In the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan, tradition is king. Polo’s still played with a freshly killed goat and the men still marry their women the old-fashioned way: by abducting them off the street and forcing them to be their wife. Bride kidnapping is a supposedly ancient custom that’s made a major comeback since the fall of Communism and now accounts for nearly half of all marriages in some parts. We traveled to the Kyrgyz countryside to follow/aid and abet a young groom named Kubanti as he surprised his teenage girlfriend Nazgul with the gift of marriage/kidnapping.
More
From VICE
-
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – Credit: Samsung -
American rock band Garbage. (Photo via Paul Bergen / Getty Images) -
(Photo by Tom O'Connor/NBAE via Getty Images) -
Amr Bo Shanab/Getty Images