Organizing Women Before and After The Fall: Women's Politics in The Soviet Union and Post-Soviet Russia

OrganizingWomenbeforeand after
theFall: Women'sPoliticsin theSoviet

Unionand Post-SovietRussia
Linda Racioppi and Katherine
O'Sullivan See
We wantto crosstheborderof isolation;we wantto act

and be togetherbut we stillhave not understoodour-
selvesand sometimesmove in verydifferentdirections.
(OL'GA BESOLOVA)
For women here,it is veryimportantto have theirown

voice, to speak independently. To speak not froma po-
sitionof class, or one halfof the populationwhichhas
been rescuedby somebodyelse, but to set up theirown
agenda.... This accenton independenceis verycrucial
for understandingRussian feminism.... Our women
have to understandafteryearsof forcedsolidarity, not
thatonlyreal solidarityof womencould
real solidarity,
help them,could changetheirpositionin society.
(ANASTASIAPOSADSKAYA)1
We would like to thankMichiganStateUniversity's Officeof InternationalStudiesand

Programsand JamesMadison College and theInternational Researchand Exchanges
Board (IREX) fortheirgeneroussupportof our research.We also appreciatesuggestions
and reactionsto earlierversionsof thisarticlebyJuliaGrant,B. WellingHall, Nadezhda
Svhedova,KennethWaltzer,and the anonymousreviewersof Signs.And we are grateful
to AndrewJ. Armstrong and Rita Ordiwayfortheirassistancein thepreparationof the
manuscript.All interviews wereconductedby us; theywerein eitherEnglishor Russian.
InterviewswithElena Ershova,AnastasiaPosadskaya,Nadezhda Shvedova,and Vera
Soboleva wereconductedin English.We acknowledgewithgratitudethetranslating of
Galina Negrustrueva, Ol'ga Zatzephina,and Nadezhda Shvedova,who assistedwith
translationduringRussian languageinterviews. Interviewsand theirtranslationswerere-
corded,withadditionaltranslationby Linda Racioppi.
1 Mos-
Ol'ga Besolova, Zhensovet,CentralAerohydrodynamics Institute,interview,
cow, July1991; and Anastasia Posadskaya,CenterforGenderStudies,interview, Mos-
cow, March 1992.
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? 1995 byThe University
818 SIGNS Summer 1995
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ORGANIZING RUSSIAN WOMEN Racioppi and See
T WWO CONCLUSIONS EMERGE fromthe most recent

scholarshipon women in theformerSovietUnion and Eastern
Europe: thatthe transition fromcommunismhas had numer-
ous negativepoliticaland economic impactson women, and
that this transitionhas also opened up opportunitiesfor independent
women's organizationsto challenge the centralized,state-sponsored
women's organizationsand to forgea new feministpolitics (see, e.g.,
Konstantinova1992; Lipovskaia 1992; Rimashevskaia 1992). In this
article,we build on these insightsand seek to show how women have
organizedin responseto thesedilemmas.We arguethatalthoughappre-
ciationof thehistoricaldevelopmentofthestate'spoliciestowardwomen
and of the severesocioeconomicgenderconsequencesof the transition
fromcommunismis essentialto understanding contemporarywomen's
politics in Russia, any analysis that assumes persistentdichotomies
betweenindependentand formerlystate-sponsoredwomen's organiza-
tions or thatemphasizesonly resourceconstraintsforwomen'smobili-
zationmissesthepurposiveand dynamiccharacterof women'spoliticsin
Russia.
Our analysisis based on bibliographicresearchand information col-
lectedduringfourresearchtripsto the SovietUnion and to post-Soviet
Russia in whichwe interviewed leadingactivistsin traditionaland emerg-
ing women's groups. These groups focus on women's issues, broadly
defined,at the nationaland Moscow regionallevels.2In each interview,
we focusedon exploringtheactivists'understandings and interpretations
of women'sstatusbeforeand duringthetransition;thereasonsfortheir
own activismand its forms;theirperspectiveson otherwomen'sorgani-
zations; and the potentialfor buildinga unifiedwomen's movement.
What we learnedin those interviewsformsthe heartof thisarticle,but
beforewe move to the interviewmaterialitself,we will brieflysurvey
the historicallegacy of the Soviet period for women's rightsand wo-
men'sactivism.Then we will examinethepresentpoliticaland economic
2 we interviewed
Specifically, activists
in theSovietWomen's Committee/Union of
WomenofRussia,CenterforGenderStudiesat theInstitute fortheSocioeconomic
StudyofPopulation oftheRussianAcademy ofSciences,
at theInstitute
ofPhilosophy
oftheAcademy ofSciences,
andtheGenderStudiesWorkshop at theForeignPolicyAs-
sociation(headedbyAlexanderBessmertnykh).Wealso interviewedactivists
fromGAIA
Women'sCenter,fromWomen'sCreativityInitiative,the CenterforWomen'sInitiatives,
the Associationof Small Towns, and the TroitskWomen'sAssociation;the Institutefor
InternationalEntrepreneurialDevelopment;the Congressof SovietWomen; and Family
House, a mother'sclub associated withthe Slavic Association.We metand interviewed
women membersof parliament(both beforeand afterthe fall) as well as deputieson
severalcommitteesrelatedto women; a memberof the HigherEconomic Committeeof
the SupremeSoviet;membersof local Soviets;the editorand staffof Sudarushka,a
newspaperforwomen; as well as a numberof successfulbusinesswomenand small busi-
nesswomen'sgroup members.
Summer 1995 SIGNS 819

Racioppi and See ORGANIZING RUSSIAN WOMEN
context,discuss some of the women's organizationswe have been fol-

lowing,and analyze the main factorsinfluencingthe developmentof a
unifiedwomen'smovementin Russia.
The historical context and legacy

The BolshevikRevolutionof 1917 broughtwithitthegreatpromiseof
women's equality in Russia: Marxism-Leninism held that as socialism
was established,women would achieve equalitywith men. Important
Bolshevikfeminist activistslikeInessa Armandand AlexandraKollontai
challenged the new regimeto hold fast to that egalitariangoal. As a
result,the state examined a range of issues importantto women and
implemented policiesdesignedto improvethepositionof womenin Rus-
sian society.3Considerationof thoseissues,however,was alwaysunder-
takenwithinparametersdefinedbytheCommunistParty.In partbecause
thepartyfacedacute difficulties in consolidatingitsruleand establishing
socialism,women's interestswere sacrificedto what was definedas the
greatergood. In fact,fromtherevolutionforward,women'sequalitywas
never an end in and of itself,women's political participationnever a
primarygoal.4 As the Soviet state became increasingly centralizedand
repressiveunderStalin,it placed sharperlimitationson women (and on
men),cut offtherelatively wide-ranging discussionabout women'srights
and equalitythatcharacterizedtheearly1920s, and designedand imple-
mentedpoliciesto ensurethatwomen servedthe causes of nationalpo-
liticalconsolidation,economicconstruction,and, later,the war effort.
Even withthepost-Stalinist thaw in Sovietsocietyand policiesin impor-
tant areas affectingwomen, no one in the governmentfundamentally
questionedthe state'srightto establishprioritiesand to definewomen's
role in them.Despite the openingup of the politicalsystemunderGor-
bachev and in the post-Sovietperiod,the legacyof the state'smanipula-
tion of women forits own purposescontinuedto shape the discussion
about women'srightsand positionin Russian societyand statepolicies
affecting women,especiallyin labor, family,and reproduction.
Debates
The leadersof the 1917 revolutionmayhave takentheirphilosophical
bearingsfromMarx and Engels,and Lenin may have expressedinterest
in theplightof women'sdomesticwork,butconcernsabout womenand
3 See Clements1991 and Farnsworth1980 fordiscussionof Kollontaiand other
feminists.
4 We would like to acknowledgethe influenceof Mary Buckleyon our own analysis
of Soviethistory.Her importantbook Womenand Ideology in the Soviet Union (1989)
has set a standardforsubsequentscholarship.

the familywere not centralissues to most Bolsheviks.The challengeof

liberalismto Russian patriarchalinstitutionsand attitudes,however,
forcedrevolutionariesto pay closer attentionto the incorporationof
womenintothestate(Lapidus 1978). The well-knownand livelydebate
about the ways in which to increase women's political participation,
and achievesexual
improvetheirstatusvis-a-vistraditionalinstitutions,
equalitycame to be known as the "woman question." With the estab-
lishmentof the zhenotdel' (women's department)in the Communist
Party,Bolshevikactivistshoped thatwomen's interestswould be repre-
sentedand otherwomen inspiredto take up the cause of the new com-
muniststate (see Stites1991 for a discussionof the zhenotdel'). As a
consequence,a seriesof laws on marriage,abortion,and propertylifted
restrictionson women'srights.
With the accession to power of JosefStalin, the discussionshifted
dramaticallyand feministviews were silencedentirely.Stalineliminated
the zhenotdel'in 1930, declaringthe woman question "solved."5 As a
replacementforthezhenotdel',zhensektory(women'ssections)were es-
tablishedin the agitationand propaganda departmentsof the Commu-
nistParty.The missionof theseshort-livedorganizationswas simplyto
rededicatewomen to Stalin'seconomicprogram(Clements1991, 268-
70). Indeed,theonlywomen'sorganizationthatsurvivedfromtheStalin
period was the Soviet Women's Committee(successorto Stalin'sAnti-
Fascist Committee),whose dutyit was to combat internationalfascism
and to persuadetheworldthatcommunismhad emancipatedwomen in
the SovietUnion.6
Women'spositionin Sovietsocietywas reexamined,in limitedfashion,
in theKhrushchevera, promptedbytherecognitionthatwomenhad not
assumed positionsof politicaland economic leadershipat a level com-
parable to men. In response,the Khrushchevregimecreatedthe zhens-
ovety(women'scouncils);thegoals of thesecouncilswere not generated
bytheirmembers,however,but bythepartyor government organization
withwhichtheywere associated.7Furthermore, therewas no attemptto
overturntheStalinistassertionthatthewoman questionhad been solved.
Indeed, it was not untilthe Brezhnevera thatthe woman questionwas
reopened,allowingthe stateto morecandidlyattackthe prob-
officially
lemsof a falteringeconomythatdemandedwomen'sparticipationin the
labor forceand thedemographicpredicamentofdecreasingRussianbirth
5 See
Buckley1989 foran excellentdiscussionof the "solving"of the woman ques-
tion by Stalin.
6
An internationalfocusdeterminedthe organization'sagenda until1987.
7
Zhensovetywere oftenestablishedat largeworkplaces;theywere supposed to as-
sistwomen in harmonizinghome and work lifein orderto make advancementat work
more likely.

