On June 8, 2007, the newspaper Your Day published a short comment by its columnist Alexei Bulatov, "Where to look for a provocateur?", caused by press coverage of the conflict in Stavropol. A. Bulatov opposes the demonization of one of the parties to the conflict and the interpretation of the crime as ritual (according to Kondopoga's scenario, "there people were raised to rebellion with rumors of cut off ears ," the author recalls).