Ramzan Kadyrov and his women: (photo). Is there sex in Chechnya: the secrets of Grozny’s nightlife? Our girls shouldn’t walk around like that Kadyrov

Dear friends and readers of this blog, with this note I begin a series of publications about our journey through Chechnya. I am sure that my words do not need to be applied to most of you, but, just in case, I want to warn especially those who came here by chance and found, in their opinion, an excellent platform for their own harsh and aggressive nationalist statements. Any comments of an offensive nature addressed to people of any nationality and any religion, as well as those that are aimed at inciting interethnic hatred, I will delete immediately and without explanation, and their authors will be banned.
I hope for your understanding.

Our Chechen adventures began on the train on the way to Grozny. In Mineralnye Vody, where we were supposed to board it, it arrived at eleven o’clock in the evening and stood for forty minutes. We were in no hurry to land. We calmly walked to the carriage, calmly showed the southern-looking conductor our tickets, purchased in Moscow a month before the trip.
- Oh, are you alone? - the conductor suddenly said, looking straight at me, then at Anton. - No, there are two of you! - she finished her wonderful phrase. And then she continued: How can this be? We only have one free seat in the carriage.

With these words, she took our tickets and told us to follow her.
“Here is your compartment,” she said when we arrived. - The bottom seat is free.
In the top place, also ours, a guy was reclining on a shelf covered with linen. He did not sleep, but lay confidently and firmly. The conductor glanced at him and turned to us.
- Guys, we had such strong disturbances here. Maybe you can stay until Mozdok? It won't take long. And in Mozdok passengers get off and seats become free.
- How long is it to Mozdok? - we asked.
- Not for long. Right now it will be Cool, and then Mozdok.
Out of curiosity, I went to look at the schedule. It wasn't long before Mozdok - only four hours, the train arrived there at three in the morning! That's normal! Tickets cost 1,570 rubles apiece for a compartment carriage and “sit four hours to Mozdok”! Nope!
When the conductor reappeared in the carriage with our tickets in her hands, we told her in a stern voice that we were definitely not going to sit, we wanted to sleep and let her quickly resolve the issue. As an option, I suggested that she pick up the guy from our place in her compartment. But to this she replied that everything was busy there too. In general, everything was clear with her. If in most Russian regions such additional training for conductors has already either disappeared or is becoming a thing of the past, then in the Caucasian train it was still in full bloom. Stowaway passengers give the conductor a “paw” and he puts them in free compartments or in his own compartment. And here, apparently, our conductor was given a lot of stowaway passengers at once. And this kind of overbooking happened. :)
However, I must say that the conductor was very scared, realizing that by not letting us into our seats, there was a chance that things might smell like kerosene. What if we go and complain to the train manager or some railway authorities in Moscow? She walked around the car for about half an hour with a worried look, and then knocked on the shelf where the guy in our place was lying, and said:
- Ruslan, come down.
In general, Ruslan sat before Mozdok, and we already calmly arrived all the way to Grozny.
...And here is the platform of Grozny. We were met by Mansur, Denis's friend. Denis, Anton's friend, asked Mansur to take care of us while we were traveling around Chechnya, and he got down to business with all his Caucasian hospitality. First, he took us to the hotel where we decided to stay, and since the First of May happened, the city center was closed to transport, and while Mansur drove around it, looking for loopholes, he gave us a short tour.
We decided to stay at the inexpensive hotel "Grozny" not far from the popular market "Berkat".
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It was a fairly decent five-story building with most of the rooms having recently undergone renovations. For 1800 rubles per day we got just one of these. The only drawback of this room was its small size, and everything else was quite consistent with an average hotel, including a shower with hot water in the room, a TV, several sockets and a good view from the window. Considering that we did not plan to stay at the hotel at all, but only thought of returning here for the night, all this completely satisfied us. However, to finish the topic of Grozny hotels, I will say that now quite a few of them have been rebuilt here. The most luxurious is, perhaps, a five-star hotel in the Grozny City skyscraper, located on the opposite bank of the Sunzha River from the Heart of Chechnya mosque. On this very last, thirty-second floor, there is a cafe with breathtaking views of the city, we went up there and took pictures (but more on that in the next post). Accommodation in such a hotel costs 5,000 rubles per day in a single room and 7,000 rubles in a double room.
In the photo it is the darkest of the skyscrapers, in the center.
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But there are also simpler hotels. So, you definitely won’t be left on the street.
By the way, as you understand, there is no particular influx of tourists to Chechnya today. Representatives of other regions here are also in no hurry to invest in business. However, hotels are being built, old ones are being restored, and I would not say that they are empty. For example, on the same May holidays, our hotel was filled to capacity. One morning we didn't even have enough seats to have breakfast in her very spacious restaurant. And the whole point is that a lot of different events have now begun to be held in Grozny. For example, we happened to be just in time for some local symposium and some interregional chess tournament, to which everyone came. As for tourism, there is only one company in Grozny that provides excursion services in Chechnya. The prices in this company are moderate. For example, renting a car with a driver-guide and going to the Argun Gorge for the whole day costs 4,000 rubles, while taxi drivers take you there for about 3,000-3,500 rubles. However, even if we compare the number of tourists now with the number that was just a couple of years ago, it has still increased by one and a half to two times. And although we did not meet a single tourist during our three days of travel, people, it seems to me, are slowly beginning to understand that Chechnya is now safe and are trying to explore this region.
And it's really safe here. At least we are convinced that it is much safer than in our own Moscow. Another thing is that the old stereotypes regarding Chechnya have not yet disappeared, and many still associate it with the most terrible region.
As I already said, we ended up in Grozny for the May Day holidays. As in any other city in our country, they were also celebrated here. I won’t say anything about the subbotniks, we didn’t find them, they took place the day before, but they say that by order of the Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, almost the entire working-age population came to them.
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But now I want something else. It so happened that we explored Grozny just during the mass celebrations. So, there was not a single area of ​​these festivities that was not fenced for safety. There were law enforcement officers at the entrance, and even though there were no metal detectors here at all, everyone's bags were checked. Moreover, what’s interesting is that men have men, and girls have girls. Everything is very polite, tactful, correct, but strictly and in such a way that not a single mouse will slip through!
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There were about ten such sites in Grozny on May 1st; we ourselves visited two. True, we did not immediately understand that the second site was also a site with festivities, because there were no more than three dozen people there. However, there was still a cordon there, and everyone’s bags, including ours, were also checked.
We encountered no less powerful control when we left Grozny to travel around the republic. We went to the Argun Gorge, to the village of Hadji-Evla (this is the road to Vedeno), to Urus-Martan and then to Nazran. So, on all these directions, and I’m sure on the others too, we regularly came across checkpoints. Moreover, the checkpoints are not just for show, but they work. At each of them, the car (if it was not a minibus) was stopped and the passengers’ passports were checked. We do too. Regularly!
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In general, police work in Chechnya is considered very prestigious and one of the highest paid. For example, if a mid-level official here earns about 15-20 thousand, then police officers earn 50-60 thousand. And this, according to the local standard of living, is very good. True, work in government agencies in Chechnya is still different from the same work in other regions. No matter how you look at it, clean-ups in mountainous areas still happen. There is an additional charge for this.
While we were traveling around Chechnya, many people complained to us about unemployment. The percentage of unemployment was given in different names: from 40 to 80. Then, having already rummaged around on the Internet at home, I found that registered unemployment in Chechnya, that is, only those who are members of labor exchanges can be included here, is 25 percent. Need I say that very few people go to the labor exchange? By the way, this applies to both men and women. In Chechnya, there is no such rule that only men work and women do housework. As one of the women, Hedi, whom we met in Hadji Evla, told us, “the whole problem is the lack of jobs: if there were, then both men and women would go to work.”
In general, there is no work, since there is practically no production either. And in the opinion of many, it is very difficult to get a job from the street that exists. After all, according to Caucasian customs, everyone first pulls their friends, acquaintances, relatives there, including even the most distant ones. They prefer to hire not a good specialist, but their own. This is how it happened historically. So, it turns out that many people simply leave Chechnya: to Moscow, to St. Petersburg, to other rich Russian regions, and finally, even to Belgium. Now there is even a direct bus Brussels - Grozny, which runs twice a week. I came across online schedules of the same buses to other European cities: to Kyiv, Vienna, Bonn, Paris, Berlin...
