USSR topic 4 Social developments- Women and family

Question 1

What did the feminists within the Bolsheviks establish after they seized power?

Answer 1

Zhenotdel a women’s branch of the Central Committee

Question 2

How were the aims on improving the position of women driven by ideology?

Answer 2

The communist ideology of equality of sexes

Question 3

What did the Bolsheviks do to help improve position of women?

Answer 3

In 1917, divorce was made easier and abortion was legalised, the laws that made women obey and listen to their husband were abolished, Lenin suggested the derogatory term ‘baba’ to be banned, there were principles for equal pay and arrangements for maternity leave

Question 4

What was the impact of the Soviet Constitution of 1918 in advancing gender equality?

Answer 4

the Soviet Constitution of 1918 declared that men and women were equal

Question 5

What was a drawback of making divorce easier?

Answer 5

70% of the divorce were initiated by men, often abandoning women who had become pregnant, and had lacked financial support

Question 6

Why were the laws giving women equal rights so slow to have an impact?

Answer 6

Attitudes of the male population were slow to change

Question 7

What became a turning point for the role of women during Lenin’s era? And why did it happen

Answer 7

The civil war, since there was a need for industrial workers so there was increased number of women in the workforce

Question 8

Even with the increasing employment opportunities (in the military/ industrial workforce), how did women’s lives change for the worse? (Civil War)

Answer 8

Over 70,000 women fought in the Red Army but few held high rank

millions of women were recruited into factories but social provision for childcare was inadequate since the government lacked resources to implement institutes like creches

Question 9

What were some long term effects of the civil war on women? (3)

Answer 9

• Traditional attitude that women were unsuitable for heavy manual work persisted
• women were more likely to be unskilled and be jobless after the war
• the disruption of war and the famine in 1921-22 also left many women homeless and destitute, with a rise in prostitution

Question 10

What were some successes of the Bolsheviks in changing the status of Islamic women?

Answer 10

They used young female activists to encourage unveiling, while explaining basic contraception, personal hygiene and childcare, the campaign against veiling in 1927 was successful in some ways, and opportunities for islamic women increased

Question 11

Why were the efforts made by Bolsheviks to change the attitude towards Islamic women reversed?

Answer 11

Polygamous, male-dominated family was well entrenched in the Muslim areas in Central Asia, so these attitudes were slow to change, and resistance was often violent so by the 1930s, the Soviet governemnt took a softer approach

Question 12

What happened in 1930 that reflected on the attitudes of the male-dominated Party?

Answer 12

The closure of Zhenotdel

Question 13

What was the impact of collectivisation on the role of women in the countryside (1930s)? (positive+ negative)

Answer 13

Most men departed to towns in search of better jobs as a result, so women were relied more for the labour work. women did more agricultural work, which was considered of lower status than indsutrial work

Question 14

How did WWII accelerate the trend of giving women low status work?

Answer 14

The most able-bodied men were conscripted into the armed forces, leaving women to do the agricultural work, it was made worse by the requisition of food by the Red Army

Question 15

How was the imbalance of sexes in the countryside more pronounced after the war?

Answer 15

Most of the returning soldiers chose to work in cities, which led to shortages of males in rural areas with the losses in the war, and with the shortage of livestock, women had to plough themselves to still the soil

Question 16

How did the status of women improve under Khrushchev and Brezhnev?

Answer 16

They introduction of social provisions, like health care and maternity benefits was extended to the countryside, and the internal passport system meant that women could move to towns to look for jobs with greater pay and status

Question 17

Even with the passport system introduced under Khrushchev and Brezhnev, how was the status of women from countryside still undermined?

Answer 17

The opportunity to move was usually taken by young males, which exacerbated the trend of leaving low status agircultural work to women

Question 18

What was the impact of collectivisation and industrialisation on women in towns?

Answer 18

They were given more work due to pressure for labour in industry, they usually dominated the workforce in light industry, esp textiles and were increasingly found in occupations previously considered to be for male workers

Question 19

How much did the number of female workers increase from 1928 to 1940?

Answer 19

Went from 3 million in 1928 to over 13 million in 1940

Question 20

How did the expansion of higher education impact women in towns?

Answer 20

20% of higher education places were for women in 1929, and by 1940, over 40% of engineering students were female

Question 21

How would gaining a higher level education advantage women?

Answer 21

It would improve the status of a woman and would improve the chances of promotion and for upward mobility in society

Question 22

What were some drawbacks despite the increased job opportunities for women?

Answer 22

They don’t offer high wages and the top levels were still dominated by men

Question 23

In the 1930s, what group of women was emerged that showed social divisions among women?

Answer 23

The emergence of the more privileged group of urban women who were wives of Soviet elite, they would do ‘social’ work and were entitled the ‘Socially Active Women’ and were exempt from working in the workforce

Question 24

How did WWII positively impact the role of women?

Answer 24

Women would take over jobs previously held by men due to conscription, and women were encouraged to join the Red Army (to improve their status), despite having many women turned away, the government eventually let them in after the heavy losses

Question 25

How many women served in the armed forces during WWII and what were their roles?

Answer 25

About 800,000, most in medical units, but also as pilots, machine-gunners etc

Question 26

Despite the changes in the status of women during WWII, how were the changes limited?

