Mothers' Rights Foundation

MRF conducts advocacy campaigns on behalf of parents whose sons were killed during peacetime military service in Russia and the CIS. The group was founded in 1990 by relatives of young soldiers who had died during peacetime. Similar difficulties in each case (such as problems in ascertaining information surrounding the deaths and difficulty in acquiring entitlements for the surviving family) suggested that a collective effort to expose problems in the military might improve the conditions of service for young men in the future and provide moral and practical support for surviving families.

One of the organization's primary activities is providing legal consultations and aid to the families of deceased soldiers. Staff from Mothers' Rights are also active in Duma committees working on military reform. The organization publishes a monthly news bulletin reporting on human rights violations in the military that is circulated to the media and to the various Mothers' Rights offices across Russia. Since 1992, Mothers' Rights has published three "yearbooks" dedicated to the memories of soldiers who died during peacetime. These yearbooks, which contain photos of the dead soldiers and commentary from their families, have had great social resonance in Russia. The group also published a brochure in 1995 entitled What Kind of Army is This? Human Rights Violations in the Russian Military, which exposes chronic abuses and problems in the military.

Last updated:    February 1999

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