INGUSHETIA DEFIES FEDERAL AUTHORITIES, LEGALIZES POLYGAMY.

On July 20, Ingushetian President Ruslan Aushev signed a decree officially permitting polygamy in the republic. Men there are now permitted to have up to four wives–as is permitted under Muslim law. According to Aushev’s decree, men in Ingushetia must, as Islam’s Sharia law requires, give equal attention and material help to each of their wives (Kommersant, July 21).

Several months ago, Aushev promulgated a decree transferring the authority of federal courts and law enforcement agencies to those of the Ingush government–a move which violated the Russian constitution. The Ingushetian leader justified his decree by saying that it was necessary to take local juridical norms into consideration, including such rites as the kidnapping of brides and the blood feud. Thus Aushev would appear to be following the lead of neighboring Chechnya in creating a system of jurisprudence based on Sharia and local customs. Analogous processes are going in another republic bordering Chechnya, Dagestan, where three public executions have been carried out. In Dagestan’s Novolaksk region, a Sharia court, created by Russian State Duma Deputy and Russian Muslim Union founder Nadyrov Khachilaev, has been functioning for some time. Sharia courts are also operating in so-called “Wahabbi” villages–those dominated by Islamic fundamentalists–in Dagestan, in which women are also required to wear the veil.

Meanwhile, on July 21, Russian Justice Minister Pavel Krasheninnikov declared that Aushev’s decree on polygamy is unconstitutional and must be revoked (Russian agencies, July 21).

BELARUSAN OPPOSITION DEMONSTRATES, PROCLAIMS LUKASHENKA PRIVATE CITIZEN.