Paul
Goble
Staunton, April 2 – Grozny has issued
for public discussion a draft “Code of Behavior for Chechen Youth” detailing
how young Chechens should behave in various circumstances, a code that Chechen
leader Ramzan Kadyrov hopes will become “the catalyst for creating a Moral Code”
for all Russians in the future.
In an article on the PublicPost.ru
portal, Zakir Magomedov describes the contents of this new document, one that
in general seems to offer common sense advice on how Chechens should behave in
public particularly with regard to women and non-Chechens especially Russians (publicpost.ru/theme/id/3544/chitaem_kodeks_povedeniya_chechencev_vmeste_s_publicpost/).
The core values
of the code, Magomedov says, are that “a Chechen must earn his way by honest
methods, must not put personal or family interests above those of the entire
community” and must behave politely toward women and respectfully toward
members of other communities with whom he comes in contact.
“A Chechen does
not provoke people by his behavior,” it says. “He does not conduct himself in a
challenging manner. He does not violate public order.” And he recognizes that “there is a definite
time and place” for Chechen dances and other Chechen customs lest they offend.
The code gives specific advice on how to
behave in a non-Chechen city or town, what should and should not be written on
the Internet, and why Chechens “must not dance the lezginka in front of ‘Europeans.’”
It also says that Chechens must live up to their national tradition of
hospitality, however difficult that may sometimes be.
In making these points, Magomedov says,
the document uses various stories, legends, and Islamic references. It talks
about rebels like the abrek Zelimkhan, about the deportation of the Chechens in
1944, and even about the admiring comments of the enemies of Chechens like
tsarist General Yermolov.
“Chechen!” the code exhorts, “Remember
that wherever you are, you represent not just your family and your clan but the
entire Chechen people and the entire Caucasus! This means that all our culture
will be evaluated by what you do.
Remember about the behavior of our ancestors, their nobility.”
The idea of composing such a set of
rules arose after the latest “anti-Caucasian campaign in the Russian media,”
Islam Saydayev, who headed the working group which prepared this draft. “For
Chechens,” he said, “there is nothing new in it” but perhaps it will remind
some of them of their national traditions.
Chechen bloggers, journalists,
historians, and writers were involved, he continued, but perhaps the greatest
amount of attention was attracted by the fact that so were Russian nationalists
like Dmitry Demushkin, who to many seemed not only an unlikely but unfortunate
choice.
Demushkin’s comments about the draft
seem certain to provoke more discussion. He said that he doubts anyone will
read the roughly 60-page text and says that the next step should be to prepare “a
small brochure with its basic theses.”
He added that this code is only one of a large number of initiatives
that need to be taken in this area.
Kanta Ibragiova, a Chechen writer, is
more positive. Young Chechens need the guidance it provides given the problems
they face. Some Chechens do behave in a challenging
fashion, he notes, but at the same time, many behave badly toward them. “A Caucasian is sometimes already judged
guilty even if he has not done anything wrong.”
But whether young Chechens will
follow the code’s advice remains uncertain.
Lema Gudayev, Chechnya’s deputy minister for foreign ties, nationality
policy, information, and the media, says “we have a Constitution in this
country. Do all observe it? Regardless
of the answer this does not mean that such a document is not needed. So it is
with this Code.”
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