Strategic Alliance for the Former Soviet Union Most Chechens of the Terek and Sunzha valleys grow grains, vegetables and fruits for market. Some are stock breeders of sheep. Their main industry in the urban areas is petroleum and oil refineries. They also manufacture furniture, parquet flooring and musical instruments. Most women work outside the home.
Rail lines link the rural and urban areas.
The Chechen society is structured in a clan-like organization in which the descendants of each group have common ancestors. They usually marry outside their clans. Marriage between blood relatives is forbidden, unless separated by at least three generations. The groom's family pays a dowry to the bride or her family as a guarantee against divorce. It is believed that some Chechens have become Christians by the eighth century.