A distant relative of Mansur, Zaur, took us to the Argun Gorge. A young guy, strong, smart, hard-working. Now he works part-time in Grozny as a taxi driver in his own car. Tax in the city is 100 rubles, regardless of where you need to go. At most, a couple of thousand come in a day. Zaur doesn’t like this kind of work, he is capable of more and knows it. He lived in Brussels for three years, building a railway. He told us that a lot of Chechens worked with him. But he not only worked, he also traveled, his salary there allowed him not only to send most of the money home, but also to travel around a whole bunch of European countries. And then my mother had a heart attack and Zaur, the youngest son in the family, had to return to take care of his mother.
Zaur and Anton in one of the ancestral towers in the Argun Gorge.
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That's how things are.
So, in general, Chechnya did not seem to us to be such a rich region, either from people’s stories or from what we saw ourselves. After all, probably, the wealth of the residents can be visually and at first glance judged at least by the cars that run along the streets of cities and villages. So, it’s mostly our latest Ladas that are running around Grozny, and the same Ladas, but older ones, are running around the villages and towns. There are few foreign cars, and those that exist are far from the most expensive and new ones.
Parking lot near the Berkat market in Grozny.
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Although, of course, in Grozny only on the most shabby outskirts there are still houses that have not been restored after two wars with marks on the facades from bullets riddling them. And so, all the buildings here are just like in a picture - new, beautiful, elegant... And you can’t say that there is unemployment, and that people are not rolling around like cheese in butter.
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A simple five-story residential building in the Berkat market area.
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In general, as probably everywhere in our country, many here also talk about corruption. And although their president Ramzan Kadyrov is demonstrably treated more than favorably, there are different opinions about both him and our “dearly beloved” GDP. True, hearing them can sometimes be very difficult. People don't like to talk about politics, and are often simply afraid.
In Grozny, we have repeatedly seen inscriptions on the facades of buildings, on lawns and in various other places: “Ramzan, thank you for Grozny!”
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There are also a lot of posters on the facades: Akhmat Kadyrov, Ramzan Kadyrov and Vladimir Putin. Either three at once, or two in any combination, or just one.
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The city has A. Kadyrov Avenue, A. Kadyrov Museum...
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A. Kadyrov Square, A. Kadyrov Library, etc. etc.
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Akhmat Kadyrov - the first president of the Chechen Republic and the father of current president Ramzan Kadyrov - was killed on May 9, 2004 during a terrorist attack on a stadium in Grozny. Since then, his cult of personality has developed here. In general, probably largely thanks to Ramzan, who vowed to continue his father’s work. But on the other hand, both Akhmat and Ramzan have something to sincerely thank. Their policies and interaction with the Russian government (let's call it that) served to end the war. And this, you see, all other things being equal, is the most important thing! The people are tired of fighting, because literally every family during the two wars had its share of losses. Now everyone wants peace and tranquility. And the way in which this peace and tranquility will be achieved is no longer so important for the majority. Almost everyone we interacted with during our trip told us about this. And one of his counterparts even said this: “Let them at least build synagogues, at least let them build palaces for themselves, as long as they don’t shoot anymore!”...
However, we, who were not accustomed to seeing portraits of the country’s president on the facade of every building in our hometown, at first felt a little uneasy with so many of them in Grozny and other populated areas of Chechnya. Yes, and Avenue V.V. Putin in the very center of Grozny added to the bewilderment... Although, of course, it’s not for us to judge...
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But, it seems to me, enough about politics and the current situation in Chechnya. Let me now tell you a little about the Chechens themselves and about those modern traditions and customs that we encountered during our journey. And I’ll start, perhaps, with their appearance. In the comments to my previous post-photo review from Chechnya, one of my friends wrote that he had heard that in Chechnya all girls must wear long skirts and headscarves, that there was such a case when a girl without a headscarf was not allowed into the university, and in general, Ramzan Kadyrov introduced something like a dress code, non-compliance with which entails all sorts of persecution. Since the person who wrote this is literate and intelligent, I have no doubt that he read such information in some media and did not come up with it himself. In general, friends, here is another reason to send these very media to hell and not fall for the insanity published in them. Apparently, journalists confused the Kadyrov regime with the regime of the Akhmadov brothers, who introduced it between the first and second Chechen wars in the Urus-Martan region, which was then not under the control of the general government of Chechnya. It was there that they introduced Sharia law in 1997, and girls were forced to wear a hijab (scarf) on the street. Now there is no Sharia in Chechnya, and the president does not control what local women wear and what not to wear. Although, of course, most of them wear scarves to match long dresses or skirts. But we also met a lot of girls without headscarves and in short skirts (knee-length and slightly higher), especially those who were younger. Moreover, we met them both in Grozny and in other towns. Many women love high-heeled shoes and even stilettos, but they usually don’t wear them on bare feet, but rather wear them over tights, which for some reason are most often dark in color.
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By the way, since we are talking about fashion, there is a very advanced fashion house “Firdaws” in Grozny.
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It is led by Ramzan Kadyrov's wife, Medni Kadyrova. A whole bunch of famous fashion designers came to Grozny for the opening of this Fashion House in 2009 - Vyacheslav Zaitsev, Roberto Covalli and many others, and now they sew such amazing women's dresses that when I saw them, I immediately wanted to try them on myself. But everything is exclusively in Chechen Islamic fashion. The dresses are long, bright, very elegant and stylish. In general, it is not surprising that several years ago “Firdaws” received the “Couturier of the Year” award. His clothes are worth it! True, we didn’t get into the Fashion House itself - it was closed on holidays, but we spied something through the window in the store.
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So, no violence and control. One sheer beauty! :))
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Although, it should be noted that Chechen girls and women absolutely do not wear trousers, much less shorts. T-shirts with open shoulders are not worn either; usually they wear either light blouses with long sleeves, or three-quarter sleeves, or T-shirts. As for me, I immediately asked Mansur: should I wear a headscarf and something with long sleeves? - to which he immediately said that there was no need, they say, no one adheres to strict rules. And I always wore jeans and a T-shirt, although if I had known that it was possible, I would have taken a dress just above the knees. But before the trip I didn’t know about it.
However, there are places in Chechnya where a strict dress code for girls and women still exists. For example, mosques. In Grozny, Anton and I went to the largest mosque in the republic, “The Heart of Chechnya”. Already when we had just entered its territory and were walking through the park with fountains, a guard came up to us and said that I needed to put on a headscarf, since girls with bare heads were not supposed to be on the territory of the mosque, even in the park. For such occasions, for some time now I have begun to carry a special wardrobe with me: a headscarf, a shawl that can easily be turned into a long skirt, and a long-sleeved jacket. So, I complied with the security guard’s demands. When we found ourselves at the entrance to the mosque itself, a woman working there told me that I needed to change completely. I tried to get a shawl, but she stopped my attempt in the bud and pointed to a screen that stood right there: behind the screen you could take a long dress and a scarf and change clothes. The most interesting thing is that when we went to the Muslim shrine every other day - the Hedi ziyarat in Haji Evla, my outfit, on the contrary, suited perfectly, and there they even took me for a Muslim woman who had recently come to the faith. And then I had to put on an oversized dress and scarf. The mosque worker, however, helped me. It turned out that it is important not just to tie a scarf, but to tie it so that the neck is covered and the hair is not visible. Well, well, it’s necessary, it’s necessary!
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But, as for men, then, of course, everything is simpler with them. They walk along the streets in completely ordinary clothes, although they also have a “dress code” of sorts. For example, many people like to wear suits and snow-white shirts even in the heat, some, older ones, wear long shirts in the national style, but walking around in shorts or with a bare torso is not accepted in Chechnya, and we have not seen a single Chechen man like this dressed.
