Even after the Soviet Union began to organize social life from the early part of the twentieth century, in matters of marriage family relations were paramount, and the girl or woman's family chose grooms from among high-ranking persons or wealthy families. In most cases the parents of the future bride investigated the family of the future husband. Under the Soviet system the strict obligation for all children to finish school prevented most child marriage s. In the Caucasus today, however, with economic systems unstable, and the breakdown of centralized education, rural girls'…