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In Chechnya, More Than 3,000 Divorced Couples Have Been “Reunited” Under Pressure

A Chechen commission created to settle family conflicts has reported thousands of reconciliations among divorced couples, but rights advocates and media accounts say these reunions are often achieved through coercion, especially against women.

В Чечне за девять лет «воссоединили» больше половины разведенных супругов

Caucasian Knot · 12 July 2026 · read the original in Russian →

В Чечне по итогам девяти лет работы комиссии по урегулированию семейных конфликтов удалось «воссоединить» 3038 из 6020 разведенных супружеских пар, заметил «Кавказский узел». В большинстве случаев это делается под давлением.

In Chechnya, after nine years of work by the commission for the settlement of family conflicts, authorities have managed to “reunite” 3,038 of 6,020 divorced married couples, Caucasian Knot noted. In most cases, this is done under pressure.

🔵 Подробности. По данным телеканала «Грозный», всего с июля 2017 года комиссия провела 25 124 проверки, по итогам которых было выявлено 6020 разведенных пар. После действий комиссии 3038 семей приняли решение о воссоединении, 2344 бывших супругов отказались вновь сходиться, еще 905 «не могут восстановить отношения в силу религиозных канонов».

🔵 Details. According to the Grozny television channel, since July 2017 the commission has carried out 25,124 checks, which identified 6,020 divorced couples. After the commission’s interventions, 3,038 families decided to reunite, 2,344 former spouses refused to come back together, and another 905 “cannot restore relations by virtue of religious canons.”

🔵 The commission’s methods. Commissions for the settlement of family conflicts in Chechnya were created on the instructions of the republic’s head, Ramzan Kadyrov, in the summer of 2017. They include district police officers, district officials, and qadis. Commission members receive information about registered marriages under an agreement with civil registry offices.

As Radio Liberty notes, commission members carry out their duties perfunctorily and with the use of pressure. Women may agree to “reconciliation” in order to be able to see their children: as a rule, in a divorce the court leaves them with the father.

According to human rights defenders, coercion to return to a family that has broken apart can be especially traumatic for women, including in cases of domestic violence.