The fight of Nikarkho in Vladikavkaz sparked debates about hospitality and the limits of self-defense.

Hospitality should not be abused, and those arriving in North Ossetia must adhere to norms of decency, commented the fight involving Nikarkho by deputy Soslan Didarov and fighter Maxim Divnich. Residents of the North Caucasus republics, commenting on the incident on social media, supported the demand to respect local customs but expressed polar opinions regarding the shooting: some considered it self-defense, while others condemned the shot in the back.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on the night of October 18, a fight with shooting occurred in Vladikavkaz, after which two people were hospitalized, including Chechen mixed martial arts fighter Ibrahim Islamov, known by the nickname Nikarkho. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of North Ossetia, one of the participants fired several times from a traumatic pistol, and one suspect was detained. On October 19, the head of North Ossetia, Sergey Menyaylo, stated that visitors must adhere to rules of conduct, respect the residents of the republic, and not perceive hospitality as weakness. He also suggested limiting the operation of restaurants at night.

Commentators called on visitors to respect local customs

In the Caucasus, hospitality implies appropriate behavior from the guest, stated mixed martial arts fighter and blogger Maxim Divnich, commenting on the fight involving Nikarkho.

"In the Caucasus, hospitality is often talked about, but it only works if the guest behaves appropriately. In this case, no one looked at the regalia," he said in a video published on October 19 in the Instagram*-public sport_news_time.

Divnich mentioned the night fight, the injury of the fighter, and reports of drugs found in his blood.

About the support for the local young man, whom the police brought to the scene, reported North Ossetia parliament deputy Soslan Didarov. His story was published today by the Instagram*-public northossetia.

"Literally within five minutes, upon learning that the police brought our guy to the scene, dozens of people gathered in his support. If necessary, hundreds and even thousands will gather. Everyone understands that anyone could have been in this guy's place," Didarov wrote. He called for not allowing the young man to have his life "broken" due to someone else's rude behavior as a guest.

Nikarkho's manager Artem Lobanov reported that the athlete regained consciousness. A video of his address was published on October 19 by the Telegram channel "Emergency / Vladikavkaz".

According to Lobanov, rehabilitation is next, and the circumstances of the conflict should be established by the investigation. He also referred to the investigation issues regarding the reports of drugs found in the athlete's blood. "The main thing is that all participants in the conflict remain alive. Well, for everyone else, this situation will be a lesson. Try to learn from others' mistakes," said the manager to TV Gram.ru.

Soslan Didarov published a video address on his Instagram* page on October 19, dedicated to the fight in Vladikavkaz. In it, he called on guests from neighboring republics to adhere to norms of decency in North Ossetia.

The address was commented on by honored coach of Russia, former head coach of the Russian national team in freestyle wrestling Dzambolat Tedeev. "Every representative of their people must equally respect the traditions and customs of other peoples! Especially neighboring ones! Let's always remember this and live in harmony!" he wrote.

Sports manager Batraz Gubaev, commenting on Didarov's post, spoke about the application of fighting skills outside the sports arena. "A professional fighter should never apply their skills in everyday life! This should be equated to the use of weapons!" he stated.

The editor-in-chief of the children's literary and artistic magazine "Nogdzau" Diana Salbieva addressed the deputy in Ossetian: "Soslan, you are a man," she wrote.

This post on Soslan Didarov's page, which has about 62 thousand followers, had garnered over 29 thousand likes and 3008 comments by 11:40 AM Moscow time on October 20.

Some participants in the discussion supported the demand to respect the residents of the host republic and linked the guest's behavior to responsibility towards their own family.

"As a guest, one should behave even more modestly, first of all, not to let down their conscience, and secondly, their family!" wrote alina_scorpions.

User ivan_golubyuk shared his experiences of traveling to North Ossetia. "How many times I have been in your republic, I have never seen such hospitality anywhere else, and I always left with a smile and thoughts of returning soon," he noted.

Other participants in the discussion called for maintaining good neighborly relations. "We in the Caucasus should all live in friendship, mutual understanding, and always be able to find common ground and negotiate in any situation," wrote 1977atom, identifying as a Kabardian.

"Guys, start respecting each other, and especially neighbors should respect each other's traditions and customs. Let's live peacefully and harmoniously," called alania_kids_vld.

At the same time, user immatsva objected to placing the blame solely on the visitors. In his opinion, the behavior of the professional fighter should receive a legal assessment, but being a guest and violating rules of conduct does not justify shooting.

Opponents of the shooter demanded an explanation for the shot in the back

Some commentators stated that the local resident found himself in an unforeseen situation and defended himself from an attack.

"I think, first of all, we need to protect the one who shot; he is a hostage of the situation who was defending himself," wrote missbatler.

User 3940.tamara also linked the use of weapons to the necessity of defending oneself from the athlete. "Guys defended themselves as best they could from the boxer!" she stated.

According to ss___khugaev, the video shows that the shooter was defending himself. The author of the comment believed that law enforcement should not have any claims against him on this basis.

Support for the intervention of the local resident was also expressed by dr.zaira_tsarahova. In her interpretation of events, he was a witness to the conflict and tried to stop the beating of other participants. "Should he have just watched as this Nikarkho or whatever his name is continued to lay out the guys?" she questioned.

Other participants in the discussion distinguished between the use of weapons against the attacker and the shot at the second participant in the conflict, who, according to their interpretation of the video, was already retreating from the shooter.

"And what about the second guy, who was already turning his back to him? Did he also have to be shot? I am not defending anyone and not justifying, this is purely a logical question," wrote rusik_ps_.

User immatsva also raised the question of proportionality of defense. "If the first shot was indeed necessary for self-defense, what justified the second?" asked the author of the comment.

khavazh_musitov stated that his assessment of the incident changed precisely because of the shot at the person who, in his opinion, was heading to help the fallen comrade. He called this episode unjustified and cowardly.

"Those who value their honor and dignity will not shoot an unarmed person and will not throw knives if a crowd attacked; that is another matter," wrote sadaev__001.

User shamkhan_grozny emphasized that he does not support either side of the conflict but also demanded an explanation for the shooter's actions: "Why did he shoot the second one when that one was getting up and moving away at his request?".