Russian tourists face backlash in Turkey over flag display

Russian tourists who went on vacation to Turkey will remember this trip for a long time. Wanting to manifest their nationality, they hung up the Russian flag. In response, someone threw filth onto their balcony. The Russians are puzzled by this hatred.

The Turkish Riviera is a travel destination for tourists from all over Europe. The coasts of the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas are popular choices due to beautiful weather and affordable prices, even among Poles.

Russians also choose this travel destination. Tourists from a country that has been waging war in Ukraine for over two years now felt very comfortable in Turkey. They hung the Russian flag on their hotel balcony. They quickly realized that their display was not the best idea.

Our Russian flag is dirty. Why such an attitude towards Russians?! - wondered the protagonist of the video posted on platform X by an account belonging to Ukrainian army officer Anatoliy Shtefan, publishing under the pseudonym "Stirlitz".

The video posted by "Stirlitz" is exceptionally distasteful, so we decided not to show it. It shows a Russian tourist demonstrating that their flag was smeared with the contents of a diaper. Clothes that he and his relatives were drying on the balcony suffered the same fate.

What should we do? We are Russians. Why do we come here and are treated like this? Let's do something about it now. Of course, we will contact the hotel management - said the exceptionally surprised tourist in the video.

On one hand, Turkey supports the "territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine." It is also a NATO member. An alliance that Putin has repeatedly mentioned, adding nuclear attack threats.

On the other hand, Russian tourists can quite freely come to Turkey for vacations. Both countries maintain good diplomatic relations. In early May, Turkish President Recep Erdogan called to congratulate Vladimir Putin after his presidential election victory.