Challenge of Yangulbaev to a duel goes beyond Chechen traditions

A challenge to a duel offered to Ibragim Yangulbaev by a Chechen police officer contradicts Chechen traditions and looks like a bravado of a public officer, Caucasus experts Alexei Malashenko and Ruslan Kutaev point out.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on July 19, Ibragim and Abubakar Yangulbaevs reported that Iskhak Chalaev and three other Chechen law enforcers were among those who took their mother Zarema Musaeva from Nizhny Novgorod to Grozny. Iskhak Chalaev, the chief of the police department for the Gudermes District, responded to the brothers’ post by calling out in a duel. “I’m ready for any kind of duel 24/7. Just let me know where you are,” Iskhak Chalaev wrote.

The police officer’s statement has nothing to do with the Chechen adats (local customary practices observed by a Muslim community, – note of the “Caucasian Knot”), says Alexei Malashenko, Chief Researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). “It’s a kind of ‘male pride’ to declare oneself. Moreover, he is a law enforcer and is used to a certain impunity,” Alexei Malashenko told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

Ruslan Kutaev, the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, has called the police officer’s statement about his readiness for a duel a frivolous bravado and also emphasized that the challenge to a duel has nothing to do with the Chechen adats.

“I can’t give any other assessment than boyishness. There is a side that believes that their innocent mother was treated unfairly, in fact, she was kidnapped. And there is a side that organized all that,” Ruslan Kutaev told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

According to the president of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, the participant of the Zarema Musaeva’s detention should have proved the legality of his actions and not flaunted. “He should have referred in the matter either to law or righteousness. For example, he admits that he did that, but did that on the basis of the law,” Ruslan Kutaev said.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 21, 2022 at 03:41 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.