MOSCOW — Ramzan A. Kadyrov, the pugnacious president of the southern Republic of Chechnya and a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin, finally had enough Wednesday of social media users’ mocking him relentlessly for seeming to push polygamy . . . .
The social media explosion was set off last weekend in Grozny, the Chechen capital, when a 17-year-old bride was married off to a pal of Mr. Kadyrov’s, a district police chief pushing 50 and reportedly already married.
The first report of the betrothal had emerged in late April in the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, which reported that the police chief, Nazhud Guchigov, had ordered the young woman’s parents to hand her over by May 2 or he would take her by force.
Free Kheda Goylabiyeva, the unfortunate young woman forced into this ugly marriage.
Further coverage from the Guardian, below:
The bride, named locally as Kheda (Luiza) Goylabiyeva, was married to Nazhud Guchigov, in Grozny on Saturday in a ceremony attended by the leader of the Chechen republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.
Guchigov, the groom, was initially said to be 57 but later claimed he was 46. Neither forced, nor under-age nor polygamous marriages are permitted under Russian law.
The marriage has caused a stir in the Russian press, prompting Kadyrov to call on journalists to stop meddling in the couple’s private lives.
The scandal emerged late last month after investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that Guchigov had launched an intimidation campaign against Goylabiyeva’s parents, giving them an ultimatum to surrender their daughter to avoid “unfortunate consequences”. The journalist who reported the story has since fled Chechnya, fearing for her safety.
See video of the pot-belled Ramzan A. Kadyrov cavorting arrogantly around the stony-faced bride -- if you have a strong stomach.
Mr. Kadyrov believes that women should be locked up at home and off social media. He has been ceaselessly mocked, along with a social media links to The Unequal Marriage, a painting by Vasily Vladimirovich Pukirev.
Also, Very Like a Lamb Led to the Slaughter.