Sharon Werning Rivera, the Sidney Wertimer Professor of Government, recently co-authored an article published by the Wilson Center. “Why No Collective Action by Russian Mothers?” appears online as part of “The Russia Files,” a blog of the Kennan Institute that offers insights into Russia’s politics, history, culture, and society, and its relationship with nearby countries and the U.S.
Rivera and co-author Vladimir Gel’man of the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki say that although “individual Russian mothers are taking action on behalf of their sons sent to fight in the Russo-Ukrainian War … no widespread, organized movement by the mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine has emerged.”
In the article, Rivera and Gel’man analyze why the mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine have not organized collectively on behalf of their sons. They describe numerous obstacles, including financial incentives and political repression, to collective action. As a result, they conclude, sustained protests by mothers are unlikely to emerge any time soon.
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