Chechnya Launches “Drunk Wedding Dancer Police.” I’m On Board With This–Almost.

We’ve all been there: that time of the night where the reception takes a sharp turn for the awkward when some relative decides to bust some moves after too many trips to the open bar. No one likes the drunk wedding dancer–especially when Aunt Olga starts putting on some sexy action that makes the Tuesday afternoon caesarian section shift at a dive trip bar look hot.

Russian understands this–or more correctly, the authorities in Chechnya. Fed up with drunken wedding dancers who stagger over line from “embarrassing” to “revolting,” the dance police have launched a crackdown on weddings held outside of private residences.

On one hand, they have a point. The Guardian reports that the new guidelines “forbid the firing of weapons.” But drunkenness, allowing the bride to dance (!!!) and “non-traditional dance moves” are banned. That means no swapping partners–which, I guess can only be interpreted as dancing only with the one that brung ya.

According to the Tass new agency, a spokesperson for the Chechen ministry of culture said ““e will set up special working groups, whose representatives will be present at weddings in public places, and check that the demands of a traditional wedding are met. If they see clothes that do not match our mentality, or incorrect dance movements, they will intervene.”

There’s a weird mix of Islamic law, local customs and more familiar legal systems. Remember that this is the area of Russia where women not wearing hijabs were shot in drive-bys by men with paintball guns.

More at The Guardian.