In 1979, the forces of the Soviet Union entered Afghanistan and that was the start of a war that lasted ten years. Young inexperienced conscripts fought and their mothers banded together in their regions to help them.
– At first they didn’t think about stopping the war, but the mothers fought so that their sons would get better equipment and more training, says Yulia Gradskova, docent in history and researcher in gender studies at Södertörn University.
The “Mothers’ Committee” is created
In 1989, the human rights organization “Mothers’ Committee” was created, which united all regional initiatives. It was during Perestroika when freedom of opinion prevailed in the Soviet Union and the organization was widely heard.
– It was a time of democratization and there were opportunities to discuss subjects that were never discussed before. You can say that it was the right time for the mothers to become active and they became major social actors, explains Yulia Gradskova.
According to her, the “Mothers’ Committee” contributed to the end of the war in Afghanistan.
First Chechen war: “Economy instead of war”
In 1994, Russia entered the sub-republic of Chechnya, which declared itself independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The first Chechen war lasted two years and ended with a ceasefire.
– A new generation of protesting mothers was born here. It is difficult to say whether they affected the war directly, but they contributed to the discussion in society that everyone was tired of the war and that one should instead focus on fixing the country’s economic problems, says Gradskova.
The Second Chechen War – Putin’s First War
Three years later, the conflict flared up again. It was the start of the second Chechen war, which lasted until 2009 and was Putin’s first war.
– Here the women were less visible. Russia was becoming authoritarian and it was much more difficult to act, says Yulia Gradskova.