rates(see Buckley1989). Althoughreopened,thewoman questionagain

was beingaddressedin termsdictatedby the policyneeds of the state.
Policies
In the earlyyearsof the revolution,Bolshevikpolicymakershad op-
eratedunderthe assumptionthatsocialisteconomicand politicaltrans-
formationwould produce women's emancipation,not that such trans-
formationswould reinforcewomen's secondarystatus.The Bolshevik
regimepassed importantlaws strikingat some traditionalpatriarchal
institutionsand increasingwomen'srightsbothin thepublicand private
spheres.Divorcescould be attainedwithouttheconsentof bothparties,
forexample;marriagewas made a civilratherthana religiousinstitution,
and legislationwas passed to requirethatmarriagebe freelyenteredinto
by bothparties.Furthermore, womenwere no longerrequiredto follow
theirspouses to a new residenceor to take theirsurnames.It became
one's spouse'spropertyrights,and daughtersweregiven
illegalto restrict
inheritancerightsequal to sons. Finally,in responseto the problemof
back-alleyabortions,an abortionbill was passed in 1920, makingfree
abortionsavailable at Soviethospitals.Thereweresome suggestions even
in the 1920s, however,that women's rightswould be sacrificedto the
needs of the state.As ElizabethWatersputs it:
For all that women's rightswere part of the Bolshevikprogram,

theywere seen as a secondarymatter,subordinateto the political
and economic strugglesof the (male) workingclass. Bolshevik
Marxismviewedchangefirstand foremostin termsof production:
the workerand the factorytook the centerof the revolutionary
stage.Bythesametokendomesticlifewas on theperiphery: ifhome
and familywere transformed as a by-productof revolution,well
and good; ifnot,therewas no pointin a special allocationof time
and energyto theirreform,as otherissues took priority.(Waters
1991, 232)
The Leniniststate'simageof woman as workerwas soon modifiedby

the Stalinistregimeto createa new "superwoman"imagethatcombined
woman as workerwithwoman as mother.Because Stalinneededwomen
to supportthe buildingof the centralizedeconomy,heavyindustrializa-
tion,and collectivizationand to minimizethe social disruptionthatSta-
lin's policies wrought,the regimedecided to cultivateprerevolutionary
familyvalues and the traditionalnuclear family."Dead-beat" fathers
were forcedto provide supportfor theirchildrenthroughtough new
child supportlegislation.Couples were encouragedto staytogetherby

stateregulationsthatmade divorcesmore difficult to acquire,and abor-

tionwas once again made illegalin an effortto ensurea risingbirthrate.
The regimedeclaredthatin the SovietUnion womenwere equal to men
and assumed that women in the socialiststate would providethe state
withever-increasing productivityat work and reproductivity at home.8
thaw,therewas reinstatement
In the post-Stalinist of some rightsre-
scindedunderStalin:forexample,abortionwas once again legalizedand
divorcesmade easier to obtain. In addition,the state made available a
widerrangeof social supportservicesto assistwomenin balancingtheir
arduous work and home lives.The systemof day-carecentersand sum-
mercamps was expanded,and subsidiesweremade available to mothers
forsupportof theirfamilies.9The prevailingimagecontinuedto be that
of the superwoman,and the mythof women's equalitywas faithfully
promotedby the state.
The production/reproduction dilemma

From Stalin'stime,the criticalissue forthe statewas how to sustain
and, ifpossible,to increasewomen'sreproductive capacitieswhilemain-
tainingtheirpresencein the workforce.Some earlyBolsheviks,like Ar-
mand and Kollontai,were committedto improvingwomen'spositionin
thelabor forceas a meansof attainingsexual equality,buttherewereno
Armandsor KollontaisunderStalin;economicproductivity and thecon-
structionof the centrallyplanned economybecame the state'sprimary
consideration.
It was not untilthe Brezhnevera that the production/reproduction
dilemmawas addressedoutrightin the face of increasingeconomic de-
terioration.As economicand demographicpressuresmountedin thelate
1970s and early 1980s, the image of woman as worker-mother (super-
woman) became moreapparent.Birthrates in theRussian and European
parts of the Soviet Union dipped to among the lowest in all Europe;
Russia was facinga labor shortageand was havingdifficulty attracting
workersfromhigh-birthrate areas (i.e., SovietCentralAsia). At thesame
time,policymakers werefacedwitha stagnating economyin whichwomen
made up over half the workforce.As the centrallyplanned economy
disintegratedin the late 1980s and early 1990s and transitionfrom
statesocialism,howeverlimited,caused redundanciesand displacement
8
However,the regimehad difficulty
increasingthe birthratesubstantiallyeven in the
Stalinyears,as women refused"to returnto the childbearing-practices
of the patriarchal
peasant family"(Goldman 1991, 266).
9
Clements,however,notes thatdespitethe state'spromisesto expend more fundson
social supportservicesforwomen and theirfamilies,resourceswere not forthcoming
and insteadwere directedat heavyindustryand defense(1991, 276).

in thelabor market,theproduction/reproduction
dilemmageneratedstill
a new responsefromthe regime.To quote Mikhail Gorbachev:
Over the years . . . we failedto pay attentionto women'sspecific

rightsand needsarisingfromtheirroleas motherand home-maker,
and theirindispensableeducational functionas regardschildren.
Engaged in scientificresearch,workingon constructionsites,in
productionand in the services,and involvedin creativeactivities,
women no longerhave enoughtimeto performtheireverydaydu-
ties at home-housework, the upbringingof childrenand the cre-
ation of a good familyatmosphere.We have discoveredthatmany
of our problems-in children'sand youngpeople'sbehavior,in our
morals, culture and in production-are partiallycaused by the
weakeningof familyties and slack attitudeto familyresponsibili-
ties. This is a paradoxical resultof our sincereand politicallyjus-
tifieddesireto make womenequal withmenin everything. Now, in
the course of perestroika,we have begun to overcomethisshort-
coming. That is why we are now holdingheated debates in the
press, in public organizations,at work and at home, about the
questionof what we should do to make it possible forwomen to
returnto theirpurelywomanlymission.(Gorbachev1987, 103)
In the Gorbachevera and in post-SovietRussia, therefore,

the image of
woman as worker-mother has been steadilyreplaced by an image of
woman as wife,mother,and homemaker.That is, as the stateno longer
requiresherlabor in theeconomy,theRussianwoman is beingasked to
returnto thehome to her"traditional"dutiesand positionin thefamily.
The contemporary social, economic, and political context for

women
I startedworkingat the factoryin 1975 and I've givenit, or to be

more precise,I've giventhe foundryshop, my whole lifeand my
health.I fellin love thereand got married.My husbandwent to
school and worked.No matterhow we tried,we couldn'tget our
own place to live. We had a toughtimeand he left.He foundan
easier life.We were leftalone. We've been livingin a dormitory
since 1984. There are ten familieson our floor,and each of them
has two kids. Imaginethe hell we have in the kitchen,in the bath-
room, in the laundryroom? Lord, how tiredI am of living!I earn
250 rublesand thechildsupportpaymentsare paltry.My olderson
is fourteen years old already .... Believe me, I don't want to live

anymore.But I feelsorryformychildren-who needs them?!Our

lifeis humiliating,
poor and hungry.10
The arduous lifeof women in the formerSovietUnion has been well

documented:in a societywithan almost90 percentfemalelabor partici-
pation rate, women also do almost all the housework,child care, and
familywork (such as shopping)withoutmuch labor-savingtechnology.
Since the 1980s, althoughwomen constitutemore than half the Soviet
labor force(Zhenshchinyv. SSSR 1990, 3), theytend to be located in
poorlypaid sectorsof thelabor market(Rimashevskaia1991, 41) and in
the lower ranks of the workplace hierarchy.1'In the public arenas of
power (despite quota systemrepresentation), they also were virtually
invisiblein positionsof politicalpower.Indeed,women held onlyabout
7 percentof the importantsecretarypositionsin the partyat even the
regionaland districtlevel (Strukova1990, 15). The so-called woman's
questionwas rarelyseriouslyaddressedand certainlyneverwas answered
withinthepoliticalsystem(see Buckley1989). In theimportantsphereof
reproduction,as decentcontraceptivessuch as birthcontrolpills, dia-
phragms,and condoms thatdo not tear were (and are) widelyunavail-
able, abortion is reportedas the primarymethod of familyplanning.
Moreover,a powerfulpronatalismand an ideological emphasison es-
sentialismin sex/gender roleshave beenevidentin muchofthediscussion
ofthewoman question(see Atkinson,Dallin, and Lapidus 1977; Lapidus
1978; Holland 1985).
Despite the persistentoccupational segregationand economic strati-
ficationalong genderlines,theSovietstatedid providebenefits to women
workersthatsupportedtheirlabor forceparticipation:factoriesreceived
subsidiesfromthe stateto supportday care, and some enterprisespro-
vided benefits(e.g., shoppingservicesforcertaingoods) thatofteneased
thework of consumingand managinga household.Governmentallow-
ances were grantedto themotherof thefamily.UnderGorbachev,how-
ever,statesubsidiesforsuch requiredbenefitswere cut back in the de-
clining economic situation,and strapped enterprisesbegan to view
women as less desirableworkers.Despite laws against sexual discrimi-
nation,enterprises foundwaysto dismisswomenworkers.In theprocess
of privatization,stateenterpriseshave oftenbeen offeredan opportunity
to startup again as iftheywerenew businesses,and, to reducetheirown
costs,manyhave closed down sectorsthatare disproportionately women
10
CurrentDigest of the SovietPress 43, no. 43 (1991): 22.
1 For example,in the fieldof education,wherealmost 75 percentof the teachersare
women,women make up less than40 percentof directorsof middleschools, and among
thosewithhigherand middlespecialisttraining,women make up only about 7 percent
of leadingpositions(Strukova1990, 15).

