The Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia (, Soyuz Komitetov Soldatskikh Materey Rossii) is a Russian NGO, with a stated mission of exposing human rights violations within the Russian military.

Creation and aims

The original organization, the All-Russian public organization "Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia" (KSM Russia) was created in April 1989. In fact, the activities of its activists began back in 1988 in Stavropol.

Before 1998, it was known as the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia which was founded by Maria Kirbasova. It is a member of the human rights organization Human Rights House. Among the activities the organization is involved in is educating Russian civil society on the rule of law in relation to military service, as well as informing society about what the armed forces should look like in a democratic society. The organization also provides free legal advice to soldiers and their families about their rights and conscription laws, as well as intervening on behalf of soldiers who are facing abuse and hazing from their superiors and other more senior soldiers (dedovshchina).

Leadership and structure

, the Committee was led by Olga Larkina. According to The Moscow Times some considered this labeling of the group as punishment for their statements. The organization has not received any funding from foreign (non-Russian sources) since May 2014. On 18 October 2014, Russian police detained the head of local Committee of Soldiers' Mothers in Budennovsk, (73-year-old) Lyudmila Bogatenkova, on suspicion of fraud; the local Committee of Soldiers' Mothers in Saint Petersburg labelled this arrest "an act of intimidation in connection with her activities".

In October 2021, the local Committee of Soldiers' Mothers in Saint Petersburg stopped some of its activities in helping soldiers in response to the Federal Security Service (FSB)'s formal approval of a list of 60 actions that are considered to be those of a foreign agent under Russian foreign agent law and can lead to criminal liability. Examples of liable actions include the "observance of lawfulness" of soldiers, or assessing the military and political situation in Russia. The Committee stated that the FSB's list of liable actions severely limited the activities of human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists. Oksana Paramonova, head of the Saint Petersburg Committee, stated that the Committee would stop its work that involved direct contact with the armed services in order to avoid risks to its staff, but would continue its work in new formats, including methodological support.

References

  • Homepage
  • Archived homepage (2005, in English)
  • Archived homepage (2005, in Russian)
  • Description on the Right Livelihood Award website
  • Soldiers' Mothers of St. Petersburg home page.