Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia

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The Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia ( Russian Союз Комитетов Солдатских Матерей России , Soyuz Komitetow Soldatskich Materei Rossii ) is a human rights organization in Moscow that deals with the situation of soldiers and grievances in the Russian army . She has received several international awards, including the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel Prize) in 1996.

history

founding

The committee was established in 1989. It emerged from several initiatives that were committed to the situation and problems of soldiers in the Soviet Army , such as the notorious Dedovshchina . In 1991 it was officially registered as an organization with the Ministry of Justice.

Chechnya war

During the first Chechnya war, 200 letters of complaint were processed every day, and 10,000 people called in during the first six months of the war. They organized the release of Russian prisoners of war belonging to the Chechen separatists . The pity march of the mothers from Moscow to the Chechen capital Grozny was stopped by the Russian military.

Party formation

In 1998 the association reorganized. In November 2004, 160 members from 50 regions founded a political party called the United People's Party of Soldiers' Mothers ( CKCMP ). It was not approved as a political party due to insufficient support.

Ukraine crisis

In 2014, Valentina Melnikova stated that up to 15,000 Russian soldiers had been deployed in Ukraine . Ella Polyakova from Saint Petersburg said that more than 100 soldiers of an infantry regiment stationed in Chechnya were killed in Ukraine. The relatives received little information about the death of their sons and husbands.

Foreign agent

As a result, the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers in Saint Petersburg, like other non-governmental organizations in Russia before, was classified as a " social organization in the function of foreign agents" because they had allegedly received foreign funding from the USA. The chairwoman Ella Polyakova stated that at that time no more foreign support had been given. In 2015 this registration with the Ministry of Justice was suspended again.

organization

Around 200 regional groups work in the Union.

The chairman is Valentina Melnikowa, the committee in Saint Petersburg is chaired by Ella Polyakova and Jelena Wilenskaja . The Commission for Analysis and Communication is headed by Ida Kuklina .

The association works with other human rights organizations in Russia and abroad. They are supported by the Memorial organization and the Yabloko party . There are contacts to Protestant and Catholic women's associations, Women for Peace Düsseldorf and Switzerland, Mothers for Peace , Women’s Network for Peace , the Kopelew Forum , the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Helsinki Citizens Assembly .

Honors

literature

  • Eva Maria Hinterhuber: The soldiers' mothers Saint Petersburg . Between neo-traditionalism and new resistance. In: Eastern Europe . History, economy, politics. tape 21 . Münster / Hamburg / London 1999, ISBN 3-8258-3932-X .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20050302144558/http://www.ucsmr.ru:80/english/contact/contact.htm
  2. ↑ russland.rz ( Memento of the original from November 3, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / russland.ru
  3. ↑ Up to 15,000 Russian soldiers were sent to Ukraine. In: tagesanzeiger.ch. September 1, 2014, accessed May 4, 2015 .
  4. ^ Soldiers' mothers RP-online, August 1, 2015
  5. ↑ NED 2011 Annual report. In: www.ned.org. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013 ; accessed on May 4, 2015 .

Web links