Women Flashcards
What had caused a fall in population at the start of Stalin’s power
- living conditions on collectives
- Purges
- fears of war
How did Stalin react to the fall in population
He was worried
What did Stalin do about the fall in population
Traditional policies were introduced such as
- the family becoming important
- Lenin seen as the ideal ‘family man’
- divorce and abortion being attacked
- importance of marriage being emphaised with the wedding rings being reintroduced along with new style wedding certificates
Films
Women were portrayed in a new way, less muscular and more feminine
What 1936 measures were introduced that reversed what had happened under Lenin
- Large fees made divorce more difficult to obtain (men had to contribute 60% of their income on child support)
- Adultery now became criminalised
- Contraception was banned (only permitted on medical grounds)
- Tax exemptions were granted to families of 6 or more children plus bonus payments for every additional child to 10 in family.
Work
- Women were encourage to give up their jobs to concentrate on marriage
HOWEVER - women continued to work with 43% of the industrial workforce being female by 1940.
Education
Number of women in education doubled from 1928-1940
Collective farms
Number of women on collective farms doubled from 1928-1940.
What state provision was introduced to support women
Greater state nurseries as well as child clinics which helped women cope more
BUT
on average women earned 40% less than men and higher administrative posts were mostly held by men.
Divorce
Divorce rate remained high
- 37% in Moscow in 1937
Marriage
More people were getting married - 1937= 91% men 82% women married in their thirties
Abortions
Over 150,000 abortions for every 57,000 live births.
THUS
They years 1928-1940 saw a falling population growth
