Translated material
“Everyone who apologized to you didn’t actually apologize.” Artemy Lebedev published a letter to his “mountain brother”
Designer Artemy Lebedev posted on social media an “open letter to a mountain brother” about forced public apologies, a practice that has spread in recent years first in Chechnya and then in other republics of the North Caucasus and beyond.
The name of the addressee is not indicated in the letter. Lebedev writes that he drew attention to the "new tradition" - "to make people apologize for any criticism, for a sidelong glance at you, for a sloppy word about your sister."
“To be honest, if a soldering iron is brought to my ass - you can not even connect it to the outlet - I will say any apology to any camera. And all my friends will do the same, ”he said.
“You are strong and daring, everyone is afraid of you. But just trust me, everyone who has apologized to you hasn't actually apologized. And everyone who watched these apologies, they also do not believe in them, ”the letter says.
“It may seem to you that if you are strong, then everyone respects you. No dear. We have slightly different mentalities. In our culture, you need to win respect with completely different skills - deeds, soul, mind, wisdom. In your culture, wisdom is also highly valued, but for some reason only in old age. I will give you advice - take an example from your old people. They have earned their respect without a soldering iron, like civilized people,” wrote Lebedev.
- The practice of forced apologies is widespread in Chechnya - local television often shows stories in which people who have criticized local authorities publicly apologize, including personally to the head of the republic, Ramzan Kadyrov. Meduza wrote extensively about this phenomenon.
- The practice has also spread beyond Chechnya. In December 2017, a RANEPA student was forced to apologize on camera for his words about Caucasian girls on social networks. In addition, an attempt was made to attack the TNT office because of a sketch about a girl from Ingushetia in an escort agency. The head of the Comedy Club Production personally came to the permanent mission of Ingushetia to apologize, and a video appeared on TNT itself with an apology to the Ingush.