Experts argue about origins of practice of public apologies in Chechnya

The practice of public repentance for misdeeds existed earlier in the Chechen society and is provided for by the Muslim law, Islamic experts Alexander Arutyunov and Igor Alekseev point out. Chechen traditions do not provide for compulsion to make public apologies to the authorities, Oyub Titiev, a human rights defender from Chechnya, argues.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that residents of Chechnya regularly voice public apologies for various misdeeds and criticism of the authorities. The report of the international crisis group “Chechnya: Internal Abroad” released in June 2015 noted that public apologies for misdeeds were the result of pressure and threats.

In Chechen society, there was a tradition of publicly apologizing in a mosque for misconduct to a community and leading an offender to such an apology through refusing to shake his hand, says ethnologist Alexander Arutyunov.

The expert explained that an apology was an effective means of resolving a conflict situation without taking it to the extreme. According to Alexander Arutyunov, the practice of public apologies to a large audience has long been resorted to both in the West and in the East, but, as a rule, that was practiced by a court’s order.

Public apologies in front of a video camera under pressure from the authorities are not related to the Chechen tradition of apologizing for misdeeds, points out human rights defender Oyub Titiev.

“There was no such tradition that people apologized to representatives of the authorities,” he said.

According to the human rights defender, public apologies on video camera cannot become a deterrent in the behaviour of Chechen young men outside the republic.

“The practice of public apologies can give rise to fear, but it will not inhibit anyone from committing misdeeds. If it is necessary to mark a border in behaviour, then it is necessary to explain people the viciousness of certain actions ... Forcing people to apologize in front of a video camera is an abnormal phenomenon,” Oyub Titiev emphasized.