Snokhachestvo (Father-in-law and daughter-in-law)

Snokhachestvo was a traditional practice in the Russian Empire, it referred to sexual relations between the head of a Russian peasant household and his daughter-in-law during the minority or absence of his son.

In rural Russia, sexual intercourse between the head of a peasant family and his daughter-in-law was in fact a common aspect of life in a patriarchal family.

With a view to attracting additional workers to the household, marriages were frequently contracted when the groom was six or seven years old. During her husband's minority, the bride often had to sleep with her father-in-law.

Besides, in the middle of the 19th century, 12–13-year-old boys were often married to 18-19-year-old girls in rural Russia. The boys' fathers used to arrange such marriages to take advantage of their sons' lack of experience and assert sexual rights over their son's wives.