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Many people wear round velvet hats of dark brown, dark blue, dark green or black, often with short tassels. By the way, we later saw them for sale at the most common market.
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But we also saw T-shirts and baseball caps with the inscription “Chechnya”, “95 region” or “Chechnya 95” there, but, apparently, only a few tourists buy them, and the Chechens themselves no longer wear them.
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And beards are also in fashion here: both long and ones that are slightly longer than stubble. They are worn by both older men and even young guys.
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Throughout our journey, we met Chechens of two visual types. Some were dark-haired with Turkic features, who could easily be confused with Turks or Azerbaijanis.
Raisap from Hadji-Evla.
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Others are light or brown-haired with light eyes, like the boy in the first photo, the girl in photo No. 31, or Hedy, Raisap’s wife.
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True, all of them, at least the men, also had one thing in common. This is a penetrating, eagle-like gaze. In general, it is believed that Chechens are not native Caucasians at all. It has been proven that many centuries ago they came here from Western Asia, and traces of the Hurrians (namely, they are called by scientists as the ancestors of the Vainakh peoples) are found in Mesopotamia, in Sumer, in Urartu, in Anatolia, in the Syrian and Armenian highlands, in Transcaucasia and on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. But during the invasion of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, it so happened that the Vainakhs were finally forced out into the Caucasian highlands, and on the plains they were exterminated along with other peoples. Perhaps it was precisely this origin that was reflected in their appearance in this way?
In general, be that as it may, there is another interesting fact. We believe that Islam is their indigenous religion, but in fact, it is a religion brought over.
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And for a long time the Vainakhs professed Christianity, and in mountain villages many elderly women, they say, still have ancient metal Christian crosses among their jewelry. However, Christianity and Islam, which replaced it, coexisted for a long time with the most ancient religion here - paganism. And back in the mid-20th century, pagan holidays were celebrated in many towns and villages, pagan rituals and traditions were observed. For example, in the spring the Chechens celebrated a holiday in honor of the goddess of fertility and childbirth Tusholi, in May and June they especially revered the god of thunder and lightning Selo, on June 22 they celebrated the summer solstice and made sacrifices to the sun, they had holidays associated with the beginning of harvesting and haymaking, with bringing in sheep from high mountain pastures and many other things. Now, of course, they are hardly celebrated even somewhere in the most remote villages, but nevertheless, this was not so long ago.
In general, modern Chechens seemed to us to be very sociable and educated people. Maybe this happened by chance, but almost everyone we interacted with had a higher education, knew their history, literature, poetry very well, and often even quoted some lines from poems to us. They got to know us themselves. Mostly men, but sometimes girls too. They just came up and asked who we were and where we were from (and no one was enraged when we said that we were from Moscow, but in other regions people usually start to get nervous and, at times, accuse us of stealing all their money - travelers will understand me!), do we like Chechnya, what have we seen and what else do we want to see? They often told us some local stories, wished us good luck, and also left their phone numbers in case we suddenly needed anything. In general, they turned out to be very hospitable people. Everyone spoke to us in Russian. And, in principle, they knew two languages ​​perfectly - Russian and Chechen, which they spoke among themselves. During all this time we have not met a single Chechen who did not know Russian.
By the way, about hospitality. Chechens have it in their blood. This has been the case for a long time. After all, if a guest is not invited into the house and left to spend the night on the street, then in the mountains, which are almost everywhere here, he can freeze, fall into the abyss in the dark, and die. It's been going on ever since. Just like everywhere else, in Hadji Evla a middle-aged Chechen named Islam met us. He asked who we were and where we were from, told us a few local tales, and then invited us to his home - he took us there by car, introduced us to all our relatives, his brother’s wife fed us an unusually delicious dinner, gave us tea, then they took us to the fork in Grozny.
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Now imagine something similar with us? Well, perhaps in some remote villages and hamlets this remains a tradition. Another story happened to us in Urus-Martan. There is an amazingly interesting open-air ethnographic museum there. His collection was collected by museum curator Adam Satuev, and he began to do this during the war. It so happened that we ended up in this museum on the first of May, a holiday. We called Adam in advance, and he said that he would open a museum for us, and we could come. But just the day before he unexpectedly had to leave himself, and he entrusted us to his son Arslan. And so, Arslan came specially on a day off to open the museum for us, showed and told us everything, and then took us to the city center to the minibus stop, from where we were going to return to Grozny. It is a few kilometers from the museum. And he didn’t take money from us either for the museum or for the cab, no matter how much we shoved it at him.
Is it necessary to talk separately about the possibilities of hitchhiking in Chechnya? National hospitality extends to him as well. We hitchhiked more than once, literally every first car picked us up, we just had to stand on the side of the road and raise our hand.
In general, if we talk about driving on the roads, then, of course, like in any other republic or even country, there are unspoken rules here. Picking up a voting traveler is one of them. But there are others. For example, it is not customary to wear seat belts here. And when Anton, sitting in the front seat, out of habit, always reached for his belt, absolutely all the drivers began to giggle and said that it was not necessary to do this at all, driving without a belt was not considered a traffic violation, and traffic cops would not fine you for it. Another rule concerns the attitude of the local government and the president towards motorists. This will probably be most relevant for Muscovite motorists. Do you remember what happens on the Moscow Ring Road when our “popular favorite” is driving along Rublyovka or somewhere else? That's right, the Moscow Ring Road is closed. And they block not only the routes themselves along which he must rush, but also the bridges above them, out of danger that someone will throw something on his head. And sometimes you have to stand for 15-20 minutes, if not more, waiting for His Excellency.
On the way out of Grozny we saw Kadyrov’s motorcade. We and several other cars were stopped and ordered to stop at the side of the road. Just at this time the motorcade rushed past. Yes, yes, right past us! There were thirty cars in total, all black foreign cars. He was rushing at a speed of no less than 200 km per hour, but our waiting process lasted only about two minutes. It’s like standing at a traffic light, honestly! And Kadyrov is not afraid that someone will throw a grenade at his motorcade, and he respects motorists - he does not force them to close the highway for a long time. Fast and clear. All!
And there are no drunk people driving, no accidents because of this, and no drunk people on the streets. And all because there is no alcohol for free sale in stores and in most cafes and restaurants here either. And you know, no one really suffers from his absence. Many Chechens, especially young people, with whom we spoke told us: “We didn’t drink before, we don’t drink now! The introduction of Prohibition had no effect on us!”
...We were told that Chechens are supposed to remember their ancestors up to the seventh generation. However, until recently it was necessary to remember ancestors right up to the twelfth generation. This was the only way to prove that you belonged to a specific teip. Teip is something like a clan community, the members of which are related to each other by blood on the paternal side. Of course, there have always been certain rules of life within the teip. For example, despite its large size (and sometimes one teip owned several auls at once, and sometimes even more), it was impossible to get married within the teip in order to avoid incest, but you could always count on, if necessary, support from other teip members. Now teips still exist in Chechnya. Raisap from Hadji-Evla told us that members of his teip live in more than ten settlements in the surrounding area. However, due to the fact that many Chechens go abroad or to other cities in Russia, the teip character is lost. Those who have lived outside their homeland for a long time, their children and grandchildren, do not all remember their ancestors up to the seventh generation. “Well, really,” Zaur, who lived in Belgium for three years, told us. “Abroad changes a lot. Even my mother noticed that I had lost some local habits there and acquired new ones. But only three years have passed. Of course, with With time, many things are forgotten!"
But it still seems to me that Chechnya is one of the few regions of Russia where traditions and customs have been preserved much better than in all other places. For example, here, despite all the outward secularism, there are still a lot of differences in the upbringing of boys and girls. Yes, of course, Chechen women have the right to work, and not just to run a household and raise children. They do work. But still, the man is the head of the family, and the household and children remain with the woman. In Grozny, we saw an advertisement for admission to culinary courses for girls from the age of eleven.

