Polygamy for Chechens

Grozny, Russia

Chechnya could solve its population shortage by legalizing polygamy, the province’s Kremlin-installed leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, said this week. More than a decade of war has killed tens of thousands of Chechen men, mostly Muslims. The only way to restore the population, Kadyrov said, would be to adopt the Islamic system of marriage, in which each man may take up to four wives. Russian ultranationalist legislator Vladimir Zhirinovsky said polygamy was a terrific idea, even for non-Muslims. “We should welcome this initiative and apply it throughout Russia,” Zhirinovsky said, “because we have 10 million single women.”