The kidnapping of a child in Dagestan to pressure the mother continues the trend of violence against women in the Caucasus.

A 59-year-old resident of Dagestan kidnapped the five-year-old daughter of his acquaintance to exert psychological pressure on the woman, and during his arrest, he threatened to kill the child. Residents of Dagestan, commenting on this incident on social media, condemned the attempt at revenge against the mother through the child and demanded punishment for the perpetrator.

A resident of the Khivsky district held the girl in the forest and threatened to kill her

According to the investigation, on August 25, a 59-year-old resident of the Khivsky district kidnapped the minor daughter of a 44-year-old local woman to exert pressure on her. During the attempted arrest, the man threatened to kill the girl and stabbed two police officers.

A criminal case has been initiated under articles on attempted murder of a minor, kidnapping of a child under aggravating circumstances, and the use of dangerous violence against representatives of the authorities, as stated in a message published on August 27 on the website of the Dagestan Prosecutor's Office.

The suspect took the girl by car to a forest on the outskirts of the village of Tsmur in the Suleiman-Stalsky district and held her there all night. The next day, the police found them. The man threatened to kill the child, and after the girl was freed, he stabbed two police officers, reported RGVK "Dagestan" on its website on August 27.

The life and health of the girl are not in danger. The head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin instructed to present a report on the progress of the investigation, reported "Kommersant" on August 27.

The Telegram channel "112" linked the kidnapping of the girl to her mother's refusal to respond to the suspect's advances. According to the channel, the man was a friend of the child's father, and when he went away for work, he began to court his 44-year-old wife. After being rejected, he decided to take revenge on the woman by kidnapping her daughter, as stated in a post published on August 27 in the Telegram channel "112".

Commentators condemned the suspect for violence against the child

One of the criminal investigation officers filmed the moment when the resident of Dagestan threatened the child with a knife. The video was published on August 27 by the Instagram*-public golos.dagestana.

In the footage, the suspect is shown sitting behind the wheel of a stopped car with a crying girl on his lap. He pointed a knife at the child, and the girl tried to push his hand away. After a demand to lower the knife, he moved his hand with the knife to the girl's stomach, and the girl began to scream in fear, still trying to push the suspect's hand with the knife away from herself. "Lower the knife, I'm not joking! I'm the senior operative of the criminal investigation department," the author of the video said.

This post in the Instagram*-public golos.dagestana, which has about 1.1 million users, had received 3,150 likes and 1,406 comments by 12:00 Moscow time on August 28.

Many users expressed concern that the trauma experienced could affect the girl for a long time. "A trauma for life, the girl will hate the male gender," wrote evellinaofficial.

"Horrible, I feel so sorry for the child. If the mother sees this message, please message me privately. After such a situation, your child needs psychological help. It is necessary so that this traumatic situation does not leave a strong mark on the child," noted absalamov_adam_psy.

"Poor thing, tears come to my eyes from what I've seen, hair standing on end. What stress and shock for the child," said a comment by tkani_mshat.

Some commentators criticized the residents of the Caucasus for violence against women. "What, men, where are your comments? The child probably provoked it, did something wrong? The mother is to blame for not noticing [brightly expressive expression] ?" wrote a user laylaamar.ru.

Other users condemned the attempt of the resident of Dagestan to take revenge on the woman through the child. "Poor child. Now her childhood psyche needs to be treated. What does the child have to do with it, a defenseless being?" asked latifa.xal.

"To take revenge on a woman – to kidnap a child! What a disgrace to oneself, to the family, to the republic in general," noted zubairova_73.

Commentators demanded punishment for the resident of Dagestan. "Life imprisonment for such [brightly expressive expression]. What a poor child! Because of adult relationships, children suffer," pointed out naidada9.

The incident in Dagestan fits into the trend of violence against women in the Caucasus

It should be noted that there have been a number of high-profile cases of violence against women in the Caucasus recently. For example, on July 18, in the Agarani Estate hotel in Telavi, a resident of Georgia, Georgy Chigladze, hit a tourist in the face. The woman was hospitalized, and Chigladze was detained. The versions of the reasons for the conflict diverged: the police of Georgia stated that the attack was preceded by insults from wedding participants and splashing water on the sound equipment, while the friend of the victim linked the conflict to the Russian language.

On July 11, a suspect in the murder of a 20-year-old resident of Azerbaijan, Fatima Kerimova, was detained in Batumi. The girl's body was found on June 26 in a rented apartment in Tbilisi. Her cousin Emin Aliyev was accused of the murder. According to human rights activists, Kerimova's relatives considered her move with a young man to Georgia a disgrace for the family, and Aliyev came to her to commit what is known as an "honor killing".

On February 4, 2026, it became known that in Dagestan, a cohabitant killed a 35-year-old mother of four from the village of Krasny Voskho. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the murder occurred on the grounds of jealousy. Sources reported that the man regularly beat the woman and accused her of infidelity.

In the North Caucasus, the problem of violence against women has been relevant for a long time. Previously, the story of the death of Madina Umaeva from Gudermes caused a wide resonance. Umaeva died on June 12, 2020, in her husband's house and was buried at night. Madina's husband claimed that she died after falling down the stairs during an epileptic seizure.

According to Umaeva's relatives, there were often quarrels between her and her husband. Umaeva's body was exhumed on June 20, 2020, and three days later, Ramzan Kadyrov intervened in the case. He stated that Umaeva's relatives had no evidence that her husband was guilty of her death. After that, Umaeva's mother apologized for her words about her daughter's violent death.