or have opened again witha new all-malelabor force.Defenseindustries

thathave beendownsizingin theprocessofconversionhave firedwomen
in disproportionatenumbers.And otherstateenterpriseshave reduced
theirstaffby firingwomen forwhom theycould not find"appropriate
work."12In 1992, economistJudithShapiroestimatedthatthe percent-
age of womenunemployeddue to economicrestructuring eventuallywill
be double that of men (1992, 33). Accordingto officialstatistics,as of
January1993 women constituted71.9 percentof the unemployed.Of
thatnumber,54.9 percenthad childrenundersixteenyearsof age (Rossi-
iskaia Federatsia 1993, 34). Substantialnumbersof these women are
well-educatedand experiencedengineersand techniciansin theirlate
thirtiesand forties.Unfortunately forthem,job advertisements in many
of Moscow's newspapersrevealthatthepositionsopeningforwomenin
new firmsare regularlyand heavilytargetedat comelyyoungerwomen,
able to "wear a mini-skirt."
Despite the need to amelioratethe economicplightof women in the
transition,the governmenthas tended to centerits attentionnot on
women as independent,politicallysignificant wage earnersbut as tradi-
tional wives, mothers,and supportersof the state. This is reflectedin
BorisYel'tsin'scommentsmade on theeve of thenationalwomen'sholi-
day in Russia (March 8) in 1991: "I considerthatour womendeservethe
highestaccolades. I should like,personally,on my own behalf,and on
behalfof the SupremeSoviet,to thankall of you, dear women,foryour
greatendurance,foryourtrustand support,and foryourwork,forthe
factthatyou do not lose youroptimismand remainfeminineand beau-
tiful."13Withinthe Russian SupremeSoviet and the new parliament,
littleattentionhas been paid to women in the economy;the more per-
sistentrefrainhas been about the "crisis of the Russian family"-the
birthratenow stands lower than at any timesince WorldWar II, child
mortalityrateshave increased,and politicianshave returnedto a pow-
erfulpronatal ideology.Initial draftsof the new Russian constitution
excluded women except forfamily-basedpolicies. Our own interviews
with membersof the SupremeSoviet'sJointCommitteeon Women's
Affairsand Protectionof the Family,Mother, and Child indicateda
centralconcern with the demographiccrisis and a readinessto view
increasingcrimeand alcoholismas proofof a crisisof theRussianfamily
requiringwomen's (and not men's) attention.14 Interviewswithpromi-
nentwomen deputiesin the SupremeSovietsuggestthattherefrainthat
women should returnto familycare and leave state businessto men
12
CurrentDigest of SovietPress44, no. 11 (1992).
ForeignBroadcastInformationService-Soviet-91-046(March 8, 1991), 70.
13
14
Interviewwithseveralmembersof theJointCommitteeon Women'sAffairsand
Protectionof the Family,Mother,and Child, Moscow, March 1992.

echoes throughoutthe parliament.15 The implicationsof such discrimi-

nationagainstwomenin thelabor marketand ofefforts to returnwomen
to home labor are manifold.They reduce not only women's economic
resourcesand labor force participationbut also their access to such
opportunitiesas purchasingshares in co-ops undergoingprivatization.
Discrimination,thus,supportsa tendencytoward male monopolization
of the privatizationprocess.
Moreover,women'sparticipationin nationalgovernment has declined
precipitously."The nominationand electionof Deputies to the new par-
liamentsat all levels has proved catastrophicforwomen-their repre-
sentationhas sharplydeclined.... Preliminarydata leave one dumb-
founded:One republicparliamenthas one woman Deputy,anotherhas
three,a thirdhas six, and so on."16 Thus, priorto the December 1993
elections,only about 5.4 percentof the deputiesin the Russian parlia-
ment were women-comparable to the percentagesin many Western
democracies,but a large drop fromthe previousSovietquota system.
Still,perestroikaand glasnostdid pave the way fora broader-based
dialogue about women and women'sequalityin Sovietand Russian so-
ciety.The new democraticefforts made possiblea women'sactivismthat
is directednot by the partyor the statebut by women themselves.Shut
out of the protectedquota system,women have become increasingly
aware of theirtrulymarginalpoliticalstatusand have respondedto it.
Theirsuccessis uncertain.In December1993 electionswere held forthe
new parliament.In the Federal Council, women capturedonly nine of
178 seats (5 percent).Sixtywomen were electedto the 440-seat State
Duma (13.6 percent).Twenty-oneof thewomen in the Duma were can-
didates of the political block Women of Russia organizedby Alevtina
Fedulova, head of the Union of Women of Russia, and EkaterinaLa-
khova, PresidentYel'tsin'sadvisor on children,family,and women's is-
sues. Over 8 percentof theelectoratevotedforthisblock. Fedulova was
subsequentlynamed a deputy speaker of the State Duma (Shvedova
1994, 7). Sustainingand buildingupon and beyondthiselectoralsuccess,
however,requiresthe developmentand survivalof women's organiza-
tions,communicationand organizationalnetworks,and sharedinterpre-
tationsof the problemsthatwomen face and of methodsforaddressing
these.
As the followingsections of this articlewill demonstrate,there is
remarkableconsensusamong thewomen activistswe interviewedabout
the statusof women duringthisdifficult transition,about the problems
theyface,and about the need foraction at the local and nationallevels.
15InterviewswithValentina
Lenkova, Moscow, December 1992, and withMaria
Salliere,Moscow, July1993.
16
CurrentDigest of the Soviet Press 43, no. 43 (1991): 23.

The legacy of state controlover interpretations of women'sissues and

overorganizations,however,makesmostwomen'sorganizationswaryof
centralizedaction and suspicious of each other and theirarticulated
"feminisms."
At thisjuncturein thedevelopmentof a Russianwomen'smovement,
it is premature,fora numberof reasons,to say muchconclusiveabout
feminismas a set of ideas or of competingunderstandings of women's
natureand subordination.First,fewgroupsdedicatethemselvesprima-
rilyto thedevelopmentof feminist theory.As important, theoryis emerg-
ing fromthe practicesof activism,and this is a time for us to listen
attentively to theactivitiesin whichwomenare engagedand to hearthese
as a discourseabout women'ssubordination.
There are women in Russia who are consciouslyand explicitlybuild-
ing feministtheory,both contributingRussian women's voices to the
conversationsin the West and developinga feminism thatwill interpret
the subordinationof womenin Russia. These groupsof womenare very
small;theytendto be locatedin institutes oftheAcademyofSciencesand
in women'sstudiesgroupsmade up of artists,essayists,journalists,aca-
demics,and professionalwomenwho are readingand discussingWestern
politicalthought,feminist theory,Russian culturaltheory,and literature
and literaryanalysis.For example,a tinygroupofwomenat theInstitute
of Philosophyis exploringEuropeanpostmodernism and itsrelevanceto
post-SovietRussian women. Some believethat the questionsraised by
postmodernists about humannatureand history, culture,and language
are key to understandingwomen's subordination.The women at the
Centerfor Gender Studiesin Moscow, the firstsuch centerin Russia,
exemplifyas well thiskind of intellectualactivity:buildinga libraryof
Westernfeminist thought,activelyparticipating in internationalfeminist
meetings,and writingabout women'ssituation.
But these theoristsengage in theseexplorationsin a veryparticular
context.As Jo Anna Isaak points out, the theoreticalformulationsof
Westernthoughthave been untilrecentlyunavailableto Sovietintellec-
tuals.The suppressionof psychoanalysis and othertheoreticaltraditions
withwhichWesternfeminists have developedtheirtheories"has resulted
in a contextin whichRussianintellectuals have beenworkingwithoutan
account of the culturalconstructionof gender.Withoutthisintellectual
historyand withouta theoryof the constructionof subjectivity, discus-
sions of gendertake place withinthecircularity of essentialistbiological
paradigmsor collapse into what Irina Sandomirskaiacalls the sexual
'indifference' of totalitarianandrogyny"(1992, 10). In thiscontext,the
powerfulrhetoricof essentialismin Russian political discourseabout
women constitutesan enormoustheoreticaland politicalchallengefor
feminists. Natalia Rimashevskaia,the officialfounderof the Centerfor

