You embassy wires: A married relationship banquet, the new Caucasus means

Thursday, , C O N F We D E N T I A beneficial L Section 01 Away from 05 MOSCOW 009533 SIPDIS SIPDIS EO 129 Labels PGOV, ECON, PINR, RS Subject: A beneficial CAUCASUS Wedding Categorized By the: Deputy Captain away from Goal Daniel A. Russell. Reasoning step one.cuatro ( b, d)

step one. (C) Wedding events is actually hard when you look at the Dagestan, the greatest autonomy on the Northern Caucasus. The latest luxurious monitor and you will heavy-drinking undetectable new deadly major Northern Caucasus government out-of house, ethnicity, clan, and you may alliance. This new invitees list spanned the brand new Caucasus electricity framework — invitees starring Chechen commander Ramzan Kadyrov — and you may underlined exactly how private the brand new region’s government is going to be. End Bottom line.

In the receptions the fresh groom prospects good delegation with the bride’s lobby and you can escorts their particular returning to his own reception, from which point she formally gets a member of this new groom’s family members, forsaking her dated friends and you may clan

dos. (C) Dagestani wedding parties are severe organization: a forum to own exhibiting regard, fealty and you will alliance among family members; the latest groom and bride themselves are little more than showpieces. Wedding parties occur in discrete parts more 3 days. On the first-day this new groom’s loved ones additionally the bride’s family members concurrently keep separate receptions. The next day, the fresh new groom’s mothers keep several other reception, this time into bride’s friends and family, who can „inspect“ your family they have offered its dily retains a lobby to have the groom’s moms and dads and you may household members.

step 3. (C) Into August 22, Gadzhi Makhachev hitched from their 19 season-dated young buck Dalgat to help you Aida Sharipova. The marriage within the Makhachkala, and therefore we went to, are an effective microcosm of one’s societal and you can political relationships of your Northern Caucasus, starting with Gadzhi’s own biography. Gadzhi started off since the an enthusiastic Avar clan chief. Enver Kisriyev, the leading scholar regarding Dagestani neighborhood, advised us that as Soviet fuel receded off Dagestan on later eighties, brand new complex society decrease to their pre-Russian framework. The essential structural unit ’s the monoethnic „jamaat,“ within this utilize ideal interpreted as „canton“ or „commune.“ The fresh new cultural communities themselves are a good Russian create: facing numerous jamaats, the brand new nineteenth century Russian conquerors lumped cantons talking associated languages along with her and you may called them „Avar,“ „Dargin,“ etc. to reduce just how many „nationalities“ inside the Dagestan in order to 38. Subsequently, jamaats in this for every single ethnic group was contending with one another to guide the latest cultural classification. That it battle is specially ong the new Avars, the most significant nationality into the Dagestan.

cuatro. (C) As Russian power faded, for every single canton fielded a militia to guard its some one in the latest mountains therefore the funding Makhachkala. Gadzhi turned into the first choice regarding their home canton regarding Burtunay, from inside the Kazbek Rayon. He later on asserted pan-Avar dreams, founding this new Imam Shamil Preferred Side — named pursuing the great Avar chief regarding mountaineer resistance to the latest Russians — to market the newest welfare of your own Avars and of Burtunay’s part for the cultural group. One of their exploits was a task regarding the military protection of Dagestan against the 1999 intrusion regarding Chechnya because of the Shamil Basayev and you may al-Khattab, with his political security out of Avar communities under pressure inside the Chechnya, Georgia and you may Azerbaijan.

Towards the August 22 we attended a marriage for the Makhachkala, Dagestan’s funding: Duma affiliate and you will Dagestan Oil Providers head Gadzhi Makhachev’s child partnered an excellent classmate

5. (C) Gadzhi keeps cashed on the personal capital the guy made of nationalism, translating they into financial and political money — since head out of Dagestan’s condition petroleum company so that as the newest Bielorussia donne che frequentano single-mandate representative for Makhachkala for the Russia’s State Duma. Their deals about oils team — together with romantic venture which have U.S. providers — have remaining your well off adequate to manage lavish houses inside the Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Moscow, Paris and you can Hillcrest; and you can a giant collection of luxury vehicles, for instance the Moves Royce Gold Phantom in which Dalgat fetched Aida off her parents‘ lobby. (Gadzhi offered united states a lift about Goes just after during the Moscow, nevertheless the legroom are a bit constricted because of the visibility off good Kalashnikov carbine at the feet. Gadzhi features survived several murder attempts, given that has actually the however-living leadership off Dagestan. In Dagestan he always journey inside the an armored BMW that have that, possibly one or two realize automobiles laden with uniformed armed guards.)