We also met small toddlers the age of our Daniil Antonovich (three or four years), so independent and having their own opinions that, at times, it shocked even me, the mother of a very independent little boy. In general, you can immediately sense men in Chechen boys!
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Well, and, of course, the difference in the upbringing of boys and girls is immediately visible in the relationships between men and women.
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No feminism for you, no masculinity in women and effeminacy in men. And, you can throw slippers at me, but I really like it! Although many of our modern society, it seems to me, some points might surprise and amaze. For example, this fact. If unfamiliar Chechen men and women meet who are not related, then men will address only men, and women will address women. No, of course, they can exchange a couple of insignificant phrases with each other, but any serious issues will be resolved only with their own gender. And the reason is not at all that men treat women with disdain - there is nothing like that here, not even close. They just have this in etiquette - increased respect for someone else's lady, to the point of not even speaking to her. By the way, this feature also applied to Anton and me. Chechen men decided all matters with him, and not with me, even including cases when I understood something better. Well, women, accordingly, were with me, but Anton was embarrassed. :)
By the way, another interesting local feature is dancing. I don’t know, maybe there are some nightclubs in Grozny that are not fundamentally different from our most ordinary ones. But I’m not talking about them now, but about traditional dances. How could it be possible earlier to show the young Chechen guy all his prowess in front of the girl, and for the girl to show her harmony and grace. That's right, in dance. The national local dance is Lezginka. Moreover, it is still alive, and almost all Chechen boys and girls, men and women, grandfathers and grandmothers can dance it. And they dance. But it’s not at all ostentatious, like ours, for example, “Kalinka-Malinka” or “Barynya”. This dance is alive among the Chechens, and we ourselves witnessed it.
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Friends, at this very point LiveJournal went crazy, said that my article was too long, and refused to publish it further. In principle, I agree with LJ about the size of the note, but dividing it into several parts, in my opinion, is also completely impossible. Therefore, for those who are interested in finding out the ending and looking at the photos (and there are not many of them left), welcome here - the lyrical blog turned out to be more loyal.

