Veronika Marchenko is chair of the board of the charitable foundation Mother’s Right, a non-profit working to protect the rights of parents of soldiers who die in service. Veronika Marchenko has held this position since she inspired the creation of Mother’s Right in 1989. She is a graduate of the journalism faculty of Moscow State University. During perestroika she worked on the journal Yunost. In 1986 she was a participant in the youth TV programme “12th Storey”, broadcast by Soviet Central TV, and in the International Youth Movement “Next Stop Soviet” (1987-1990). In November 1998 Veronika Marchenko was awarded the Public Recognition prize, created by the National Public Recognition Foundation, the Independent Association in Support of Civil Society and the Moscow English Club. In December 2002 the Open Society Institute in Russia awarded her the prize For Selfless Work. In March 2009 she was a recipient of the Women of Courage international award, presented by Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama. Veronika Marchenko is a member of the Russian Human Rights Research Centre. She is also a member of the Scientific Consultative Council of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation. She lives in Moscow.