A dashcam video showing the wedding procession driving in the wrong lane.
An Azeri diplomat has promised to take action after a YouTube video surfaced showing a wedding procession of seven cars waving Azeri flags and blaring their horns zip down the wrong side of a street in Yekaterinburg.
The wedding procession, which apparently occurred around 6 p.m. Wednesday, has created an uproar both in Yekaterinburg, a city of 1.35 million in the Urals, and online about whether the government should crack down on visitors from other former Soviet republics who openly flaunt Russian law.
The video, filmed on a dashcam, shows the seven cars, horns honking and emergency lights flashing, race in the left lane past a line of cars stopped at a red light. The license numbers of the cars are not visible, but several cars are carrying flags with the Azeri national colors.
Azerbaijan's counsel general in Yekaterinburg, Sultan Gasimov, said he would find out whether the drivers were Azeris and deal with them.
"We live in Russia and must respect the laws of the country," he said on Ekho Yekaterinburga radio. "Customs should be left at home. I promise that I will most certainly deal with this issue."
The police vowed to find the drivers and revoke their licenses, Komsomolskaya Pravda reported.
Despite the local anger, some online observers said it could have been worse. "At least there was no shooting," one wrote.
A Dagestani wedding procession in Moscow several months ago stirred anger when the cars not only violated traffic rules but members of the party fired guns into the air in celebration. Police have brought charges against the offenders.
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