THE MOVEMENT OF SOLDIERS’ MOTHERS OF RUSSIA DURING THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR (2014 – 2024): CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS AND THE REACTION OF THE KREMLIN AUTHORITIES
Authors:   Тhe Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Army Academy, Kutska Olesya 
Published: February 2025

Russian women have repeatedly become a significant lever of influence on the power of the russian federation in the wars it waged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The aim of the presented study is to analyze the chronology of the activities of maternal movements in Russia against the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the countermeasures taken against them by the kremlin authorities, and to determine the possibility of a powerful anti-war resistance emerging in the country as a result. To implement it, the following tasks have been identified: to summarize the publicly available information about the activities of russian women fighting for their sons, husbands, and fathers who are serving in the russian federation's Armed Forces and fighting in Ukraine; to clarify their demands to the authorities at different stages of the decade-long armed confrontation between russia and Ukraine; to analyze the reaction of the russian federation's governmental structures to the speeches of mothers, wives, and daughters. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, systematics, and objectivity. The analytical method allowed for the diagnosis of the problem as a whole, the chronological method ensured the presentation of information clearly in temporal sequence; the historical-systemic approach was used to comprehensively cover the recognizable historical reality through its components. The results of the study showed: firstly, during the Russian-Ukrainian war, in addition to the well-known "Soldiers' Mothers Committee" from Soviet times, there was a wide proliferation of self-organized women's groups. Secondly, the unification of mothers, wives, and daughters from the families of russian Armed Forces fighters initially occurred based on the affiliation of the servicemen to specific units or their presence in the same section of the front. Over time, some women's organizations grow into larger ones and make demands (claims) regarding the involvement of russian military forces in combat operations in Ukraine. Thirdly, in order to reduce internal tension within the state, the official Kremlin initially tried to address this issue by appeasing the wives and mothers of the military. However, over time, when it became clear that financial and property needs were not a priority for many women, they resorted to threats and intimidation. And starting from the fall of 2024, when hostilities spread to part of the territory of the russian federation, the coercive influence on the families of military personnel by the russian authorities was combined with the outright ignoring of their demands. Fourthly, the movements of soldiers' mothers are not regarded by the russian authorities as a serious threat and today do not serve as a lever capable of independently leading to widespread anti-war protests. The value of the research: assessing the effectiveness of the Soldiers' Mothers movement in historical retrospect will allow for outlining the near and distant future development of events in russia within the framework of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the internal political situation in this country.