The soldiers' mothers of Russia

Table of Contents

Preface

1. The Establishment of the Soldiers' Mothers

2. Status Quo of the Russian Army

3. Targets of the Soldiers' Mothers organisation (St. Petersburg)

4. Methods and forms of protest

5. Conclusion

Bibliography

Preface

The Russian state has faced a deep transformation since the beginning of the 1990s. The society moved from a dictatorial regime to a formal democracy. The military has been a problem in Russia since the times of the Soviet Union. Violence, abuses, suicides etc. are the result of the traditional military system. During the final stage of the Soviet Empire protest against the miserable conditions in the army was entered by a small number of mothers of young soldiers. This essay is about the non governmental organisation of the Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, which is one of the most important and successful human rights organisations in Russia. The first chapter of this Essay will be about the establishment of the Soldiers' Mothers and the societal conditions which enabled it. Chapter two is about the Status quo of the Russian Army, about the violence against and abuses of young conscripts and about the associated hierarchical military system. Also structural and legal shortcomings of the military will be described. The third chapter deals with the goals and demands of the Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg, chapter four will be about the working methods of the organisation and the ways of embarking their goals. The last chapter will offer a short summary of the research results. The research is based on the reading of Online sources

1) The Establishment of the Soldiers' Mothers

The formation of the so called Soldiers' Mothers of Russia-organisation would not have been possible without specific societal premises. Brenda Vallance mentions three events for the decline of the Russian military and in connection with that, the establishment of the Soldiers' Mothers:

- Era of stagnation under Brezhnev. The practice of Dedovshchina (see Chapter 2) , corruption etc. got worse in that time.
- War in Afghanistan: The war was unwinnable – this lead to demoralization, drug abuse and alcoholism of soldiers, many Russian soldiers died.
- New thinking in the era of Gorbachev. He ended the war and introduced the policies of perestroika and glasnost. It brought the opportunity for critical questions, also in respect to the Russian army^[1].

Criminal actions and human rights violations in the Russian army have been a taboo issue in the Soviet Emprire and after that even in the reform era of Gorbachev^[2].

Since the creation of the Russian Army in 1992 by Boris Jelzin the military has become one of the most important problems of the Russian state. Reforms have been denied, human rights violations appear still on the agenda. The first interest groups of Soldiers mothers were found in 1989 after a release of the „Latvian League of Women“ which was about tortured and killed conscripts^[3]. The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia has been found in the same year by 300 mothers of soldiers as a reaction to that. They tried to bring their sons back from the military service to resume their apprenticeship^[4].

In 1992 the Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg-organisation was found to fight against the miserable situation in the army, for the rights of tortured soldiers and their families^[5]. The extent of cooperation of these local groups with the Russian Army and government diverges them. Some support the President and the military leadership, some do not. In the year 2004, more than 300 local Soldiers' Mothers organisations existed in Russia. The most important ones are the Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg and Moskow^[6].

The Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg organisation is an exception within the Soldiers Mothers of Russia. They refuse to cooperate with the military, they also fight for a transformation of the whole Russian society. With their claim to refuse conscription and to fight against a military without human rights, the Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg stand against the military tradition of Russia and so try to reach a more democratic society. Other organisations do not try to break the military traditions and only claim for a military service which corresponds to human rights^[7].

Within the civil rights movement in Russia, the Soldiers Mothers organizations today rank among the most important and largest ones^[8]. The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia (CSMR) claims for a reform of the Russian army and a transformation of the Russian state to a constitutional state^[9].

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^[1] Vallance, Brenda (2000). Russia's Mothers – Voices of Change – Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, in: Minerva: Quarterly Report on Women and the Military, Special Issue: Soviet and Russian Women's Experience of War and the Military, Volume XVIII, No. 3/4, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EXI/is_2000_Fall-Winter/ai_73063468.

^[2] Hinterhuber, Eva Maria (2001). Between Neotraditionalism and New Resistance – Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg, Reprinted from Anthropology of East Europe Review Volume 19, No. 1, Page 3, http://condor.depaul.edu/~rrotenbe/aeer/v19n1/Hinterhuber.pdf.

^[3] Hinterhuber, Eva Maria (2004). Gegen Menschenrechtsverletzungen in Russlands Streitkräften: Die Soldatenmütter St. Petersburg erhalten den Aachener Friedenspreis, in: Russlandanalysen, No. 35, Page 2, http://www.russlandanalysen.de/content/media/Russlandanalysen35.pdf.

^[4] Right Livelihood Award Foundation (1996). The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia (CSMR), http://www.rightlivelihood.org/recip/csmr.htm.

^[5] Hinterhuber 2004, Page 2.

^[6] Hojer, Maja (2004). Reforming habitus, reordering meaningful worlds - Soldiers' Mothers and social change in postsocialist Russia, http://www.anthrobase.com/Txt/H/Hojer_M_01.htm.

^[7] Hinterhuber 2001, Page 4.

^[8] Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (2004). Russian Soldiers' Mothers deplore abusive Army, http://www.rferl.org/reports/ucs/2004/02/4-050204.asp.

^[9] Vallance 2000.