1.4b To what extent did the role of women and the family change between 1917 and 1985?

Question 1

Give the Russian proverb showing how women were treated badly in early Russia

Answer 1

“The more you beat your wife, the better your soup will taste”

Question 2

What did Lenin describe marriage as?

Answer 2

A form of slavery

Question 3

Why did women’s status start to change in the first place?

Answer 3

It was forced through war and industrialisation

Question 4

Why was the change in status of women from the civil war only a short term change?

Answer 4

The returning men simply took back their jobs and retained their attitude

Question 5

What was the name of the women’s branch of the Central Committee that the Bolsheviks introduced called?

Answer 5

Zhenotdel

Question 6

What 3 things did the Bolsheviks push through to improve the status of women

Answer 6

• Divorce made easier
• Abortion legalised
• Removed the law saying a woman had to obey her husband

Question 7

At the women’s congress in 1918, Lenin was cheered for the banning of which derogatory word towards women?

Answer 7

Baba

Question 8

When was the principle for equal pay between men and women introduced?

Answer 8

1917

Question 9

What was declared in the 1918 Soviet Constitution concerning women?

Answer 9

That men and women were equal

Question 10

What percentage of divorces were initiated by men?

Answer 10

70%

Question 11

How many women fought in the Red Army in the Civil War?

Answer 11

70,000

Question 12

How did women in the countryside especially have a rough time?

Answer 12

Many men left them to find work in the city and so they were left alone to work the farms

Question 13

When was Zhenotdel closed and why?

Answer 13

1930 because they claimed all women’s issues had been solved

Question 14

Why did many women in the 1930s work?

Answer 14

There was little choice, it was seen as their socialist duty

Question 15

Number of female workers:
1928 - __ million
1940 - __ million

Answer 15

Number of female workers:
1928 - 3 million
1940 - 13 million

Question 16

Which industries did women dominate?

Answer 16

Light industry

Textiles

Question 17

Parts of what famous structure were built by women? (Mentioned earlier in the course)

Answer 17

The Moscow underground

Question 18

Which woman was used as a role model for all women?

Answer 18

Praskovia Angelina - tractor driver

Question 19

In ____, __% of higher education places were reserved for women

Answer 19

1929

20%

Question 20

By 1940, __% of ______ graduates were women

Answer 20

40%

Engineering

Question 21

What did the ‘Wives of the Soviet Elite’ do?

Answer 21

Social work like making curtains or organising workplace productions

Question 22

Why did women suffer in the countryside during WW2?

Answer 22

All of the men and horses were conscription into the army and many never returned

Question 23

How many women served in the armed forces during WW2?

Answer 23

80,000

Question 24

How many women won the ‘Hero of the Soviet Union’ award?

Answer 24

89

Question 25

What was the 'double-burden' put on women after WW2?

Answer 25

They were expected to both work and look after the children

Question 26

How did Khrushchev and Brezhnev attempt to improve the status of rural women?

Answer 26

Healthcare and maternity benefits | Extension of the passport system to allow them to move to the cities

Question 27

How did Khrushchev and Brezhnev's attempt to improve the status of rural women actually hinder some?

Answer 27

The passport systems were just used by the men to leave and abandon the women

Question 28

1932-33, women comprise almost ___% of new workers

Answer 28

100%

Question 29

How did the Bolsheviks try to break down traditional Islamic attitudes? (2)

Answer 29

- Using female activists who encouraged unveiling | - Explaining contraception and personal hygiene

Question 30

How did the attempts to change the status of Islamic women go?

Answer 30

Traditional attitudes were slow to change

Question 31

Give an example of violence against the government trying to change attitudes towards Islamic women

Answer 31

A bunch of male Muslim turned up to a Zhenotdel meeting with boiling water and dogs

Question 32

What sometimes happened to Islamic women who refused to wear traditional dresses?

Answer 32

Often killed by their families in 'honour killings'

Question 33

When did the government begin to soften their approach towards changing Islamic attitudes towards women?

Answer 33

1930s

Question 34

Who was Alexandra Kollontai?

Answer 34

The first woman to become a People's Commissar

Question 35

Who was Nadezhda Krupskaya?

Answer 35

Lenin's wife and a member of the Central Committee

Question 36

Who was Ekaterina Furtseva?

Answer 36

The first woman to become a full member of the Presidium

Question 37

Who was Alexandra Biryukova?

Answer 37

A member of the Politburo in 1988

Question 38

Who was Natalia Bessmertnova?

Answer 38

A famous ballerina at the Bolshoi Ballet

Question 39

Who was Ludmilla Tourischeva?

Answer 39

A 9 time Olympic gold medalist

Question 40

Who was Valentina Tereshkova?

Answer 40

The first woman in space

Question 41

Do the few examples of successful Russian women show that the status of women improved?

Answer 41

No, they are very rare examples

Question 42

When was the 'Family Code' introduced?

Answer 42

1918

Question 43

What did the 'Family Code' do? (2)

Answer 43

- Made divorce easier | - Remove the hold of the Russian Orthodox Churches hold on family life

Question 44

In what year were marriages and unregistered marriages given equal weight?

Answer 44

1927

Question 45

In what year were 'Postcard Divorces' introduced?

Answer 45

1926

Question 46

In the mid-1920s, the USSR had the highest divorce rate in ______

Answer 46

Europe

Question 47

By 1926, __% of all marriages ended in divorce

Answer 47

50%

Question 48

What was the ratio of abortions to births?

Answer 48

3:1

Question 49

What was the 1936 'Great Retreat'?

Answer 49

An attempt to raise the status of marriage

Question 50

Because of the 1936 'Great Retreat' the cost of divorce rose from __ roubles to __

Answer 50

From 4 roubles to 50 roubles

Question 51

Because of the 1936 'Great Retreat', maternity leave was extended to how many weeks?

Answer 51

16 weeks

Question 52

Because of the 1936 'Great Retreat', from 1928-30, the number of creches _______

Answer 52

Doubled

Question 53

Because of the 1936 'Great Retreat', what happened to men who didn't pay child support?

Answer 53

They received 2 year prison sentences

Question 54

Because of the 1936 'Great Retreat', what happened to mothers of over 10 children?

Answer 54

They were awarded

Question 55

What was the main downside of the 1936 'Great Retreat'?

Answer 55

People were forced to stay part of a family when they didn't want to

Question 56

By 1960, women made up __% of the workforce

Answer 56

49%

Question 57

How did Khrushchev reduce the cost of government care for the elderly?

Answer 57

Encouraged their use in the family unit for queuing for food and doing housework

Question 58

How did Khrushchev try to reduce the financial strain on families? (2)

Answer 58

- Increased social provisions | - Legalised abortion again

Question 59

Did the change from Khrushchev to Brezhnev have much impact on social policy?

Answer 59

Not really

Question 60

In the 1970s, what was the average number of children per family?

Answer 60

2.4

Question 61

By 1982, the average Soviet was consuming __ litres of spirit per year

Answer 61

18 Litres

Question 62

In 1968, in what case was divorce illegal?

Answer 62

If the woman being divorced was preganant