women and

family
 Under Lenin
Communism as an ideology entails equality, irrespective of gender
Key to uplifting women was economic independence
Reforms like free contraceptive advice and the legalisation and availability of free abortion
in 1920 were introduced to improve rights of women
In early 1920s, equal education was provided towards women and men
Marriage laws were changed to make it brief and civil ceremonies; obtaining a divorce was
also made easier
Left-feminist Bolshevik leaders, like Alexandra Kollontai, were the frontrunners in
advocating for equality who founded the Zhenotdel
Women go into
cooperatives
Under Stalin (1920s)
In 1926, a brand new Family Code reinforced earlier rights and introduced newer
ones
In muslim regions, polygamy was banned and minimum age of marriage was
raised to 16
Hujum or Khudzhum was a mass political activity organised by the Communists,
which began on 8th March, 1927 (Women’s Day) to get rid of gender inequality.
In the late 1920s, there was a significant increase in women's participation in the
workforce
Introduced policies aimed at facilitating women's participation in the workforce
while also providing support for mothers, such as maternity leave and childcare
facilities.
There were also efforts to promote women's education and literacy.
Introduced legal reforms granting women greater rights, including the right to
divorce, access to birth control, and equal pay for equal work.
Women were deliberately encouraged to play their part in Soviet Russia’s
economic development. Hence, women were allowed to be employed in all
industries and had similar, if not identical, rights to men.
Women learning to read in a state run Women going to work in a collective farm,
literacy class in the 1930s their babies in a crèche.
 The Great Retreat
Due to radical policies like abortions and postcard divorces weakened the family
Millions of children never known a parental family
Upheavals caused by collectivisation, with millions of families uprooted, and the ‘quicksand
society’ created by rapid industrialisation, with thousands of workers constantly moving,
had added to the growing problem of social instability.
There was a major concern over increasing juvenile crimes and more importantly, the falling
birth rate.
Soviet society needed some anchors to intrinsically strengthen itself, hence leading to pro-
family, pro-discipline, and anti abortion policies. This change in attitude is termed as the
Great Retreat.
 Under Stalin (1930s)
Zhenotdel was closed by the government in 1930, claiming they had solved the inequality.
There was a shift towards promoting traditional family values and encouraging women to
prioritise their roles as wives and mothers.
There was a decline in the percentage of women in the industrial workforce and shift
towards more conservative roles in education too.
The state became simultaneously more authoritarian and more patriarchal. In 1936, abortion
was criminalised and divorce laws were tightened.
Laws were passed against prostitution and homosexuality, and having illegitimate children
was stigmatised.
Women were encouraged to become mothers, and received special premiums for large
families.
The policies of forced collectivisation in rural areas resulted in many men leaving for better
jobs in towns, meaning it was often down to women.
‘National meeting of wives’ in 1936
Despite this, women of all ages continued to work, although there were fewer than men.
Mother’s
duty to
her
children
 New Soviet Woman
The concept of “New Soviet Woman” contained two major elements: productivity and
reproductivity.
Productivity specifically refers to industrial productivity including efficiency of manufacture
industries, production of heavy metal, and more importantly, assembly of military weapons.
In other words, Soviet women were greatly encouraged to get actively involved at
workplaces like factories
Reproductivity at home is emphasised. In order to be a new Soviet woman, one has to bear
the duty as a mother and demonstrate the virtues of being a mother by raising multiple
children up to be the hope of the country’s future.
Can be argued that Stalin did not intend to destroy feminism; instead, he was simply using
the notion of the “New Soviet Woman” as a tool to accomplish his greater goals.
He knew how urgent the nation needed industrialization and a higher birth rate when a war
was on the brink
 Impact
Birth rate rose from 25 per 1000 in 1935 to almost 31 per 1000 in 1940.
Doctors were prosecuted for performing abortions and the women who
had them were imprisoned.
Divorce decreased in Leningrad, but along with marriage, and by 1939 the
marriage/divorce ratio was not much better than in 1934 (3.5 marriages
for every divorce)
Women bore most of the brunt of these issues, for instance due to the high
rates of desertion by husbands, many women ended up as the sole
provider for the family.
However, the family was resilient and the state’s change of attitude to the
family was positively received.
 Bibliography
Schuster, A. (1971). Women’s Role in the Soviet Union:
Ideology and Reality. The Russian Review, 30(3), 260–
267.
Petrone, K. (2010). Between Exploitation and
Empowerment: Soviet Women Negotiate Stalinism.
Mcevoy, J. (2019), Changes to the Status of Women in the
USSR
Whitehead, R. (2021), Stalin’s views towards Women
Adler, C. Women under Stalin - A New Womanhood
Corin,C. (2011), Russia under Tsarism and Communism
1881-1953
Thank you