The government's plans to make divorce more difficult are reminiscent of the "reconciliation" of spouses in Chechnya.
Federal authorities plan to make pre-trial reconciliation mandatory before divorce, a procedure that has been in place for many years in Chechnya and the Chechen diaspora abroad. Human rights activists recalled the case of Madina Umayeva and Larisa Arsanukayeva, for whom reconciliations ended tragically.