« The trouble with our women is that the most beautiful of them leave, rush to Moscow, and they are sold there for 500 rubles, in clubs on Tverskaya...”

Sobchak Hello, Ramzan! It's very nice to be visiting you again.

Sokolova It was very nice of you to send a plane for us.

Sobchak Yes, the gesture of a real Caucasian man. This is exactly what we wanted to talk to you about. It seems to me that Russian women really lack the “Caucasian factor”. Since the times of the Soviet Union, a Caucasian man has been synonymous with generosity, beautiful courtship, bouquets, compliments...

Kadyrov Yes, you are the one giving me compliments.

Sobchak What about it! You are our main Caucasian man. So tell me, how do you manage to make all women, both Chechen and Russian, fall in love with you?

Kadyrov I don’t know. I've been off topic for a long time. I am now more interested in socio-economic issues. I'm proud to be Chechen. And in Chechnya it is customary to respect a woman.

As one book says: women rule the world. For her sake, wars are fought, for her sake, men achieve power, commit feats and crimes. And if you don’t do this, the woman absent-mindedly turns away and goes to someone else. She doesn't need you anymore, she looks at you and smiles like a sphinx.

Sobchak It seems to me, Ramzan, that you are being modest. You can't have failures with women.

Kadyrov I'm not talking about myself, but about the nation. I think the problem with our women today - from Chechnya and other republics - is that the most beautiful of them leave, rush to Moscow, and they are sold there for 500 rubles, on Tverskaya in clubs...

Sokolova You are right. In everything except prices.

Kadyrov Because I have never done such nasty things. This only causes problems. All sorts of diseases.

I am against our girls going to Moscow, dressing vulgarly, going to expensive restaurants. Who will defend the honor, dignity, and security of the state?

Sokolova Are you for women's conscription into the army?

Kadyrov No! But we need patriots! And who gives birth to them, these patriots? Who will raise them? The one that sold itself for $100? This is Russia's problem.

Sobchak Would you let your daughter go to Moscow?

Kadyrov Never in my life! I am raising my daughter as a real Chechen girl.

Sokolova How to raise a real Chechen girl?

Kadyrov The same way our parents, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers raised them.

Sokolova That is, in Islam?

Kadyrov Of course! We Muslims value women. For public insult and humiliation of a woman, we have blood feud.

And a woman should appreciate all this and know her place. For example, in our family not a single woman has worked or will work.

Sokolova Why?

Kadyrov It will be difficult for you to understand this. You have a different way of life.

Sobchak We will try.

Kadyrov We have our own customs. Of course, now there are a lot of “Russified” people who have picked up your views. And I want to return everything that we had, that our ancestors left.

