Why are LGBTQ+ people being told to ‘go to Dagestan’?

Scrolling through TikTok, you may have noticed a trend of people commenting “Dagestan” on users’ videos. 

Many creators have begun calling out the fact that a lot of the time, the word is being commented on queer people’s posts, or specifically men who don’t conform to traditional “masculine” stereotypes. 

Dagestan is a republic in the North Caucasus region in Russia, notorious for the violent persecution of LGBTQ+ people. Part of the region is Chechnya, a semi-autonomous republic also notorious for the violent persecution of LGBTQ+ people, as noted by Fair Planet.

The targeting of queer people in the area has been documented from crisis groups such as “The North Caucasus SOS” who have reported instances where queer people have been physically abused, unjustly detained and threatened with fabricated criminal charges.

@pinknews Scrolling through TikTok, you may have noticed a trend of people commenting ‘Dagestan’ on users’ videos. Many creators have begun calling out the fact that a lot of the time, the word is being commented on queer people’s posts, or specifically men who don’t conform to traditional ‘masculine’ stereotypes. Dagestan is a republic in the North Caucasus region in Russia, notorious for the violent persecution of LGBTQ+ people. The targeting of queer people in the area has been documented from crisis groups such as ‘The North Caucasus SOS’ who have reported instances where queer people have been physically @bused, unjustly detained and threatened with fabricated criminal charges. The region became a big talking point after MMA fighter and Dagestani native Islam Makhachev, recommended an interviewer send their son to Dagestan, saying: “If you want your son, high level wrestling, send him two, three year Dagestan and forget”. Users then began commenting this phrase on queer people’s videos, and some queer creators are now branding the trend as homophobic. After receiving the comment ‘Dagestan’ on one of his videos, one queer creator reacted to it and said “He thinks, commenting on my page, that I should be sent somewhere, where I would be tortured and potentially killed, is a normal thing to do”. Another branded it as a ‘dogwhistle for bigots.’ Have you seen this trend on TikTok, and what are your thoughts? #dagestan #russia #islammakhachev #mma #lgbtqrights #queertiktok ♬ Minimal for news / news suspense(1169746) – Hiraoka Kotaro

The region became a big talking point after MMA fighter and Dagestan native Islam Makhachev, recommend an interviewer send their son to Dagestan, saying: “If you want your son, high level wrestling, send him two, three year Dagestan and forget.” 

‘Dogwhistle for bigots’

Users began commenting this phrase on queer people’s videos, and some queer creators are now branding the trend as homophobic. 

After receiving the comment on one of his videos, one queer creator reacted to it, saying, “He thinks, commenting on my page, that I should be sent somewhere, where I would be tortured and potentially killed, is a normal thing to do.” 

Another creator branded the comment as a “dogwhistle for bigots”. 

Fair Planet has reported that the tactics Dagestan authorities use to incriminate gay men are reminiscent of those used by the Chechen authorities back in 2017, during a so-called “witch-hunt” against the LGBTQ+ community. 

Included in the tactics are the confiscation of phones and checking of private chats which can lead to others being arrested. 

“This way, the network of arrests can expand widely within the community,” said Yuri Guaiana, a Senior Campaign Manager at All Out said. 

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.