A Russian governor has found himself in hot water after a controversial video surfaced showing him seemingly picking his nose and wiping the result on a forestry department chief. The incident, involving Alexander Osipov, the governor of the Transbaikal region, took place during a discussion about forest fires with Elena Shalyapina, the head of the Karymsky forestry department.
The video, shared by the Belarusian news outlet NEXTA Live, shows Osipov casually rubbing his hand on her coat after a brief moment of nose scratching. In response to the backlash, Osipov denied the accusations, claiming in an interview: “It’s tough to manage a fire, scratch your nose, and follow reports all at once. The important thing is that this doesn’t upset Elena Shalyapina.”
After being posted on Telegram on October 10, the clip quickly garnered over 222,800 views and a flood of critical comments. One user, Kirill, expressed his discontent, commenting on “the governors’ attitude toward Russians.” Meanwhile, Sergey suggested a more physical response, saying, “Give him a punch in the nose.”
Oksana stated she was “sick to the point of vomiting” over the incident, while others voiced their astonishment and disgust on platforms like X (formerly Twitter). A user known as Chaos in Russland remarked, “Only in #Russia…” while another, Charlie, captured the general sentiment with an “Eww!” in reaction to the governor’s actions.
This bizarre episode occurred during a critical time, with Russia dealing with widespread forest fires in the Rostov region.