GenderStudies,arguesthattheverytermgenderreflects the supposition

that women's identitiesare sociallyconstructed,that "patriarchalrela-
tionsshould be replacedby egalitarianones, based on a mutualcomple-
mentarity of the sexes,whichcan only be realizedin a freechoice envi-
ronment.Thereshould be no a prioriconceptionsof personality"(1991,
121). But thisview is not widelysharedamong Russian academics,and
Rimashevskaianotes that "what criticsdislikemost is the termgender"
(1991, 121). Nor is thisdislikelimitedto activeopponentsof women's
activism.In a reviewof women writingduringthe late 1980s, Barbara
Heldt notesthatmanywomenwritersgivelegitimacy to sexual difference
and invokea feminine that"becomesa mythof regeneration fora society
in flux"(1992, 173). She writesthatmuchofthecurrenttheorizingabout
women "soundsoddlylikeearlyconsciousnessraisingbutwitha beliefin
thefemininemystique. . . thetraditionalRussianviewthatthereactually
is a greatdifference betweenthefemaleprinciple,an instinctforpreserv-
ing life,and men who have no such instinct"(1992, 166).
It is important,therefore,for us to listento theseconversations,to
hear how movementintellectualsgive interpretative shape to women's
position and especiallyto women's subjectivity, how theydo so in a
contextin whichsubjectivity has been suppressedforgenerationsand in
which essentialistviews are encoded in Russian language and cultural
practices.It is hard to make any predictionsabout the directionof such
conversations.Russian women theorizingat this level have enteredin-
ternationaldiscussionson thesituationsof womenin advancedcapitalist
societies.The debate about difference among Westernfeministsdraws
froma long philosophicaltradition,and especiallya liberal tradition,
that is absent in Russia. So it will be importantto listenattentively to
what Russian women bringto thisdebate.
Furthermore, to thinkabout feministideas by lookingat the conver-
sationsamong thesesmall groupsof intellectualsis to missa substantial
componentof theprocessof feminist thinkingin Russia. As some of the
new social movementtheoriesand as manyfeminists have argued,theory
is oftenrooted in social activities.In this article,we adopt Dorothy
Smith'sargumentthatanalysisof ideas should begin"wherethe subject
is actuallylocated... a social worldarisingin and knownin and through
the ongoingactual activitiesof actual people. Here thereis no contrast
betweenthoughtand practice" (1989, 38). We view these activistsas
engaged in what some new social movementtheoristscall cognitive
praxis,the developmentof theoryand ideas fromwithinthemovement.
This view sees social activistsas producersof knowledge."Looking at
social movementsas cognitivepraxismeansseeingknowledgecreationas
a collectiveprocess.It meansthatknowledgeis ... theproductof a series
of social encounters,withinmovements,betweenmovements,and even

more importantlyperhaps, betweenmovementsand theirestablished

opponents"(Eyermanand Jamison1991, 57).
What is ideationallyimportantabout women'sorganizingis thatit is
a powerfulexampleofcognitivepraxisin theearlystagesof social move-
mentdevelopment.Althoughmanyorganizersof Russian women issue
disclaimersabout being feminist, theirprinciplesand activitiesparallel
those of otherswho do identify themselvesas feminist. As thesegroups
engage in more coalitional work, distinctively
Russian feministtheory
will undoubtedlyemerge.We cannot emphasizeenough,however,that
for activistsand organizersabsorbed in the unrelentingdifficulties of
keepingtheirorganizationsgoing,theorizingin a systematic way about
womenbecomesa luxury.In Russia today,pragmaticfeminism abounds,
buildingtoward a set of interpretationsthroughactivism.
A look at some of theleadingmovementorganizationsand activistsin
Russia illustratesboththeemerginginterpretativeconsensuson women's
position and the obstacles to buildinga unifiedmovement.By 1994,
morethanthreehundredwomen'sorganizationshad registered withthe
Russian MinistryofJusticeand manymoreoperatewithoutregistration
(Ershova, Racioppi, and See 1995). Groups focus on women in small
business, mothers of soldiers, women in defense conversion,
consciousness-raising,and psychologicalsupport.Thereare women'sen-
vironmentalgroups,a soup kitchenmovement,women'scenters,family
clubs,communistwomen'sgroups,and nationalistand religiousgroups
of women. It is beyondour scope hereto give a descriptionand assess-
mentof everywomen'sorganizationthatwe have researched;therefore,
we focuson a numberof organizationsthathave been highlyvisibleand
influentialnationallyand on several more local organizations.These
includethe SovietWomen'sCommittee/Union of Womenof Russia; two
zhensovety(local women's councils);theCenterforGenderStudiesat the
InstitutefortheSocioeconomicStudyof PopulationoftheRussianAcad-
emyof Sciences;theGAIA Women'sCenter;and theAssociationof Small
Towns. We believethesesix groupsare illustrativeof therangeand types
of women's activismthatare emerging,the problemsand tensionsthat
women activistsare addressing,and therelationsamongwomen'sorga-
nizationsas theyseek to developthebase fora nationalwomen'smove-
ment.
The organization of activism

Soviet Women'sCommittee/Union of Womenof Russia
Anydiscussionof women'sactivismin Russia mustbe situatedin an
of thehistoricallegacyand contemporary
understanding activitiesof the
formerSovietWomen'sCommittee,now the Union of Women of Russia,

and of thezhensovety(women'scouncils)associatedwithit. As we noted

earlierin this article,the Soviet Women's Committeeis the most long-
livedand politicallypervasivewomen'sorganization;untilperestroika,it
was concernedalmostentirelywithadvocatingpeace as a women'sissue
and propagandizinghow communismhad solved the woman question.
Itstitularheads wereheroinewomenlikeValentinaGrizodubova,a pilot,
and ValentinaTereshkova,a cosmonaut,who were supposedto embody
theSovietofficialmythof theemancipatedwoman. The SovietWomen's
Committeeforgedlinks with internationalwomen's organizations,at-
tendedinternationalforums,and advocated world peace as a women's
issue, but it did not focus on women's issues in the Soviet Union. The
committee'swillingnessto embody Soviet propaganda about women's
emancipationwas evident.Public statementsby Tereshkovaexemplify
thattheSovietWomen'sCommitteesharedtheparty'scontradictory po-
sitionon women: arguingsimultaneouslyforwomen'sequalityin labor
and forher primarysocial functionas mother:"I would emphasizethat
we are givenideal work conditions.... When we began workingin the
servicezone, medicalsciencecheckedour physicalconditionconstantly.
Technicalpersonnelare always tryingto make our jobs easier.Music is
played to lessen the effectsof the noise of our looms. We wear head-
phonesto protectour ears.... Sovietwomendo in factenjoyfullyequal
rights.Female equality is stressedand guaranteed.Motherhood is re-
garded in our countryas women's greatestsocial function.The state
values motherhoodand helps women to raise children."17With per-
estroika,however,the SovietWomen'sCommitteedid beginto turnits
attentiontoward developinga nationalagenda. This was in part due to
expanded politicalopportunitiesand responsibilities and in part due to
the recognitionof the increasingly difficult
positionof women in Soviet
society.The organizationwas awarded seventy-five seats in Gorbachev's
Congressof People's Deputies and became thepredominantvoice in any
discussionof women'sissues.It should be notedthatduringperestroika
one-thirdof theseats in the Congressof People's Deputies werereserved
forthe CommunistPartyand officialorganizations.In 1990, thisgroup
was detached fromthe state and formallyconstitutedas a voluntary
union of women's councils and nongovernmental organizationsunder
the new name of the Union of Women of Russia.
Employing the powerful national and internationalconnections
forgedduringthecommunistera, theWomen'sUnion conductsitswork
with supportfromfoundations,internationalorganizations,and indi-
viduals, as well as throughfundraisingand commercialprojects.Not
17
Comments
byValentina
Tereshkova
quotedin DanmarksRadiovideoproduction,
"SovietWomen,"1986.

surprisingly,thisgrouphas also playeda majorrolein educatingWestern

feminists about theimpactofthetransition fromcommunismon women.
Nearly every international forum on women includesa representative
fromthe Union of Womenof Russia.
Itsmajorworktoday,dramatically different fromitscentralfocusonly
eight years ago, is the supportof women duringthe economic crisis.
AlevtinaFedulova, presidentof the union,positsthatthe economicin-
dependenceof women is crucialto changewhat she has come to believe
is a patriarchalRussia. The unionrunsa numberof projectsdesignedto
assist women in findingemployment,retraining, and survivingunem-
ployment.In interviewswith us in July 1991, March and December
1992, and Juneand July1993, thestaffoftheUnionofWomenof Russia
reinforced again and again thedramaticshiftthathas takenplace in their
prioritiesas the Soviet Women'sCommitteeand its successorheed the
needs of Russian women. Fedulova emphasizedthat "our main social
basis is workingwomen. No, it is not workingwomen any longer;it is
unemployedwomen. There are major problems;thereis a major social
crisis."18In focusingon unemployedwomen, she points out that the
union has developeda clear set of activities:
The firstone is assistance to unemployedwomen.... Once a

monthwe hold a job fairherein our building.We have alreadyhad
fiveof them ... over fivethousandwomen came here. The next
prioritydeals with the retrainingof women .... The third priority
is to give women a sense of social support:personalcounselling,
legal counselling,psychologicalcounsellingand educationalcoun-
selling.We have some otherprojectsconnectedwiththefamilyand
projectsthat go in some otherdirections.The situationmakes us
look fora way out and sometimes,we're just afraidto look ahead.
Now, we have to supportwomen.Theydon'thave anyplace where
theycan go. Not onlyindividualwomen but dozens and hundreds
of women come here for help.... The people need us. On that
account,we are reallyaccumulatingthe pain people bringhere.19
The Union of Womenof Russia also engagesin moreexplicitlypoliti-

cal activity,particularlyat the national level. For example, President
Fedulovaand herstaffhavebeenveryactivein critiquing draftlegislation,
conductingpublic hearings, and submitting concrete proposals to the
parliament.In fact,theseactivitieshave reinforcedtheirbeliefthatRussia
is essentiallypatriarchaland thatwomenmustmobilizeas women.As we
18AlevtinaFedulova, interview,
Moscow, March 1992.
19
Ibid.

