Академик Кадыров рассказал в эфире

[Meltonian]

Chechen leader's TV courtship tips urge men to woo, not steal, their wives

October 23, 2010

CHECHEN leader Ramzan Kadyrov urged young men to learn the art of courtship, as the former rebel sought today to discourage the ancient practice of bride-stealing in the volatile region.

The 34-year-old father-of-seven imparted tips on wooing women on national television amid a region-wide campaign to ban bride-kidnapping.

Stressing that women fall in love through their ears, Mr Kadyrov urged his men to wise up.

"If you explain beautifully, a woman does not look to see whether you are handsome or not - but listens more, so you can win her heart," Mr Kadyrov said in heavily-accented Russian.

"It's easy to win her heart. That is why I advise our boys to read stories and watch movies more and to learn more beautiful phrases to tell girls."

Mr Kadyrov has one wife and seven children - four girls and three boys - according to his spokesman Alvi Karimov.

Like most regions in the North Caucasus, Chechnya is predominantly Muslim, and Mr Kadyrov has sought to impose Islamic values by encouraging women to wear headscarves and men to take multiple wives.

Federal authorities frown upon Muslim traditions like polygamy, which are in conflict with Russian law, and Mr Kadyrov's government has sought to discourage bride-abduction, an ancient tradition that proved resilient in the modern-day Caucasus.

Mr Kadyrov said earlier this month that the practice often leads to bad blood among an intricate patchwork of clans and should therefore cease to exist.

Top religious authorities in Chechnya have said the fine for bride-stealing would be one million rubles ($33,623).

The revival of Muslim traditions following the Soviet collapse coincides with an increase in insurgent attacks and is unnerving for the Kremlin amid signs that it is losing control over a region where authorities fought two full-scale wars with separatists in the 90s.

*http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/chechen-leaders-tv-courtship-tips-urge-men-to-woo-not-steal-their-wives/story-e6frf7k6-1225942746438*