THEME 4: SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS - TO WHAT EXTENT DID THE ROLE OF WOMEN AND FAMILY CHANGE BETWEEN 1917 AND 1985? Flashcards
How did ‘radical thinkers’ view the emancipation of women prior to 1917?
The emancipation of women had been a goal of most Russian radicals since the middle of the 19th century. Lenin had written of the ‘bourgeois’ nature of marriage as a form of slavery, tying the woman to the male-dominated institution of family. A woman’s role as a housewife was perceived as suppression into a life of drudgery. Radical communists called for sweeping reforms to liberate women, but their ideas did not always find favour with more conservative Party members.
What measures were introduced to improve the status and life of women in 1917-1918?
On seizing power in 1917, the Bolsheviks established a women’s branch of the Central Committee, Zhenotdel, to promote the status of women within socialist notions of equality. The Bolsheviks rushed through a series of decrees that gave women greater status and freedom within marriage: divorce was made easier and abortion was legalised. The laws that made a woman obey her husband, live with him and take his name were abolished. Women no longer needed their husband’s permission to take a job or study in further education. Lenin addressed a women’s congress in 1918, where he was cheered for suggesting that baba, the derogatory term for a woman, be banned. The principle for equal pay for men and women was passed into law in December 1917 and maternity leave arrangements were granted. When the Soviet constitution of 1918 announced that men and women equal, the legal status of women had been put on equal footing to that of men.
What was the result of the attempts to improve the status and life of women in 1917-18?
The rise in the divorce rate did little to help women support children: few received financial support from the father of their child. Feminists in the Party had hoped that easier divorce would prevent women becoming trapped in abusive relationships, but the reality was that 70% of divorces were initiated by men, often abandoning women who had become pregnant. The laws giving women equal rights in employment and equal pay were slow to have an impact. Attitudes of the male population were slow to change.
What evidence is there to suggest that the Civil War had a profound impact on women?
Over 70,000 women fought in the Red Army during the war, but few held high rank.
Millions of women recruited into factories, but social provision for childcare was inadequate.
Despite the desire of the regime to provide creches for all young children, the government lacked the resources to implement this.
What evidence is there to suggest the long-term impact of the Civil War was limited?
Women generally were more likely to be unskilled and many lost their jobs when soldiers returned to civilian life after the war was won.
Traditional attitudes that women were unsuitable for heavy manual work persisted, as did the attitude that women were less likely to stay in a post due to pregnancy and maternity leave.
The disruption of war and the subsequent famine of 1921-22 left many women homeless and destitute. A rise in prostitution reflected the desperation of large numbers of urban workers.
Who was Alexandra Kollontai and why was she significant?
A leading Bolshevik figure in the early years of the regime. She was the first woman to be a member of a government in Europe. Kollontai was a feminist and a believer in free love, the idea that love and sex need not be confined to those married to each other. As a member of the Central Committee, she was able to influence policies towards women, the family and health. She was made head of Zhenotdel, the Bolshevik Part Women’s Department, in 1920. She supported the Workers Opposition group who opposed Lenin’s plans to remove power from the trade unions. Her influence waned after 1921 and she was sent to Oslo in 1923 to represent the Soviet government in Norway. She served as ambassador to Sweden between 1943-45. Her private life and lovers were often the cause of scandal, but her view on sex had been made clear in her writings: ‘sexuality is a human instinct as natural as hunger or thirst.’ Her ideas and writings continued to influence the development of feminism for the rest of the 20th century.
Why might some historians argue the life of Kollontai is an example of Bolshevik failure for emancipation?
Stalin disliked her progressive ideas, and her measures were reversed during the 1930s. This can be seen as an example of women becoming increasingly suppressed during Stalin’s time in power.
How did the Bolsheviks attempt to ‘break down traditional attitudes’ [towards Islamic women]?
By using young female activists who encouraged unveiling, while explaining basic contraception, personal hygiene and childcare. The campaign against the veiling of women in 1927 met with some success. Opportunities for Islamic women increased and female brigade leaders and tractor drivers were celebrated through films and posters.
