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EASTEURASIAN-IDENTITARIAN TKE Enjoyer
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Bride kidnapping in the North Caucasus (not just in Dagestan) is actually two completely different things.
One type of bride kidnapping is a crime without a doubt. A man kidnaps and possibly rapes a girl in order to force her to marry him. In a traditional society, kidnapping and/or assault shatters girl’s reputation and makes her unable to marry into any decent family. Basically, she has to marry her assailant, stay single or wait for some noble prince on a white horse who would be willing to tarnish his reputation for her sake. And being a single woman in a traditional society is not easy.
According to Russian law, a kidnapper can escape prosecution by voluntarily releasing their victim (if no other crime was committed). So, if a girl doesn’t admit that she was raped, her assailant is free to marry her. Of course, the girl’s family can avenge this crime, but not every clan can afford to go to war with an influential criminal (bride kidnappings are often committed by powerful people).
This type of bride kidnapping is a scourge, and local authorities and religious leaders fight it. At least they try to. Or, they say they are trying. But kidnappings still happen. That’s why North Caucasian families watch their girls like hawks.
Another type of bride kidnapping is basically eloping. According to tradition, a North Caucasian groom must pay a bride price to the bride’s family in order to be allowed to marry. But not every groom can afford that - the bride price can be hefty. So some girls willingly allow their boyfriends to “kidnap” them. That tarnishes the girl’s reputation and forces her family to accept a marriage without the payout.
According to experts, half of North Caucasian bride kidnappings are violent and half are benevolent. It is not always easy for an outsider to determine which one is which, and that makes it hard to eradicate vile kidnappings.
One of the best Soviet comedies “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style” (1967) is based around the vile bride kidnapping that is presented to the Russian outsider as a “harmless ethnic tradition with a willing female participant”. Of course, when the guy understands that the girl was actually kidnapped, he rushes to the rescue. Hijinks ensue.
At the time, bride kidnapping was perceived as an almost dead remnant of Tsarist times. But it survived the Soviet regime. Unfortunately.
Pictured - Scene from “Kidnapping, Caucasian Style”.
@Sneir thoughts?