As for understanding of the intersection between laws of the Russian Federation and Chechnya or separation of powers between Putin and Kadyrov – I would say that there is no clear picture because these relations are constantly in dynamic. Formally speaking, laws of Chechen Republic are fully subordinate to the federal laws, no deviation is permitted. However, it seems that tacitly there is a kind of contract between Putin and Kadyrov, which permits the latter to do more than any other head of a region might do and makes Kadyrov immune to any accusation or prosecution. For example, assassination of Nemtsov showed that there is no possibility for the federal law enforcement agencies to detain a key suspect in Chechnya, unless Kadyrov gives his permission to conduct investigative actions on his territory, and there is no possibility to interrogate Kadyrov himself or some of his trusted people. I would compare this situation with what often happens in ghettos and favelas: they lead such an autonomous life that police dare not enter them sometimes. There is no open and clear explanation of how Putin and Kadyrov are intertwined when it comes to policy, there are just facts and acts which have no legal substantiation and receive no explanation from the federal government. No wonder you cannot catch it – you know, it’s a matter if an intuition which builds supposed schemes on the base of those empirical facts.
As for women’s rights… Shannon, here I’d say two things. First, I personally find forced marriage and female genital mutilation absolutely disgusting and barbaric. At the same time, I have no hope that we can change it somehow within those cultures. The more we force them, the more they will resist. That’s why I say that it is better not to touch them – only worse can it become. And second, you are absolutely right when you appeal to legal procedures as a way for you to slightly diminish the volume of injustice in the world. The key here is possibility of legality, objectivity of court examination. That gets me back again to this question of legality on an individual territory: if a woman could obtain legal support and defence, if violators risked their freedom, then it would be much easier for a woman to say “no”. But in Chechnya there are no independent court and no legal counterbalance to their very specific traditions, which are overflowing the banks.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2015-05-18 03:55 pm (UTC)As for women’s rights… Shannon, here I’d say two things. First, I personally find forced marriage and female genital mutilation absolutely disgusting and barbaric. At the same time, I have no hope that we can change it somehow within those cultures. The more we force them, the more they will resist. That’s why I say that it is better not to touch them – only worse can it become. And second, you are absolutely right when you appeal to legal procedures as a way for you to slightly diminish the volume of injustice in the world. The key here is possibility of legality, objectivity of court examination. That gets me back again to this question of legality on an individual territory: if a woman could obtain legal support and defence, if violators risked their freedom, then it would be much easier for a woman to say “no”. But in Chechnya there are no independent court and no legal counterbalance to their very specific traditions, which are overflowing the banks.