pointedout earlier,in theDecember1993 elections,theUnion organized

a political block, Women of Russia, that successfullycollectedthe one
hundredthousandsignaturesnecessaryto runcandidatesforelectionto
the parliament.The block was organized and ran on a social welfare
platform;it also explicitlydeniedbeinga feminist
block.Accordingto its
pamphlet,"Why I Vote forthe PoliticalMovementWomen of Russia,"
the block stood forten points:
1. UnifieddemocraticRussia withcommoneconomicand cultural

space, equal rightsand opportunitiesforeveryone;2. stateguaran-
tees of education and public health care to all who need them
withoutexceptions;3. a state-run systemofpre-schooleducationof
children;availabilityof day-carecenters,and summercamps for
children;4. observanceof human rights,observanceof the consti-
tution,and independentand strongcourtsprovidingfairsolution
of conflicts;5. a strongarmyand stateguaranteesfordecentlifeof
familiesand servicemen;6. powerfullaw enforcement bodies ca-
pable of fighting crimeand guaranteeingsafetyto everycitizen;7.
search for consent and consolidation in all spheres of life that
would lead to civil peace and social stability;8. developmentof
those productivespheresthatrelateto basic needs of everyfamily
and everyperson;9. prohibitionof thepropagandaof violenceand
pornography;and 10. cooperationwith various countriesof the
world,resultingin worthystatusof Russia in theworldcommunity.
Using theirorganizationalinfrastructure and contactswith women all

over thecountry,theymanaged to elect twenty-one women to the State
Duma. (Fedulova was one of theircandidates,won a seat, and was
subsequentlynamed deputyspeakerof the Duma.)
Like most of the otherwomen we interviewed, the staffat the Union
ofWomenof Russia emphasizedthedifficult taskofmobilizingwomen-
that is, of empoweringwomen to take initiative,to see themselvesas
active agents. Like many otherwomen's groups,the union focuseson
buildingwomen'sconfidence;theirsis a "special [kindof] work to show
women thattheythemselvescan do a lot; thattheycan put theirforce
and theirenergyand theirmindsintosomeconcreteundertakings."20 But
giventhe Sovietpast and thenotionthatthestateshouldtake care of all
its citizens,the task of buildingindependenceand agencyrequiresan
opennessto manyformsof mobilizationand activism.Staffat theUnion
of Women of Russia recognizedthe value of the developmentof new
women's organizations(thoughtheyseemed to be somewhatskeptical
20
Vera Soboleva, interview,
Moscow, March 1992.

about the viabilityof manyof themand expresseda strongsense of the

need forunityamong women). As Fedulova put it,
A year ago, an organizationwould crop up here, another one

would crop up there,stillanotherone. And people feltfreeto speak
about it. Some felta woman's place was at home, some felta
woman'splace was onlyat work.Some feltonlywomenworkingin
thesame professionshouldact together. It takestimeforwomento
understandthatif we're speakingabout some highpriorityissues
likeworkplacediscrimination, no one organizationcan addressthis
in isolation.It is necessaryto come togetherand promotecoalitions
and general strategy.As for tactics,everyonecan work on their
own.... Of course we would like to work in closer cooperation
withotherorganizations. . . butwe don'twantto imposeanything
upon them.We understand[oppositionto a unitarymovementbut]
maybeit's not verygood and we have to survivetogether. It's very
sensitive.2'
Fedulova and her staffrecognizedthe historicallegacy of the Soviet

Women'sCommitteeand the suspicionthatit engenderedamong some
emergingactivistgroups.Fedulova also emphasizedthatthecreationof
the Union of Womenof Russia was a clear breakwiththe past and the
SovietWomen'sCommittee.22
Zhensovety
The work of the Union of Womenof Russia, mostnotablyits recent
success in the parliamentaryelections,needs to be viewed,however,in
the contextof its national networkand its abilityto build long-term
coalitions.The zhensovety,firstcreatedunderKhrushchev, were reacti-
vated duringperestroikaand began to generatetheirown agendas. A
partydirectiveplaced the zhensovetyunderthe leadershipof the Soviet
Women'sCommitteeand, as affiliates of an officialorganizationthatwas
able to send representativesto the newlyestablishedCongressof Peo-
ples'sDeputies,theywereable to participatein theselectionof delegates.
Existingzhensovetywere reinvigorated and the networkof zhensovety
was expanded (Browning1992, 99-100).
Thus, the zhensovetywere at once tied to the SovietWomen'sCom-
mittee,whose role was growingin the late 1980s, and were givenin-
creased opportunitiesforactivismand mobilizationin theirown right.
Today, in contrastto the Soviet Women's Committeeand its national
21
Moscow, March 1992.
AlevtinaFedulova, interview,
22
Moscow, July1993.

politicalagenda, thezhensovetyare highlyvariedin theirpolitics.Some

organizationscontinueto have too littlesocial or political impact or
voice; others,like the zhensovetof the CentralAerohydrodynamics In-
led
stitute, by Ol'ga Besolova, have been active
politically and have taken
initiativesindependentof theSovietWomen'sCommittee.Genia Brown-
ing reports,forexample,thattheynominatedalternativecandidatesto
the Congressof People's Deputies in oppositionto the Moscow zhens-
ovety,thoughunsuccessfully; "in anotherexample of independence,a
workplacezhensovetin Dubna defiedthetownzhensovetby hostingthe
firstindependentwomen's forum" (1992, 103). Besolova and other
women active in the CentralAerohydrodynamics zhensovethave made
links with the League of Women Votersin the United States and are
involvedin developingstrategies to educateRussianwomenabout and in
politicalactivism.Besolova's beliefis thatonlythrougheducatingwomen
at thelocal levelabout thebasics of politicalmobilizationwill womenbe
able to have anyeffecton nationalpolitics.This beliefin thecentrality of
politicalactivityas a way to overcomewomen's passivityand sense of
powerlessnessinfusesall of theiractivities,economicand social as well as
political.
In contrast,otherzhensovetyhave foundtheirpoliticalvoice in a focus
on women,family,and community. The women'scommitteein Troitsk,
a centerforscientific work outsideMoscow, illustratesthis.Some of the
women active in thisgroup met throughthe local computercenterfor
children,which is supportedby the TroitskInstituteof Innovationand
ThermonuclearResearch (TRINITY), the main employerforthe town.
As a resultof the computercenteractivities,a seriesof otherprojects
grew out of TRINITY activities,includinga "People to People" diplo-
macyprojectwithfamiliesin northernCalifornia.Exchangesproduceda
project that theirAmericanpartnerscalled the InternationalWomen's
Trust-Women'sPeace Trust.From this,the Troitskwomen'scommittee
was established,and organized an internationalwomen's conference,
beganto addressproblemsof familiesin Troitsk,and soughtto "organize
a women'smovementin the community."23 The TroitskWomen'sCom-
mitteeis now engaged in providingsupportfor invalids,handicapped
children,and childrenin orphanages,relyingheavilyon Americando-
nations.Finally,it has forgeda collaborativerelationshipwitha groupin
Pennsylvaniato developa JuniorAchievement programforyoungsters in
Troitsk.
UnlikeBesolova'sgroup,the Troitskgroup clearlyis a case in which
womenfirstcame together as mothersand thendevelopedan organization
23
Interviewwithmembersof the TroitskWomen'sCommittee,Troitsk,December
1992.

and aimsthataddressedbroaderwomen'sissues.At our meetingwiththe

membersof thegroup,we learnedthatformanyof them,theirprimary
concernremainedwomenin thefamily.As one memberput it,"It wasn't
untilperestroikathatwe wereable to reallylook at and discussproblems
of women, families,birthcontrol,social violencein the family,marital
rape,etc." Theysaw one oftheirbiggesttasksas "convinc[ing]municipal
authoritiesto takedomesticviolenceseriouslyand to do somethingabout
it." The womenof Troitskwerealso veryconcernedabout theimpactof
perestroikaand the transitionto a marketeconomyon women's eco-
nomicpotential.They agreedthat"back to thekitchen"pressureis very
strongin Russia today,but theyalso emphasizedthattwo main factors
would keep women in the workforce:(1) financialconstraintsat home
requiringa woman's salaryand (2) the desireof manywomen,particu-
larlythose who have workedformanyyears,to continueto work as a
Theysaw theproblemof retraining
way to "fulfilltheirpersonality." for
women as a criticalone fortheirgroup to address,because theysaid it
was much more difficultfor women to change careersthan it is for
men-the problembeing"moral and psychological"as well as a matter
of structuralopportunities.They saw women's organizationand mobi-
lization as importantnot only for themselvesas women but for the
revitalizationof theircommunityas well.24
Centerfor GenderStudies
Amongthemostdirectand consistentcriticsof thelegacyand central
role of the SovietWomen'sCommitteehas been the CenterforGender
Studiesat theInstitutefortheSocioeconomicStudyof Populationof the
Russian Academyof Sciencesin Moscow. It was foundedin April1990
as thefirstcenterforwomen'sstudiesand researchin thecountryand, as
a researchcenterof the academy,is among the mostprestigiousorgani-
zations in Russia. The Centerreceivesfundingfromthe stateas well as
frominternationalfeminists and fundingorganizations.
Scholars at the Centerfor Gender Studiesemphasizeda numberof
themesas centralto theirconcernwith Russian women: the traumatic
psychologicaleffectsof women's deteriorating economic situation,the
scholarsfacein presenting
difficulties feminist
interpretations ofthissitu-
ation in public forums,and the need for a trulyindependentwomen's
movement.These issues are deeplyintertwined for the activistsat the
center.They believethatwomen are unable to respondactivelyto their
deteriorating situationbecause of the dramaticshiftsin public interpre-
tationsof theirlivesand in partbecause theyhave neverbeen able to see
themselvesas independentactors.As AnastasiaPosadskaya,directorof
24 Ibid.

