "To be a hipster is bad, condemned and abnormal, and you can be beaten for that, get into a police station, lose your job, become an outcast in your family, and be stigmatized as a shame of the nation," the material reports.

All the heroes of the material preferred to remain anonymous, and the authors of the project explained that fact by the concerns for their safety.

One of the heroes of the material, a rapper, said that he had to make music secretly. According to him, he faces not only beating in the street, but also imprisonment. The hero of the material said that he was kidnapped and then beaten by law enforcers three years ago.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 18, 2020 at 05:04 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.