Answer 26

After the war, many women lost their jobs or reverted back to unskilled roles since men returned back to civillian life

Question 27

In the 1950s, what were expected of women?

Answer 27

They were exptected the work in a wide range of occupations as well as to look after the home and provide for their husbands and children

Question 28

When were women given the right to vote for the first time?

Answer 28

Provisional Government in 1917

Question 29

How many women made up of Party membership in 1932 and how many female delegates made up of Party congresses before 1939?

Answer 29

16% of women, and 10% of Party Congress

Question 30

Who was an example of a female who had a higher rank in the Party

Answer 30

Alexandra Kollontai was the first woman to become commissar, serving as Commissar for Public Welfare from 1917-18

Question 31

Who was the first female that became a full candidate member of the top body within the Party?

Answer 31

Ekaterina Furtseva became a member of the Politburo in 1957

Question 32

How did role models play a part in encouraging women to contribute to the Soviet state?

Answer 32

Posters, statues and propaganda showed images of an ideal woman playing her part in the development of socialism

Question 33

What was an example of a famous woman in the Soviet Union?

Answer 33

Valentia Tereshkova who became the first woman in space

Question 34

How was Soviet propaganda portrayed to show the reality of the status of women?

Answer 34

The indstrial worker was always male while the peasant was also female, which reflect on the role of women in agriculture

Question 35

How were there attempts to attack the ideas of traditional family?

Answer 35

Youth groups were encouraged the attack the ‘capitalist tyranny of parents’ and Party sections were set up the educate women to be more assertive

Question 36

What was the Bolshevik Family Code of 1918 about?

Answer 36

It made divorces easiers by removing the need to give grounds, abortion was made legal and creches were encouraged

Question 37

Although the reforms were mainly to get more women intro work during the civil war, how were they effective in helping women gain their status?

Answer 37

They attacked on traditional oppression and maltreatment of women through the insittuion of the family, and to reduce the hold of the Russian Orthodox Chirch on family life and morality

Question 38

How was traditional institution of marriage weakened in 1927?

Answer 38

A new marriage law was imposed that gave equal status under the law to registered and unregistered marriages

Question 39

How were the marriage measures made by the Bolsheviks successful?

Answer 39

By the mid-1920s, Russia’s divorce rate was the highest in Europe, and by 1926 with the implementation of ‘post-card divorce’, 50% of all marriages in Moscow ended with divorce

Question 40

What were some failures of the abortion measures made?

Answer 40

Abortion became commonplace, and it outnumbered live births and birth rate remained low in Moscow, it led to increase in orphans

Question 41

What was the Great Retreat of 1936?

Answer 41

Stalin issues a series of more conservative laws to restore the importance of traditional family

Question 42

What were some main changes under Great Retreat? (5)

Answer 42

• Divorce was made more expensive
• abortion was outlawed unless it would put the mother at risk
• free marriages lost their legal status
• increased resources in creches and day-care centres
• pregnant women guaranteed job security

Question 43

What was done in July 1944 to further strengthen the family?

Answer 43

Tax on single women to encourage marriage, use of awards for ‘mother heroines’ who had 10+ kids, divorce made more complicated

Question 44

Under Khrushchev years, what were encouraged for women in order to promote family as a social unit?

Answer 44

Women were encouraged to care for the family as well as to undertake paid employment

Question 45

How much % of the workforce did women undertake by 1960?

Answer 45

49%

Question 46

How did the domestic duties being passed on to older family members advantage the government?

Answer 46

Since the duties were usually passed on to grandmothers, the Soviet society had more respect for the elderly, resulting in many multi-generational family units and helped reduce the costs of supporting the sick

Question 47

How did Khrushchev years lessen the strain placed on the family?

Answer 47

Due to the increasing provision of social benefis, like housing, healthcare, so family was better supported; lessened strain placed on family

Question 48

How did the ineffectiveness of the healthcare provision negatively impact women? What was done to help reduce financial strain on the family?

Answer 48

Women had to work to provide for themselves or for additional family income, abortion was legalised again in 1955

Question 49

What was the difference between Brezhnev years and Khrushchev years in terms of promotion of family?

Answer 49

Even though Brezhnev continued with the social policy of Khrushchev era, the government was aware of the social problems that weakened the family and tried to address them by reinforcing traditional values

Question 50

How did the rate of population growth threaten stability of family by 1970s?

Answer 50

By 1982, the rate of growth had fallen to 0.8%, , which put pressure on the economically productive members of the family to support the old and sick

Question 51

How was the birth rate like in the USSR in 1970?

Answer 51

It was barely enough to replace the exisitng population, an average family had 2.4 children in 1970

Question 52

How did housing negatively impact family?

Answer 52

The shortage of adequate housing continued to put a strain on family relationships, overcrowding within flats

Question 53

How did alcoholism undermine the family?

Answer 53

Alcoholism played a big role in high levels of domestic abuse and divorce, and was also responsible for causing a range of deaths, resulting in over a quarter of all deaths,

Question 54

How did WWII divorce rates affect the family

Answer 54

Many young men grew up without father figure, which meant that they lacked role models

Question 55

What did the Family Code of 1968 do?

Answer 55

the requirement to give 1 months notice before a wedding could take place and restrictions were placed on divorce, making it illegal to divorce a woman who was pregnant or within the year of birth of a child