Official position/function in relation to the conflict

The Women of the Don Union is a Russian human rights NGO. Registered in the city of Novocherkassk, Rostov region. It was established in 1993, initially with the aim of protecting the rights of women, children, and families, then began to deal with the rights of military personnel. It took an active part in the search for prisoners of war, killed and missing in the course of both wars in Chechnya, provided legal assistance to the parents of the soldiers. It was engaged in peacekeeping activities in the Caucasus after the Russian-Georgian armed conflict (August 2008).

One of the goals of the organization is “to achieve civil harmony and peace between people, nations, and nationalities.” Among the directions of the Union’s activities are “rehabilitation of victims of military conflicts, the development of a culture of peace, non-violence, tolerance.”

Actions regarding the conflict region

Since 2014, the Union began to work with the conflict in Ukraine. Opinion polls were conducted with residents of Russia and Ukraine living near the border. These polls showed that there are people on both sides of the border who are ready for dialogue. At the same time, Women of the Don helped refugees from eastern Ukraine: they distributed humanitarian aid and provided legal advice. Women of the Don is an active member of CivilM+ Platform and participates in discussions in the preparation of statements and analytical reports. The initial idea of ​​creating the platform was to initiate civilian support for official peace negotiations and was called “civilian Minsk.”

On 7 October 2016, Valentina Cherevatenko, Head of the Union, was awarded the Anna Politkovskaya Prize, established by the international non-governmental organization RAW in War (Reach All Women in War), for her peacekeeping activities.