theCenter,put it,"Womenwereconstantlytold by our propagandathat

theyare emancipatedand have reached all the highestlevels of soci-
ety... . Now thesewomen are told thattheirreal place or naturalplace
is in the home, that theywill be givena pension froma veryearlyage
because the economydoes not need theirinefficient labor. So at a per-
sonal level,thisis a terriblefrustration;
thisis confusing."25
Hence, the Centerfor Gender Studies sees itselfas playingboth an
interpretative and an activistrole, in which the bases of women's eco-
nomic and political powerlessnessare described,theorized,and chal-
lenged. In part because of its many internationalcontactsand in part
because of itsveryfocus,the CenterforGenderStudieshas been central
in the effortsto conceptualizeand articulatethe distinctivemeaningsof
feminismforRussian women. As Posadskaya states:
I havethoughta lot aboutwhatwould itmeanto be a feminist in this

country,about whomwe can call feminist and whomwe cannot....
One thingis that the woman who identifiesherselfas a feminist
understands thatwomen'sissuesare global and thatwhatis happen-
ingherein thiscountryto womenand to herpersonallyis an expe-
riencewhich has been shared by millionsof women in the whole
world.Theremightbe thingsspecificto us Russians,butthesecond-
arypositionof women,womenas a secondsex ... is whatfeminism
recognizes.... For our country,
I thinkitis especiallyimportant
that
theideal ofwomen'semancipationhas beenused in waysas a facade
for non-emancipation,not only for women, but also non-
emancipationof men.... So forwomenhereit is veryimportantto
have theirown voice, to speak independently.... This accent on
independenceis verycrucialforunderstanding feminism.26
Among its most prominentactivities,the Centerwas responsiblefor

theorganizationof thefirstand second IndependentWomen'sForumsin
Dubna in March 1991 and November1992. As thefirstall-Sovietinde-
pendentwomen'smeeting,Dubna I, "DemocracyMinus Women Is No
Democracy,"was an importanthistoricalevent.Two hundredwomen
fromforty-eight differentwomen'sgroups,associations,and partiesand
twenty-fivelocalitiesin the Soviet Union came togetherforthreedays.
Twenty-five guests fromWesterncountries,includingBritain,Canada,
Germany,Sweden,and the UnitedStates,also attended.
Panels and organizationalmeetingsfocusedon the themes"Women
and Politics," "Women and the Transitionto the Market Economy,"
25
Anastasia Posadskaya,interview,
Moscow, March 1992.
26 Ibid.

"FeministCritiquesof theTotalitarianCulture,"and "Womenand Vio-

lence." Everywoman we interviewed praisedDubna I foritsconception
and highlyevaluated her experienceof coming togetherwith other
women. Dubna I was uniformly seen as an empoweringand politically
significant event.One of its outcomeswas the establishment of a Wom-
en's Network "as a formof cooperationand information betweendif-
ferentwomen'sgroupsand individualwomen."27Ambitiousin its con-
ception,this networkhas not yet fullyrealized these goals. Initiallyit
servedprimarily to providetheplanningcommitteefortheorganization
of Dubna II thatended as a verysmallgroupof women,mostof whom
were at the CenterforGenderStudies.
Dubna II, "From Problemsto Strategy," held in November1992, at-
tractedover fivehundredparticipantsfromRussia and the Independent
Statesand numerousforeignparticipants.As Posadskayaput it,Dubna
II was necessaryespeciallyfor"womenfromremoteareas."28Therewas
substantialforeignfinancialsupportof theconference. Panelsfocusedon
employmentand the economy,politics,and a wide range of social di-
mensionsof women'slives.29As will be evidentin thenextsectionofthis
article,responsesto this Dubna were more mixed, althougha formal
committeewas establishedto organize a thirdforum.Posadskaya be-
lieves that Russia badly needs a coherentwomen'smovementand that
such eventsand organizationare necessaryor therewill be "no orienta-
tion, no possibilityto know what's going on." Women are afraid of
organization,however."Theydon'twant it,but now theyare startingto
and ifall centersare equal and
see it as a resource,ifit is nonhierarchical,
decide thingsequally."30
The Centerfor Gender Studiesand the Union of Women of Russia
have been theorganizationsmostvisibleto Westerners. Apparentdiffer-
ences betweenthemhave produced a dichotomizingview of women's
activismas eitherindependentor state sponsored.Differencesbetween
thetwo leaders,Fedulova,a formermemberoftheCentralCommitteeof
27
CenterforGenderStudies,Occasional Newsletter, no. 2, 1.
28
Anastasia Posadskaya,interview,Moscow, December 1992.
29
Formal sectionsincludedpanels addressing"Womenin Business,""WomenStart-
ing Businesses,""Women'sUnemployment," "Women'sOrganizationin the Workplace,"
"The Impact of MilitaryConversionon Women,""Rural Women,""Policyon Women,"
"Nationalismand EthnicProblems,""Womenand ElectoralCampaigns,""Womenand
Education,""Womenand Violence,""Womenand Health," "Feminismand New Wom-
en's Movements,""Womenand Creativity," "Womenin Religionand Religionfor
Women,""Girls' TransitionfromAdolescenceto Adulthood,""Women'sInternational
Collaboration,""Managementof NonprofitOrganizations,""Issues of Institutionaliza-
tion of the IndependentWomen'sForum,""ComputersforWomen,""Traditionaland
ContemporaryFamilies,"and "Womenin Politics."There were also some classes on
studyinga foreignlanguage,assertivenesstraining,and "Listeningto Your Body."
30
Anastasia Posadskaya,interview,Moscow, December 1992.

the CommunistParty,and Posadskaya,who was nevera partymember,

lend credenceto thisimagery.So too does the factthat the Centerwas
never tied to the CommunistParty.Like all organizationswithinthe
Russian Academyof Sciences,however,the Centeris state sponsored,
and some of its staffhave in the past had ties to the Soviet Women's
Committee.Giventhewide rangeofwomen'sorganizingin Russia, facile
polarizationsof these two organizationsoversimplify tensionsin the
emergingwomen'smovement.
GAIA
A fifthorganizationatteststo theproblemof dichotomizing thewom-
en's movementinto a state-sponsored/independent motif. Although
GAIA Women'sCenteris an independentorganization,it began in 1990
withfundsfroma state-sponsored association,and both of its founders
are well connectedthroughtheiracademicpositionsat theUSA-Canada
Instituteof the Russian Academyof Sciences.The GAIA organization
initiallyconcentratedits resourcesand energieson severalprojectsde-
signedto directlyhelpwomenin theirdailylivesand to empowerwomen
to ease thetransitionfromcommunism.Accordingto one of its leaders,
Nadezhda Shvedova,"GAIA's task is to createa psychologicalspace for
raisingwomen'sconsciousness.... We hope to supportwomenthrough
practicaltasks. So the total task is empowermentand raised conscious-
ness."31 As Elena Ershova, GAIA's founder,points out, "In the U.S.,
consciousness-raising was a middle-and upper-middle-class phenomenon-
they had the timeto discussand ruminate.Our situationis moresevere;
it is necessaryto survive.So it is necessaryto raiseconsciousnessthrough
lookingat ways of self-support, survival."32The activists
self-realization,
who foundedGAIA share an interpretation of Russia as a deeplypatri-
archal and authoritariansociety.Their goal is to empowerwomen to
become autonomous,self-confident, and strongvoices in order to ad-
vance democracy,build a civil society,and dismantlepatriarchalvalues
and practicesin Russia. They believethatempowerment can be realized
only throughwomen's active participationin grassrootseconomic,so-
cial, and politicalprojects.
The earlyprojectsof GAIA have oftencenteredas much on children
and thefamilyas on womenthemselves.For example,GAIA established
an Englishlanguage trainingprogramforchildrenand a children'sart
educationcenter.Some, althoughnot all, of theteacherswerecommitted
to feminist and otheralternativepedagogies.Anotherproject,a women's
sewingcenter,made clothesthatweredonatedor sold at low pricesto the
31
NadezhdaShvedova, Moscow,July1991.
interview,
32
Elena Ershova,interview,
Moscow, July1991.

poor and ran a mendingserviceso thatclothing,whichhad becomevery

expensivein Russia, could be kept longer.Donors in the UnitedStates
providedsewingmachinesforthe project;some supplieswere also do-
nated, but most had to be purchased.The projectsemployeda small
numberof women and appeared to run in a relativelynonhierarchical
manner.Both projectsfailedformainlyfinancialreasons.
Like theUnionof Womenof Russia,thezhensovety, and theCenterfor
GenderStudies,GAIA attempts to cultivaterelationswithWestern feminists
and women'sorganizations. The directorofGAIA,ElenaErshova,toldus in
a 1992 interviewthatwomenactivists and organizations inRussianeededto
developinternational contactsforseveralreasons:(1) to providematerial
support;(2) to helpshareexperiences of organizingand mobilizing in other
countries;and (3) to keepWesterners informed about thestatusof women
and about policiesand laws affectingwomenin Russia so thattheymight
helppromotewomen'srightsamongRussianpolicymakers. The GAIA or-
ganizationalso has triedto encourageinternational contactsbetweennon-
activistRussianwomenand othersin concreteways.For example,in Sep-
tember1992 it organizedand sponsoredan international conferencein
Moscow on womenin thefreemarketeconomy;morethanfourhundred
women participated in theconference,whichwas designedto help foster
businesscontactsand promoteknowledge.
More recently, GAIA has been in the forefront of effortsto developa
political networkto lobby the state on behalfof women. Government
representatives were invitedto attendand participatein the September
conference,and indeed,a numberof government officialsincludingthen
Vice PresidentRutskoi did so. Ershova was an importantforcein the
establishmentof an advisorycommitteeon women to the HigherEco-
nomicCouncil of the SupremeSoviet.In Decemberof 1992, GAIA took
a leadershiprole in an initiativeto create a networkamong women's
organizationsin Russia, theWomen'sLeague. Finally,althoughGAIA as
an organizationdid not become involved in the 1993 parliamentary
elections,namesof some GAIA activistswereplaced on thecandidacylist
of the politicalblock Homeland. Many of the signaturesof the Home-
land block petition,however,wererejectedby electoralofficialsbecause
theycame fromRussiansoutsideRussia.33As a result,block candidates
were not allowed to run foroffice.34
Associationof Small Towns

