Russia’s Chechen leader Kadyrov backs polygamy

Russia’s Shari’a for peace deal with the Chechens – hmm… The wo’man is part of the deal!

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Kremlin-backed Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov called Tuesday for local men to take second wives in line with Muslim tradition and ignore Russian laws in a sign of his increasing independence from Moscow.

Kadyrov has ushered in a series of Islamic-inspired rules since he helped to restore control from pro-independence rebels, such as requiring women working in government offices to wear headscarves and imposing periodic bans on alcohol.

“I am convinced: today we need polygamy,” Kadyrov said in an interview with state newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta Tuesday.

“There is no such law, but I say to everyone: those who have the desire and the means should take a second wife.”

Chechnya, on Russia’s southern border, is now relatively peaceful after two wars fought by separatist rebels and Islamist militants against Moscow’s rule starting in 1994.

Analysts say the Kremlin has allowed Kadyrov far more independence than other regions in return for maintaining order in the province.

But critics warn that an emboldened Kadyrov may one day attempt to wrest the region out of Moscow’s control.

“In Chechnya there are more women than men, but they all need to be set up in life,” he said.

He said polygamy could survive in Chechnya outside the law in the same way that widespread prostitution exists in Moscow despite a legal ban.

Kadyrov also praised Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the saviour of the region in the same interview.