Which areas were particularly resistant to change?
The Muslim areas of Central Asia where the polygamous, male-dominated family was well entrenched. In these areas women were shielded from public view, often veiled and denied an education.
What impact did the Bolshevik’s attempt to ‘break down traditional attitudes’ [towards Islamic women] have?
Despite changes, traditional Islamic attitudes were slow to change and resistance was often violent. At Baku, a Zhenotdel meeting was attacked by Muslim men with dogs and boiling water. Women who refused to wear traditional dress were sometimes killed by members of their own family in ‘honour’ killings. By the 1930s, the Soviet government took a softer, more gradual approach to changing the Muslim population’s attitude to women.
What evidence is there to suggest that the Bolsheviks had been ‘half-hearted’ regarding gender equality?
In 1930, the Party closed down Zhenotdel, claiming that women’s issues had been solved. This was a reflection of the attitudes of the male-dominated Party, which had always been half-hearted in its support for women’s issues. Nonetheless the policies enacted by the Party in the 1930s were to have far-reaching consequences for the lives women. At least, 50% of the total population were women, they shared the burdens of collectivisation and industrialisation.
What impact did collectivisation have on women initially?
The policy of forced collectivisation in the countryside resulted in many men departing for the towns in search of better jobs. Some sent money back to their wives; others deserted them. Collectivisation came to rely more and more on the labours of women. Agricultural work offered low wages, and life in the countryside meant fewer services; both were a reflection of the lower status attached to agriculture over industry. The status of women in rural areas reflected this general pattern. In addition, it was in rural areas that traditional attitudes to women were more entrenched and slower to change.
What impact did the war have (at the time and afterwards) in the countryside?
The most able-bodied men from the collectives were conscripted into the armed forces and women provided the bulk of the agricultural workforce. Conditions were made worse by the Red Army’s requisitioning of machinery and draft animals. The imbalance between the sexes was even more pronounced after the war. Returning soldiers preferred to try their luck by moving to the cities for work. Rural areas lacked able-bodied men, adding to the shortage of males caused by losses in the war. Even as late as 1950, it was possible to find villages entirely populated by women and children. The shortage of livestock added to the problem and women often had little choice but to shackle themselves to ploughs in order to till the soil.
Why did the quality of life for women in the countryside change under Khrushchev and Brezhnev?
Social provision, such as health care and maternity benefits, was extended to the countryside. The extension of the internal passport system to collective workers in 1974 provided the freedom for women to move to towns in search of jobs that commanded greater status and pay. However, the reality was that the opportunity to move was more likely to be taken by young males, exacerbating the trend of leaving low-status agricultural work to females.
What evidence is there to suggest that women’s lives were impacted by Soviet economic policy in the cities?
The pressure for labour in industry under the Five-Year Plans meant that women were given little choice but to work. Work was no longer a symbol of female liberation, but a socialist duty. The number of female workers rose substantially in the 1930s, from 3 million (1928) to over 13 million (1940). Women dominated the workforce in light industry, especially textiles, but were increasingly found in occupations previously considered to be the preserve of male workers. Women entered the construction industry and worked in lumbering and engineering. Parts of Moscow underground were built by brigades of female workers. Women were used as role models, such as the tractor driver Praskovia Angelina, to encourage and motivate the female workforce.
What evidence is there to suggest education became more equal in the towns?
In the towns women were better placed to take advantage of the expansion of higher education. In 1929, the government reserved 20% of higher education places for women. This was a rather modest increase on the 14% already occupied by women, but by 1940 over 40% of engineering students were female. Gaining a higher-level education was often a passport to improving the status of an individual woman, as was becoming a Party activist - improved chance of promotion and provided a route for upward mobility in society.
What impact did a greater equality in education have?
The number of women in skilled jobs and management remained disproportionately low but showed an increase in the 1930s. Women started to make up a high percentage of jobs in the expanding areas of of health care and education, although neither sector offered high wages and the top levels of these sectors were still dominated by men.
