Sevrynovsky's film* demonstrated the process of reconciliation among blood relatives in Ingushetia and Chechnya.

Journalist Vladimir Sevrynovsky* showed in his documentary film how the mechanism for resolving blood feuds works in Ingushetia and Chechnya. In one case, the families of the murdered and the murderer were able to reconcile, while in another, the relatives of the deceased have refused to forgive the culprit for 26 years.

The documentary film “Forgive the Murderer. How the Caucasus Ends Long-Standing Feuds” was filmed by journalist Vladimir Sevrynovsky* in Ingushetia and Chechnya, attending negotiations between the warring parties regarding reconciliation. He tells about three blood conflicts: in one case, the victim survived after being shot in the leg, while in the other two, which involved murders, the negotiations ended with different results. The film, lasting about 26 minutes, was published on November 5 on YouTube by “Novaya Gazeta”*.

One of the main characters of the film is Ibrahim Arsanov, the great-grandson of Sheikh Deni Arsanov, who participates in the reconciliation process between the warring parties along with representatives of the clergy and clan elders. As noted at the beginning of the film, Arsanov's ancestors “even before the deportation (of 1944 – note from “Caucasian Knot”) reconciled blood relatives, turning enemies into brothers”; today, this mission is continued by Ibrahim at the request of his fellow countrymen.

Reconciliation after Revenge is Executed

The first case of blood revenge is recounted by participants in the negotiations about maslakh (reconciliation) in the Ingush village of Psedakh. The immediate victim wanted revenge: Mamed from the Gendarganoy clan, who was shot in the leg during some conflict.

“As long as blood has not been shed between us, while the conversations of ill-wishers have not spoiled everything, we need to smooth everything over. A relative of the shooter allegedly boasted that he would deal with others like he did with Mamed, and someone conveyed these words. We need to quickly reconcile the warring parties before foreign conversations reach their ears,” the participants of the negotiations explain.

Ibrahim Arsanov emphasizes that the guilty party “must regret” and initiate the reconciliation process to receive forgiveness. “A woman can shoot too; it doesn’t take much intelligence; that’s not masculinity. Courage is to stop before it comes to weapons, to prevent bloodshed,” he says at the meeting.

The participants of the meeting gift Ibrahim, who acts as a mediator in the maslakh, a dagger. “The results are good; soon we will gather for a good reason, regarding the reconciliation of our sides. This is the first time in my life I have been given a dagger; this already obliges me,” he says after the negotiations.

However, the parties to this conflict reconciled only after revenge was executed – “shortly after the negotiations, the guilty party was also shot in the leg,” notes the film's author.

The Children of the Murdered Inherited the Burden of Blood Revenge

The second case of enmity concerns a murder committed 26 years ago. The murdered was a law enforcement officer. The attempt at reconciliation, which was not the first in all those years, took place in the village of Kantyshevo.

“This family of police officers, literally all members of this family serve in various ranks. 26 years ago, their brother died from a gunshot wound. For all 26 years, the blood relative has not been able to live in Ingushetia; he leads a hermit’s life outside his homeland. Now a new generation of family members has grown up; the son of the deceased has grown up, and the question is that both sides do not pass the unresolved problem to the new generation,” Arsanov recounts, again noting that “forgiveness is impossible without the repentance of the guilty.”

A representative of the guilty party's clan notes that as long as the blood feud is not resolved, the family members of the murderer must observe a “visiting distance” – they cannot independently initiate contact with the family members of the murdered; communication is conducted only through respected mediators. “So that the other side does not think that we feel too free, frivolous, and without due respect. This is precisely why this visiting distance is maintained even from their close circle,” he explains.

The negotiations in Kantyshevo did not end in reconciliation: the brother of the murdered insisted that the murderer turn himself in to the authorities.

“The conversation was about the fact that a person cannot be returned. Even if you kill this person, nothing will be corrected. I asked him: do not pass this problem to the growing generation, to young people. But he insists that the person who is guilty must surrender to the law enforcement agencies. For him, it does not matter how long he will spend in custody or under arrest – three days, three months, or three years. Only after that is he ready to consider the question of forgiveness,” Arsanov said.

The mediator expressed regret that the representatives of the victim's side “did not listen to anyone” and did not heed the arguments that “this problem should not be passed on to the youth.” He called the position of the murdered's family “balanced but meaningless,” noting that the feud has lasted for a long time.

“Soon the head of the murdered's clan, who demanded that the murderer turn himself in, died from COVID. The burden of blood revenge passed to the children of the deceased, and they live with it to this day,” the film states.

Decided to “Draw a Line”

The third case of blood enmity, also due to murder but relatively recent, ended in reconciliation in Grozny. The crime was committed during military service. “Two comrades-in-arms quarreled; one lost his nerves and accidentally fired a shot in a state of emotional distress. The elders and relatives on both sides showed prudence and decided to reconcile, to draw a line,” explains the mediator.

A delegation of mediators, elders, and representatives of the clergy gathers in the mosque to go to the house of the murdered. During the meeting, a representative of the guilty party addresses the family of the murdered. “Because of this situation, our Muslim brotherhood does not end. First of all, we are Muslims. For the sake of Allah, respected people, I ask you to forgive us, on behalf of the Hadziev clan,” he says.

The representative of the victim's side announced that the family of the murdered agrees to reconciliation. “It is a great joy that we are Muslims: whatever comes between us, we remain brothers. We say that we forgive the blood of Ramzan for the sake of Allah. We forgive you,” he said. After this, the participants of the process held a joint prayer.

The brother of the murdered man explained the motives for forgiving the blood relative after the ceremony, although he found it difficult to say that he felt relief. “It greatly affected that the one who is guilty, the murderer, is the only man in the family: he has no brothers or sisters, he has an old sick mother. He has seven or eight children, the oldest of whom is only 12 years old. When we were given the whole situation, my heart softened. He is under investigation, in a pre-trial detention center, where the crime was committed,” the relative said.

He clarified that serving time for the criminal case itself is not a basis for forgiving the criminal. “According to Islam, we have the right to take our blood, a full right. But also according to Islam, we have the right to forgive him for the sake of the Almighty. We are told that this is better: we await the satisfaction of the Almighty for our deceased, for this we are ready to forgive,” he explained.

Ibrahim Arsanov notes that in the North Caucasus, courts may take into account the fact of reconciliation when determining the punishment for the criminal. “The sentence may be more lenient if the victim's side has forgiven,” he says.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that Professor of Dagestan State University Dureya Ziyadova proposed to exclude the motive of blood revenge from the list of aggravating circumstances. She suggested qualifying murder motivated by blood revenge as ordinary murder: in her opinion, in conditions of corruption and with the dishonest work of law enforcement, blood revenge can be a way to restore justice.

* included by the Ministry of Justice of Russia in the register of foreign agents.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are prohibited in Russia.