Delimkhanov’s announcement of blood feud against an Ingush activist comes into conflict with traditions

In accordance with the customs, blood feud is a response to a murder, but State Duma member Adam Delimkhanov announced blood feud against Ibragim Lyanov, the president of the European Ingush Association, for political reasons, note experts interviewed by the “Caucasian Knot”.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on November 11, the “Chechenavtodor” carried out excavation work on the bank of the Fortanga River, along which the border with Ingushetia passes. The above work provoked indignation in Ingushetia, both among local residents and among officials. Ramzan Kadyrov said that the protest against the work was organized in Ingushetia by “a bunch of provocateurs who were trying to put through the nationalist ace.” The leader of Chechnya also noted that he was able to take away from Ingushetia the lands that had passed to the republic during the time of Dzhokhar Dudayev. On November 21, a Chechen delegation arrived on the bank of the Fortanga River to decide on the belonging of the border lands in accordance with Sharia, but no representatives of Ingushetia did appear.

The Adam Delimkhanov’s statements can indeed be interpreted as an announcement of blood feud, although not in compliance with the Vainakh traditions, says Timur Akiev, the head of the Ingush branch of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”*.

“The very expression of ‘blood feud’ implies that this is revenge for blood, for murder, for injury, as it was originally written in the Vainakh adats (local customary practices observed by a Muslim community, – note of the ‘Caucasian Knot’). But if this expression is interpreted more broadly, not within the Vainakh etiquette, as simply a threat of murder or physical violence, then the Adam Delimkhanov’s threat can be interpreted as ‘blood feud’,” Timur Akiev told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Yakub Gogiev, the founder of the “Dzurdzuki” Ingush Historical and Geographical Society, also believes that the Adam Delimkhanov’s statements can be interpreted as an announcement of blood feud, although, according to the custom, it is announced in response to a murder, which is not the case. “However, considering that everything has been turned upside down in the Caucasus recently, it is quite possible to call this option a blood feud,” Yakub Gogiev told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

*The organization has been put by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on the register of NCOs performing the functions of a foreign agent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 24, 2021 at 05:34 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.