The Associationof Small Towns standsin sharpcontrastto theorga-
nizationsdiscussedearlier.This organizationresultsfromthevisionof a
33It should be
emphasizedthatcollectingsignaturesfromRussiansoutsidethe state
of Russia was not an attemptto pad the petition.It was not clear thatthose Russians,
who were eligibleto vote,could not signpetitions.
34
Nadezhda Shvedova,interview, Washington,D.C., March 1994.

singlewoman, Tatiana Tsertsvadze,who startedit when her physician

sisterwas assignedto a clinicin Venev,a small town about 180 kilome-
tersfromMoscow. Venev,originallya wealthymerchantvillage,is an
interesting example of a particularlySoviet phenomenon.Under Soviet
ruleformerprisonerswho werenot permittedto returnto Moscow were
assignedto Venev as workersin the nearbymines,and today approxi-
mately50 percentof the town'spopulationis composed of formerpris-
oners,theirfamilies,and descendants.Whenherelderlymothermovedto
Venev,Tsertsvadzebegan to visit,to learn the myriadeconomic and
social problemsof theregion,and to appreciateitshistoricalsignificance
to Russian culture.
Tsertsvadzedevelopedthe idea of retraining small-townresidentsfor
participationin a marketeconomythroughthe productionof craftsin-
digenousto the area. Althoughshe began in Venev by contactingtown
authorities,organizinga public group of town intelligentsia,
identifying
potentialleaders,and seekingworkersto join on a project,the program
extendedto otherareas as well.35Afterseveralyearsof negotiatingand
workingcloselywithlocal authoritiesand professionalwomen,she ini-
tiateda programof economicredevelopment. Some keyprojectsinclude
a smallenterprise in whichworkersproducebathcarpetsand a shop for
handicrafts, especiallytraditionalwood carving.In herestimation,"This
is a verydifficult
challenge:to see youngwomen who are broughtup in
an unculturedand inhumancondition,who thinkbeingoppressed,being
unspiritualis normal;to be just a reproductivesource-I can't bear this;
I can't agreewiththis."36Butthispassivityand fatalismare, she believes,
variablethroughouttheregion:"All townsare so different. Everyone has
its own face. Some are veryugly.That is a fact.Othersare a potentially
verystrongforce."In some small towns,she pointsout, thereare "a lot
of woodworkers,artisans,and people who want to preservetraditions;
thereare villageswherethereis an absence of criminalsand an openness
to hearingideas and suggestions,and people with great initiativeand
ideas."37Tsertsvadzealso developedsimilarprogramsforredevelopment
among similarlysized towns in the generalregionoutside of Moscow.
These towns then joined togetherto form the Association of Small
Towns.Althoughnotconceivedas a women'sproject,theAssociationand
its supportershave been almost exclusivelywomen. Problemsof alco-
holismamong men and theirseeminglack of interestin economicdevel-
opmenthave leftthisimportantwork in the hands of women. Although
35 The processwas not easy: some politicalresistanceand rumorsof CentralIntelli-

gence Agencyconnectionscame fromlocal partyofficials;townspeoplewere passive and
dependenton Tsertsvadzeforthe entireproject.Only withthe electionof a new town
authorityin Venevdid she securemuch public support.
36 Tatiana Tsertsvadze,
Venev,December 1992.
interview,
37Ibid.

not directlyengagedin nationalpolitics,Tsertsvadzenonethelessunder-

standsher work as part of buildinga Russian women'smovement.She
attendedDubna I and a businesstrainingworkshopsponsoredby the
CenterforGenderStudies;she sustainslinkswithmembersof GAIA and
has been workingto extendinternational contacts.Like virtuallyall the
women we interviewed, Tsertsvadzeemphasizedthatthisis a period in
whichwomen are engagedin a processof self-reflection, self-discovery,
and developmentof a sense of personalagency.Her voice, however,is
less explicitlyfeministand more religiousthan otherswe interviewed.
Indeed, her view is that women are more spiritual,more community-
minded,moreconcernedabout culturethanmen.What she shareswith
theotheractivistsis a sensethatifRussian societyis to be reformedand
rebuilt,women mustbe centralto thatprocess.And she recognizesthat
women have a secondarypositionin public lifein Russia. In our inter-
views,Tsertsvadzeemphasizedthe importanceof her work as an inde-
pendentpartof a revivalof Russiancultureand religion,relyingentirely
on privatesupport.At the same timeshe is dependenton electedgov-
ernmentofficialsin Venevand othertownsto supportherwork.
Women's activism in contemporary Russia

Two major concernsemergedfromour interviews and analysisof the
organizationof women'sactivism:theimportanceofthehistoricallegacy
of the Soviet state and the competitionfor scarce resources-human,
organizational,financial,domestic,and international.Both concerns
compose an importantpart of the contextand process of movement
buildingin Russia. The directorof GAIA, Elena Ershova,discussingthe
impactof theSovietpast on thewomen'smovement,said, "I tellyou this
so thatyou will understandthe way we are passingnow,how informa-
tionis importantto us, and how to thinkeverything overcriticallyagain,
to re-thinkour experiences."38Any analysis that neglectsor underesti-
mates a legacythatstillechoes stronglyforcontemporary women risks
the
misinterpreting dynamicprocess of movement buildingin Russia.
The unique historicallegacy of the Soviet state,however,cuts two
ways. First,thereis a distrustofthestateand itsapparatusthatrunsdeep
in virtuallyall the women activistswhom we have interviewed.As we
will discuss below, this distrustextends to organizationssuch as the
formerSovietWomen'sCommittee,which servedas the state'smouth-
piece on women'sissuesand helpedpromulgatethemythof sexual equal-
ityin theSovietUnion.Thereis also a recognitionthatthestatehas been
(and will be until otherinstitutionsare createdto supplementand/or
38 Elena Ershova,interview,
Moscow, July1991.

replace it) chieflyresponsiblefor addressingand solving social issues,

includingthe rightsof women. Althougheverywoman activistwe met
certainlyrealizedthatSovietlegislationensuringwomenequal rightshad
littleto do withthe realitiesof daily life,not one wishedto abrogateor
minimizethose rightson paper, particularlyat this time, as Russia
strugglesto builda law-basedsociety.Furthermore, giventhattherehave
been no privatesectorinstitutions to turnto, therehas been and contin-
ues to be a reliance on the state as problem solver.This ambivalent
attitudetoward the state has importantconsequencesfor the develop-
ment of the women's movementin Russia. The acute social upheaval
wroughtby the transitionhas also createda rangeof scarcitiesextreme
even forRussia. These scarcities,combinedwiththe ambivalenceabout
how to use thestateas a resource,affectthedevelopmentof effective and
coherentpoliticalmobilization.
Legacy of the Sovietstate

ElviraNovikova,a scholarand a consultantto theCentralCommittee
duringperestroika,speaks eloquentlyof thelegacyof theSovietstatefor
women'sactivism.She arguesthat"foreignfeminists . . . need to listento
us attentively. The centralquestionforme is, who am I? Can I realizemy
potential?Am I an object of the state?Am I beingmanipulatedby the
state?Only in thisway can we tell whetherthe situationof women has
been changed."39These concerns about the historicallegacy of state
manipulationof women'spoliticsare mostevidentwhenwe examinethe
positionof theUnion of Womenof Russia. The new generationof femi-
nistsand women activistsis sometimesquite suspiciousof the Union of
Womenof Russia regardlessof itscurrentactivitiesor membership.The
degreeof suspicionwas evidentin the developmentof the Independent
Women's Democratic Initiative,NEZHDI (Do not wait), which was
launchedat a meetingin July1990 and held its firstforumin Dubna on
May 29-31, 1991. Its statementon the social and political tasks for
womencontaineda powerfulattackon prominentwomen in the former
partyand state apparatuses (and so, implicitly, on the Soviet Women's
Committee): " 'Puppet women' in representativeorgans of power and
'iron ladies' in the director'schair, women elected by no one but ap-
pointedbyone or otherstateinstitution, obedientto thewillofthebosses
and always readyto carryany directiveissuedon high-thus has a nega-
tive image been created of the woman director,the woman political
leader."40A representative of theSovietWomen'sCommitteewas present
at the forumbut apparentlyplayed no role in its developmentor its
39Elvira Novikova, interview,

Moscow, July1991.
40
The statementwas laterpublishedas "Womenin Action."

activities.In our own interviews

withthe SovietWomen'sCommitteein
July 1991, we pressed them for of the relationship
an interpretation
betweenthe SovietWomen'sCommitteeand othergroups.The commit-
tee membersclearlywere aware of the attackon themand its implica-
tions.Accordingto Fedulova:
We don't see the SovietWomen'sCommitteeas an umbrellaorga-

nization, and we don't want centralization.Lenin said, "Before
unity,you should separate."Many of thenew organizationscenter
around charismaticindividualswho are opposed to centralization.
Many have been set up withoutthe help of the Soviet Women's
Committeeand manywithour help. Some of themwould like to
unitewiththe SovietWomen'sCommitteebut stillmaintaintheir
identity.To those who argue thatthe SovietWomen'sCommittee
should be disbanded,we say "We shall work as long as women
phone and call." We thinkcriticismis healthybecause,as Andrew
Carnegiesaid, "You don't kick a dead dog."41
Fedulova emphasizedthatthe task of the SovietWomen'sCommitteeis

to changethepolicyof thestatetowardwomenand not to oppose other
organizations,clubs,tradeunions,or associationsshould theynot wish
to work withthe SovietWomen'sCommittee.
Afterbecomingthe Union of Women of Russia, this once-powerful
committeehas faced numerousexternalchallengesto its survival.As a
privateorganization,it has had meagerstatefunding,and itstenancyin
its own buildingmustnow be paid for.One-thirdof thepermanentstaff
has been fireddue to lack of funding,and continuedactivitiessuchas job
trainingworkshopsrelyveryheavilyon international supportand fund-
ing. When we spoke with Fedulova in March 1992, the interviewwas
interruptedbrieflywhenshe soughtto cash payrollchecksat a local state
bank,whereno moneywas available. Our senseremainsthattheUnion
of Women of Russia is relativelyresourcerich(in experience,organiza-
tional networks,internationalcontacts,and stateconnections)but that
its historymakes it suspectto new organizersand feministactivists.
From our perspective,this is not an organizationto be discounted.
Indeed, the electoralvictoryof the Women'sBloc atteststo the signifi-
cance of Fedulova and theUnion of Womenof Russia. First,because of
itsprominence,it is theorganizationto whichordinarywomenare most
likelyto turnduringthe crisesgeneratedby the transition.Despite staff
cutbacksand fiscalcontingencies of enormousimpact,thisorganization
has continuedto offerworkshopsforjob training;to provideinforma-
41
Moscow, July1991.

