Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia
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The Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia (Russian:Союз Комитетов Солдатских Матерей России Soyuz Komitetov Soldatskikh Materey Rossiy) works to expose human rights violations within the Russian military.
The organization was founded in 1989. Before 1998, it was known as the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia.
The organization is frequently labeled as a human rights or peace organization. However, these labels might lead one to underestimate the scope of the organization. Among the activities the organization is involved in is educating Russian civil society on the rule of law in relation to service in the military, 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). Although it is widely believed that Soldiers’ Mothers is generally viewed as a reliable method of fighting the military bureaucracy and can really help anyone in trouble, in reality the list of their successful interventions is quite short, and mainly they win court cases, where religious sects adherents defended themselves.
The Committee was awarded the Rafto Prize in 1995.
