WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

Great suffering as well as great achievement

Reinforcement of traditional gender differences + creation of new ones

Emphasis on the “feminine”

Reinforcement of patriarchy with Stalin as great “father”

EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

Industrialization

Women recruited into workforce in large numbers

But women’s labor segregated & undervalued

Party abandoned efforts to emancipate women

But some women given opportunities for advancement

EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION

Collectivization

Completely disrupted of traditional peasant life

Most peasant women opposed collectivization

Some women gained opportunities for advancement

But vast majority of peasant women suffered deprivation & hardship, arduous labor

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION

The “Double Burden”

Women responsible for all household work

Often prevented career advancement

Party promoted women’s work outside home

But also insisted roles at home were equally important

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION

Women and the Family

Increasing conservatism in matters of sex, women & family

Promotion of motherhood & reproduction

Abortion made illegal, divorce difficult

State did not provide enough social services

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

EFFECTS OF THE STALIN REVOLUTION

The “New Soviet Woman”

Women = models of upright citizenship & clean living

Supportive to husbands

Housework now took on positive dimension

Loyalty & devotion to state

Domestic virtues celebrated

“We serve the people!”

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

WOMEN DURING WORLD WAR II

Most women suffered terrible privations & loss

Millions went to work in war industries

Kept nation fed

Suffered atrocities at hands of Germans

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

WOMEN DURING WORLD WAR II

Hundreds of thousands entered fighting

Became partisans

Joined underground resistance 800,000 in armed forces

• Served as medical & auxiliary personnel

• Many also served in combat

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

WOMEN DURING WORLD WAR II

Female image used as powerful propaganda tool

“Motherland”

Women presented in supportive roles

Men were to defend women

The Motherland Calls You!

You’ve returned life to us!

WOMEN DURING THE STALIN ERA

POST-WAR WOMANHOOD

Old gender distinctions restored & institutionalized

New family code of 1944

Cult of Motherhood reached new heights

Emphasis on domesticity intensified

Women’s contribution to war effort downplayed, even disparaged