In Transbaikalia, they explained the situation with the video in which Governor Alexander Osipov was scratching his nose.
The incident occurred during a report by the head of the Karymsky forestry department about fires in the region .
The video shows Shalyapina standing next to Osipov. He touches her nose and then runs his hand over the official's shoulder, RIA Novosti reports.
Deputy Prime Minister Vyacheslav Kulakov explained that the governor was scratching his nose because of midges.
He added that some social media users misinterpreted the moment, thinking that the governor had "wiped his booger" on the head of the forestry department.
Kulakov hopes that this situation did not upset the head of the Karymsky forestry.
He added that full video from the scene shows everyone present swatting away mosquitoes and scratching their noses.
Kulakov noted that a misleading picture had emerged due to part of the published video.
He stressed that the full video shows that there was heavy smoke and an abundance of midges at the site.
Kulakov summed up that in the footage all the participants of the event are scratching their noses or brushing off midges.