I want us to not have prostitution, drug addiction, and not to sell our girls. We have a fifth national project - patriotic education. The boy must grow up as a real Chechen, Muslim, citizen of Russia. And a woman, respected in the republic, must give birth to sons.

If a woman does not know that tomorrow she must become a mother and raise children, her behavior will always interfere. Here is a brave, brave patriot, a hero. The wrong behavior of a woman will interfere with his life.

“Everything you do is strictly prohibited for our daughters and sisters.”

Sokolova What if your daughter, for example, wants to work?

Sobchak For example, will he decide to become a TV presenter?

Kadyrov She shouldn't want this.

Sokolova Why should you want something, but she shouldn’t?

Kadyrov My eldest daughter already knows the Koran perfectly! She is an excellent student at school and leads by example...

Sobchak Okay, what if she decides to marry a Russian?

Kadyrov It is Russian women who must marry Chechens urgently, so that we have mixed blood, so that the children are strong.

Sobchak A Russian woman will want to work...

Kadyrov will not want to! I have yet to see a single woman who would like to get up early in the morning and stay up at night to work. If her husband gives her everything, why work?

Sobchak So you think that if a young handsome Chechen offers, for example, me (an unmarried girl) all the benefits - gold, diamonds - and says: you will give birth to children and run a house - I will agree?

Kadyrov No, you won't succeed. I can't convince you anymore. Although you are a strong, beautiful girl. And the TV presenter is good. We turn on the TV when Sobchak is shown, and when they don’t show Sobchak, we turn it off. But everything you do is strictly prohibited for our daughters and sisters. It’s forbidden to even think about it!

Sokolova But can they watch TV?

Kadyrov Not all programs.

Sobchak Which ones are not allowed?

Sobchak How are you talking to me? And in general, here you are scolding Russian television, but you yourself are very willing to host domestic show business. There are already legends about you! And about your generosity. Either Yana Rudkovskaya leaves Chechnya in a brand new Porsche Cayenne, or Sergei Zverev wears a watch with a tourbillon. You are literally the mecca of Russian show business!

Don’t you invite foreign performers? They would have called Madonna or Steve Tyler...

Kadyrov Why should I invite foreigners? Why are ours worse? Take Sabrina, for example. Been here several times. Young Russian star...

Sobchak She's 16 years old, I think...

Kadyrov More, 18. Already an adult.

Sobchak This is the most important thing!

Kadyrov Yes, I like her. I also like Katya Lel. Especially when he sings in Chechen.

Sokolova taught it especially for you?

Kadyrov Not for me, but for the nation. I also created the Chechen “Star Factory” for the people.

“He gave his word of honor that he is not gay!”

Sobchak Tell me, Ramzan, the question has been tormenting me for a long time - why was the Chechen “Star Factory” led by Sergei Zverev? This, I would say... is a somewhat unexpected choice...

Kadyrov No, we had our own presenters. Zverev came to only one program.

Sobchak Is it true that they took the “tourbillon” from their hand and gave it to Zverev?

Kadyrov Yes, I gave him my watch.

Sobchak So I’m wondering what Sergei Zverev and Ramzan Kadyrov have in common? You and him are like a rhinoceros and a raccoon - complete opposites! Take Sergei’s appearance – his hair, his lips...

Kadyrov What does appearance have to do with it? This is his job: he is a stylist, he sings. He has different views on life. And he’s an interesting, sociable person.

Sokolova They also say that Kadyrov is a hater of gay culture. Yes, you are a liberal!

Kadyrov No, no, no! What are you doing?! I am categorically against gay culture!

Sobchak But, Ramzan, you understand that Sergei Zverev, how can I put it... does not sleep with women...

Kadyrov Have you seen it?! I asked him...

Sokolova And what is he?..

Kadyrov He gave his word of honor that he is not gay!

Sobchak And you immediately believed him. That is, such a person, Sergei Zverev, came to you with silicone lips, an elegant hairstyle and said: “I, honestly, am natural.”

Sokolova And then: “Oh, Ramzan, what a watch you have...”

Kadyrov No! Everything was wrong...

Sobchak How?

Kadyrov I sat with the girls, with our girls.

Sokolova Yeah, now back down!..

Kadyrov Dima Bilan finished the concert, then our guys danced lezginka. Then I started giving New Year's gifts to the girls.

Sobchak And then he sneaked up unnoticed...

Kadyrov You are putting me in an awkward position! A Chechen should not even talk about such things. He gave me his word!

Sobchak In my opinion, it’s hard not to guess... Laying...

Kadyrov And I asked him: “Sergey, why is your hairstyle so unpleasant?”

Sokolova Fact, unpleasant.

Kadyrov I told him: do it differently. Straighten it up.

Sokolova Yes, you are a real jack of all trades! Stylish advice to Sergei Zverev from Ramzan Kadyrov.

Sobchak From your story it follows that you are a trusting person. Ramzan, no matter how unpleasant it is for me, I must reveal a terrible secret to you. I'm afraid no one will do this except me.

Kadyrov Come on!

Sobchak Sergei Zverev lied to you. Now he has your watch on his hand. Can you even imagine what he can do with these hands?!

Kadyrov Listen, you have a lot of gays in Russia. They have watches, rings, panties. Why should I have anything to do with this?!

Zverev said that he was not gay, and I believed him. You have no right to slander a person! This is a very big sin!

They also write about me: cannibal, murderer, drug addict, kidnaps people. And this is absolutely not confirmed!

Sokolov We see.

Kadyrov Never in my life have I killed or kidnapped a person... I have never tried a simple cigarette, nor alcohol, nor drugs. I came to the club once in my life. Do you remember when we sat there with you and Umar?

