Official statistics have shown that Chechnya recorded the highest ratio of divorces to marriages in Russia in February 2025, with 965 divorces and only 312 being registered — with divorce rates being three times higher.
By comparison, the national average in Russia is approximately 70 divorces per 100 marriages, according to Russia’s Federal State Statistics Service.
The discrepancy between official statistics and regional reports raises questions. Chechen authorities, including the Head of the republic Ramzan Kadyrov, have previously claimed to have ‘reunited’ thousands of divorced couples. In November 2024, Kadyrov stated that since 2017, a commission for the ‘harmonisation’ of family relationships had restored 2,716 families.
In some cases, these reconciliations may have occurred under pressure from local officials. In 2023, RFE/RL reported that women in Chechnya seeking divorce often face pressure from authorities and religious leaders.
Back in 2012, Kadyrov turned his attention to the issue of divorces, proposing the development of a programme aimed at resolving marital disputes.
‘We have managed to reconcile blood feuds — we’ll manage this issue too’, he declared.
The commission to bring back together divorced couples was founded on his initiative. Its representatives were tasked with meeting local residents and speaking about the responsibilities and the moral duty of parents to preserve the family unit.
Federal analysts link the abnormal statistics to the widespread practice of fraudulent divorces used to gain access to social benefits. According to independent demographer Aleksei Raksha, the North Caucasian regions of Chechnya, Daghestan, and Ingushetia lead in divorce rates due to families deliberately dissolving marriages on paper to reduce their official income and qualify for state support for low-income single mothers. Aby Shukyurov, an analyst of the project To be Precise, holds the same opinion.
In Chechnya, such divorces allow families to claim the unified child benefit introduced in 2023, which is available to families with per capita incomes below the subsistence minimum. In 2025, this threshold in Chechnya is set at ₽17,024 ($217). Payments can reach up to 100% of this amount per child per month.
Once a divorce is formalised, household income is recalculated. Fathers — often unemployed or informally employed — are excluded from the income assessment, and the mother becomes the sole provider. This status frequently qualifies her for the highest level of benefits. In addition to the federal allowance, single mothers may receive regional benefits, including utility subsidies and housing support.
Divorced women can also apply for other state and regional benefits: payments for children aged three to seven, allowances for caring for children under two years old, and housing subsidies.
In 2022, the divorce rate in Chechnya rose by 64.6% at 9,070 divorces, compared to the previous year’s 3,783. Across the North Caucasus, the increase was 24.1%. Analysts at the time also linked this growth to the rising use of divorces as a strategy for accessing state benefits.
From 1 January 2025, the Russian government raised the fee for filing a divorce from ₽650 ($8,3) to ₽5,000 ($64), partly to discourage fictitious divorces.
In November 2024, the State Duma proposed a bill requiring courts to attempt reconciliation between spouses before granting a divorce. Other proposals discussed included imposing a fine of up to ₽100,000 ($1,300) or conscripting men who file for divorce to serve in the full-scale war in Ukraine. These suggestions have not been adopted.
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