Novosibirsk blogger angers Altai locals
The influencer drew criticism after tying a wet wipe to a tree during an Altai ritual.
Popular blogger from Novosibirsk Vasilina Kataeva performed a ritual in Altai (Altai Republic, Russia) and angered local residents. Instead of a kyira — a special ribbon used as an offering to spirits — the young woman tied a wet wipe to a tree. Vasilina posted the ritual video on her social media, and hate poured in immediately — allegedly, she had shown disrespect for Altai’s traditions and culture.
NGS contacted the million-follower blogger. Vasilina emphasized that she was not the first to tie a wet wipe to the tree: hundreds of tourists had managed to do so before her.
«If the Altai people are so upset, they should get to the tree, remove the wet wipes, and put up a sign: “Dear tourists, don’t do this, you desecrate nature.” In fact, all they can do is write comments. They found a scapegoat. I am a media representative too — a blogger. I came, talked about a tradition that has existed for many years, filmed how I blessed and hung a ribbon, just like other tourists before me», Vasilina Kataeva protested.
Her video revived debate over tourist behavior at sacred trees and local cultural traditions.
The young woman is indignant: in her view, if the act offended local residents, why is their anger confined to the online space? She wonders why no one has yet come to the site and cleaned the tree.
«They don’t want to. It’s hard: to come, clean up, and put up a sign. But writing comments from the couch is easy. It’s their responsibility, not mine. Instead of doing something useful for nature they claim to care so much about, locals have organized bullying on social networks», the blogger adds.
Vasilina is sure that a year from now, tourists will keep coming and hanging anything they have at hand on the tree. She is surprised that Altai locals did not know how visitors interact with the tree — after all, they live there.
«They suddenly found out from my video and decided to sic everyone on me. Where’s the logic?», Vasilina Kataeva asks.
The blogger has already finished her trip through Altai. Vasilina is now in Georgia and also plans to shoot content and tell her followers about the country’s traditions.
NGS correspondents also visited Altai last summer — we explain how the territory of Manzherok (Altai Republic, Russia) was overtaken by a «gold rush».