Sobchak Yes, it was First.

Sokolova Who is a regular customer at GQ Bar?

Kadyrov This is a restaurant.

"I've never had a mistress"

Sokolova Ramzan, you make excuses as if we are accusing you of eating Christian babies. Giving a tourbillon to Sergei Zverev is not a crime.

Kadyrov For a Chechen, this is the worst insult - to say: I’m friends with a gay man! I shouldn't even say that word.

Sokolova This is the cultural difference you were talking about. In Russia, the word “gay” is not an insult.

Kadyrov This is why Russian women want to marry Caucasians.

Sobchak How did you look after your wife?

Kadyrov She and I studied at the same school. I spoke to her at the spring. I said that I want to get married. Then he sent the elders to her house.

Sobchak So no bouquets, no sweets?

Kadyrov There were military actions. I didn't know if I would return home.

Sobchak I know that you have seven children.

Kadyrov Yes. Three sons and four daughters.

Sobchak And everything from your wife?

Kadyrov Of course!

Sokolova How old is she?

Kadyrov 28.

Sobchak (after a pause) And how... does she feel?

Kadyrov Great! Raises children.

Sokolova Your wife is a heroic woman. I gave birth to one and almost died of horror. Do you want more children?

Kadyrov Of course!

Sokolova But it’s unlikely that your wife will want to give birth to her eighth child.

Kadyrov Why?

Sokolova It’s just physically very difficult.

Sobchak Ramzan, according to Sharia law, as far as I understand, you have the right to have four wives. Are you going to exercise this right? Given your financial capabilities, you can easily afford...

Kadyrov I'm looking, looking for a beautiful one. I haven't found it yet.

Sobchak Are you considering Russian girls?

Kadyrov Considered it before. Not now.

Sokolova Why did you change your mind?

Kadyrov For political reasons. In Chechnya we have 30 percent more women than men. We need to help our own people.

Sokolova How would your wife react to the appearance of a couple more wives?

Kadyrov would probably be against it, like any normal woman. But I would explain. I think we will find a common language.

Sobchak I have many Caucasian men I know in Moscow. Almost everyone has a wife and mistresses. And I noticed a big difference in attitude: I respect my wife, she gives birth to children, and that’s it. And they look after their mistresses - they give flowers and diamonds. Why is this so?

Kadyrov I don’t know. I've never had a mistress.

Sokolova So you have never cheated on your wife?

Kadyro in Net. Never.

Sokolova This means that the enemies are slandering again. Okay, isn't it boring to just respect a woman?

Kadyrov “Aren’t you bored?”

Sokolova But you say that you never courted your wife. That a woman is needed only to run the house and give birth to children. Isn't it boring to live like this?

Kadyrov I serve the people! I don’t even have enough time to sleep, much less do anything else. Maybe over time...

“Look how you sit! You can see your panties!”

Sokolova What I like about our dialogue is that on very sensitive issues, if we do not find a common language, then at least we overcome the fatal difference of cultures. Let's continue to get closer. Tell us, what things are an absolute taboo, a ban in a Chechen family?

Kadyrov Everything you do is prohibited.

Sobchak Give an example.

Kadyrov Your speech. You can't swear at your mother.

Sobchak Yes, during the entire conversation with you we never uttered a single swear word!

Sokolova Although sometimes I wanted to.

Kadyrov (Sobchak) Last time you told me obscene jokes.

Sobchak So you liked it!!!

Kadyrov Well, I liked it. But this is impossible. And in general, look at how you sit! You can see your panties!

Sobcha k This is my most decent dress!

Sokolova Okay, let's not get personal! Are there any prohibitions in sexual life?

Kadyro in This is not discussed in public.

Sobchak Can I use a condom?

Kadyrov Shut up!

Sokolova Is there sex at all in Chechnya?!

Kadyrov Shaitan take you! We don't have sex!

Sokolova Okay. We can't talk about sex, let's talk about politics. Why did you prohibit Chechen women from getting married in European wedding dresses?

Kadyrov Firstly, he did not prohibit, but gave a recommendation. Secondly, you know, our national dresses are beautiful.

Sobchak Is it better than Valentino?

Kadyrov And now I’ll ask the Minister of Culture to bring it for you to try on.

(Calls the minister.)

Sobchak Oh, really...

Kadyrov At least you will look decent...

Sobchak Ramzan, if we got to the dress. Let me offer you something. Take me as your second wife.

Kadyrov Shaitan!

Sobchak I think this will be an impressive patriotic and educational event. The fallen Russian TV presenter is being reformed under the ennobling influence of you and Sharia law.

Kadyrov Interesting proposal. But you will have to do a lot of education. Punish.

Sobchak How? Will you hit me? Or will you put it in the corner on top of the peas?

Kadyrov No. But I will lock myself at home. On the key.

Sobchak So, no, no, going to the disco? And I'm out the window on a rope ladder!

Kadyrov We'll have to use handcuffs.

Sokolova Oh, what a sado-maso!

Sobchak Yeah, role-playing games.

Kadyrov (sadly) I told you that both of you are spoiled material. It's a pity.

In the life of a famous Chechen politician, there are seven women whose fate is directly dependent on his success, his health and his longevity. and his women were recently declassified - these are his mother, wife and five beautiful daughters. According to Chechen customs, the mother always remains the head of the family. Her authority is unquestionable; even men listen to her opinion. She is the teacher of the son-president, the keeper of ancient traditions and the strict teacher of the daughter-in-law.

In honor of his mother, Aimani Kadyrova, the faithful wife of the first president of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Akhmetovich Kadyrov built a mosque. This is the first time in the history of the Muslim religion that a place of worship of Allah is named after a woman.

The most sophisticated materials were used in the creation of the temple.

Temporary materials and technologies that made the mosque a true star of the East, the heart of the faithful world and a place of worship for mothers who lost their loved ones in the fratricidal war.

Today, the great woman is trying to help orphaned children - she regularly participates in charity events, visits hospitals and orphanages.

Medni Kadyrova

The current head of the Chechen state met his wife when she was at school. The modest, black-eyed girl struck the courageous horseman in the very heart - he could barely wait for Medni to finish school. Since then they have been inseparable, and there are no other women in Ramzan Kadyrov’s life - she is the mother of his children and a faithful companion for many years.

According to Chechen custom, the wife has no right to participate in the affairs of her husband, but such wordless obedience is compensated by gifts - Medni cannot be called unhappy.

She regularly visits orphanages and hospitals, bringing with her generous donations and listening attentively to thousands of complaints. In addition, a kind woman took into her home two orphans - the sons of her husband's brothers-in-arms, who died at the hands of terrorists.

Although Allah did not deprive Ramzan Kadyrov’s family of his children - his beloved woman bore him 9 children, while remaining his tender shelter after hard work.

Today, under the auspices of the First Lady of Chechnya, a whole line of casual and festive clothing for Muslim women has been developed, which allowed her to register her own brand. The head of the Chechen Republic is very happy with his wife’s success, saying in his interviews that this will help familiarize the whole world with Muslim traditions. He hopes that the example of his wife will force modern Caucasian youth, in particular girls, to behave more modestly.

Kadyrov and polygamy

The repeated wishes of the President of the Chechen Republic to legalize polygamy caused a particular stir in the open media. Many publications hastened to declare Kadyrov an eligible bachelor and attribute to him an immediate readiness to acquire a second wife. Allegedly, Ramzan Akhmetovich is looking for a beauty of suitable origin and with external characteristics corresponding to his position.

Aishat Kadyrova is pregnant

Whether this is true or not is unknown, but rumors have spread that Kadyrov’s unofficial spouses include:

1. Tina Kandelaki. The famous Russian and Georgian TV presenter, according to Ksenia Sobchak, repeatedly visited the Arab Emirates in the company of the President of the Chechen Republic, accepted jewelry and antique furniture from him as signs of attention;
2. Tamila Sagaipova is a sweet girl with a very beautiful voice, who has been a Chechen pop star for a long time. She fell out of favor after publishing a song of her own composition and rather frivolous content. If you believe the girl’s words, the head of the Chechen government has a whole harem of unofficial wives who are no match for her;
3. Zamira Dzhabrailova is the winner of beauty contests in Chechnya and the winner of the audience award in 2006 in Moscow at the “Beauty of Russia”;
4. Zalina Israilova. A whole scandal broke out in the Western media about this girl and her death. Allegedly, she gave birth to a son from Kadyrov, whom he took away and sent the girl to the so-called field training camp. Women lived there who, for some reason, did not please Kadyrov and were subjected to torture and violence. Zalina managed to escape, she contacted a famous human rights activist, who told the world this heartbreaking story. Whether this is true or not is unknown, but soon both women died.

The head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, gave a long interview to the Daily Storm resource, in which, in particular, he answered a question about jokes and memes about “apologize.” Such jokes appeared after videos of various people apologizing to the Chechen leader began to be published on the Internet.

In December 2015, local resident Aishat Inaeva, who had previously criticized him, personally apologized to Kadyrov in this way. Apparently, this was one of the first such videos; a story about it was recorded by Chechen television.

- You said that there are those who do not pose a threat: they chatter and chatter. But cases of apologies addressed to you have become more frequent: memes, jokes, they say, apologize and apologize.

That's right, I always say that I respect the person who defends his position and goes ahead. I respect this person, whatever he may be. If he deliberately, realizing that he is wrong, babbles, hurting the feelings and dignity of another, then he is worthy of punishment. If he does not admit his guilt and does not apologize, then, I swear in the name of the Almighty, I will punish him so severely, no matter what it costs me. The sense of dignity cannot be touched.

I am a family man, I have a wife, children, sisters, nieces. When they say such things, we have a different mentality, we perceive things differently. We don’t even use swear words to connect words. I never took off my T-shirt even with a three-month-old baby. We have different customs and traditions, so to those people who run their mouths, we say: “Or apologize and say that you were wrong. Or you and I will have enmity for the rest of our lives.” And the relatives themselves first of all apologize.

It’s customary here that if someone messes up, then the whole clan is responsible for it. Our family institution has always been strong. When there were no laws, our elders met once a year and made a verdict. They lived by this verdict for a year and did not violate it. If we destroy the institution of family, we will become Europeans.

- It turns out that the institution of family is higher than legislation, the Koran is higher than the Constitution...

For me, the most sacred thing is the Koran. The Koran is my life. The life of the Prophet, the Sunnah of the Prophet - that’s everything for me. If you live according to the Koran, you will never violate the traditions and customs of all peoples and cultures. This is above all. Everything is written in the Koran. If I had not listened to the Koran, I would not have been the head and would not have served the people and the state. Because everything I have to do is written in the Qur'an and in the life of the Prophet (pbuh). Anyone who treats something with irony, this person has his own price. There is no need to try to contrast the Koran and the Constitution on every occasion.

- Many are not ironic, many do not understand...

How many times have you been to Chechnya?

- About 20-30 times.

Where have you seen what they force us to do? You were gathering against me there.

I collected and am collecting a lot of information, and I realized that people are not afraid. They can come out and say what they don't like.

Why then do we believe the corrupt mongrels who write and say something? Tens of thousands of tourists come and I haven't heard a single complaint. People come in trousers, shorts, and headscarves. This is a peacefully prosperous region.

Excerpt from Ramzan Kadyrov's interview with Daily Storm editor-in-chief Anastasia Kashevarova