tion,referrals, and othersupportforunemployedwomen; to serveas a

watchdog over politicaldevelopments;and to sustainimportantconnec-
tionswithinternational women'sorganizationsand the UnitedNations.
Second, it is in
engaged activitiesthat empower women and appears
committedto challengingstateactionsthatwould undermineeffortsat
such empowerment. In thissense,because it is able to take advantageof
its historicalconnectionsto the state,the Union of Women of Russia is
amongthemostinfluential organizationsarticulating women'sconcerns.
Nevertheless,the lingeringsuspicions about the role of the Soviet
Women's Committeein the old regimepreventit fromstandingat the
forefront of the emergingwomen's movement.Buildingtrustbetween
themand new reformers will take time.The developmentof new groups
separatefromtheolder organizations,as Ol'ga Besolova stressed,"is an
importantprocesswhichis underway;each takes itselfseriously,so the
unificationprocess should not be accelerated."42While both groups of
reformers appreciatetheneed fortimeand see long-term possibilitiesfor
sharedwork,we are not sanguinethatthetensionsand suspicionswill be
overcomein the near future.
On the otherhand,everyonerecognizesthatthestateremainsa pow-
erfulinfluencein Russian societyand thatwomen mustbringtheirown
resourcesto bear in affectingits policies to benefitwomen. There are
certainlyorganizationsand womenactivistswho have been lobbyingthe
government to createand modifypolicies;the draftlaw on the familyis
one example,as are the activitiesof theUnion of Womenof Russia and
the Centerfor Gender Studies. Coordinatedeffortsalso took place to
establisha consultativebody on women'sissuesto theHigherEconomic
Council and to develop an informational exchangenetworkof women's
organizations,theWomen'sLeague. Furthermore, local groupshave of-
ten discoveredtheymustlearnto workwiththegovernment in orderto
achieve theirgoals and survive.The Associationof Small Towns' col-
laborationwiththe local council in Venevis a good example of a wom-
en's group findingways to enlistthe cooperation of local authorities.
Furthermore, the electionsof 1993 provedthatwomen were capable of
organizing and mobilizingto elect women candidates into office.As
Fedulova has asserted,"Ifwe don't influencepoliticsour interests will be
defeated.... Now it is men who make politics; they can't take into
considerationthe aspects of women."43
The historicallegacy,then,is a double-edgedswordforthebuildingof
a women's movementin Russia. Althoughgroups (howeverreformed)
thatare identified too closelywiththe old regimeand the statemay be
42
Ol'ga Besolova, interview,
Moscow, July1991.
43
Moscow, July1991.

consideredsuspectbynewergroupsof activists,thehistoricallegacyalso
compels a certaincoherence.Women activistsseem to have a clear un-
derstandingof the necessityof women's influencing government in the
transition.Yet,as thequotationfromNovikova suggests,thereis a pow-
erfulsense among the women activistswe interviewedthat women's
mobilizationin Russia must have as a primarygoal the liberationof
women fromstatecontrol,as an experiencedistinctfrombut relatedto
thatoftheirmale compatriots.It is a compellingmotivatorformovement
building,but it is also fraughtwithinsecurity.
Resourcescarcity
Problemsrelatedto competitionforscarceresources(mostobviously
financial,butalso humanand organizational)compoundthesecomplexi-
ties.In formertimestheSovietWomen'sCommittee,as theofficialwom-
en's organizationin thecountry,receivedconsiderablesupportfromthe
state.Now theUnion of Womenof Russia and the otherfledgling orga-
nizationsthatare eitherinstitutionally based (e.g.,theCenterforGender
Studies)or freestanding (e.g., the Associationof Small Towns) mustfi-
nance themselvesthroughdonations,grants,contracts,or othermoney-
makingventures.Many activistsnoted in our interviewsthat,although
thereis no shortageof ideas or projects,thereis theproblemof money.44
And also, increasingly, thereis a problemof space. New organizations
like GAIA, the Associationof Small Towns, and some zhensovetyhave
difficultyin findingany space at all fortheiractivities.Even theUnionof
Women Russia,locatedin Pushkin'sresidencein centralMoscow, now
of
leases the space formerly providedto it by the state.The direeconomic
circumstancesin Russia mean thatwomen'sgroupsare to some extent
competingamongthemselvesforresources.This is particularly true,as it
is in theWest,withregardto supportfrominternational foundationsand
institutions. Dubna II came underharshcriticismfrommanyactivistswe
spoke to, for instance,because of theirperceptionthatconferenceplan-
nersfromthe CenterforGenderStudiesweretryingto limitinterchange
(and with it, possible collaboration) between other Russian women's
organizationsand Westernparticipants.45
There is evidenceof some competitionforhumanand organizational
resourcesas well. As the unhappinesswith Dubna II broughtto light,
44At one researchinstitute we visited,we were asked what researchwe would like
done and were told thatit could be done well by them.
45A second criticismwas thatthe conferenceorganizerswere seekingto supplantthe
leadershiprole held by the SovietWomen'sCommitteeforso manyyears.This percep-
tion was perhapsfortifiedby the proceedingsat a panel at whichone of the participants
(who was also a memberof the conferenceplanningcommittee)proposeda hierarchical
model forthe Russian women'smovement,a model whichwas seen by manypresentas
curiouslyreminiscent of the structureof the CommunistPartyof the SovietUnion.
Needless to say,the proposal was roundlycritiquedby the gathering.

access to foreignerswas motivatednot simplyby a desire to acquire

externallygeneratedfinancialsupportbutalso byan interestin acquiring
information, expertise,and, to some extent,political visibilityboth at
home and abroad. Furthermore,as organizationsdevelop and seek
greaterinfluence,particularlyon public policy-makingat the national
level,grassrootssupportand affiliationwiththelocal groupsbecomemore
essential.Thus, some at theUnionof Womenof Russia have chargedthat
at Dubna II the Centerfor GenderStudieswas attempting to pilferthe
Union'sextensivenetworkof women'sorganizationsin Russia.
It should not be surprisingthatcompetitionforscarce resources,for
political influence,and for visibilityhave tended to favor the larger,
better-established women'sorganizationssuch as the CenterforGender
Studiesand the Union of Womenof Russia, or thatsome small organi-
zations feardominationby them.To a certainextent,theselargerorga-
nizationsmightbe seen as victimsof theirown success,especiallygiven
concernsabout accumulatedand centralizedpower in any organization.
National and local groupshave attemptedto findbases forcollaboration,
however.46For example, the Center for Gender Studies has assisted
smallerorganizationsand allowed themto have a say in thedevelopment
of the second Dubna conference.The TroitskWomen'sCommitteeand
GAIA have been able to developcontactsin a way thatdoes not portend
dominationof the smallerorganizationby the largergroup in Moscow.
The zhensovetat the CentralAerohydrodynamics Instituteinitiatedand
led effortsto do political education forwomen with supportfromthe
Union ofWomenof Russia. These initiatives and recentefforts bya range
of organizationsto developan informational exchangenetworkillustrate
the possibilitiesformutuallybeneficialcooperation.
Conclusion
Resource competitionand varyingrelationsto the state will remain
centralfeaturesof women'sorganizationalpoliticsin Russia. Theycould
generatea mode of interactionamong women's groupsthat entrenches
conflictsand distrustamongactivists,althoughit is as likelythattheyare
simplyoutgrowthsof thehistoricallegacyand thecontextualjuncturein
whichwomen'spoliticsand mobilizationin Russia are located todayand
thatwithtimecan be overcome.We hope thatthislast will be the case
because we see powerfulcommonalitiesand ideas emergingfromthe
practicesof women activists.Virtuallyall the activistswhom we have
interviewedidentifywomen'ssubordinationas existingwithina system
of patriarchy;all have some conceptionof Russia as a deeply sexist
46
Indeed,womenactivists
fromtheprovincesandotherareasoutsideMoscowwere
equally(andperhapsevenmore)interested
in developing
suchcontacts.

society;all view theiractivismas a vehicleforexploring,defining, and

the of and
understanding meaning personality personalidentity. All share
the sense thatthe institutional"protections"of womenunderthe Soviet
state were not "good" for women; yet all resistthe state's effortsto
withdrawconstitutionalguaranteesof sexual equalityand reduce the
(admittedly poor) systemofsocial supportsforwomenand theirfamilies.
All groups want to transformthe state into an arena for advancing
women'sinterests and humanrights.Many see theiractivitiesnotonlyas
benefiting women'sinterests butalso as necessaryforthedevelopmentof
a civilsocietythatwill be able to advance democracyand ensurethatan
authoritarianstatewill not re-emerge. And all believethatin important
ways onlywomencan ensurethisdevelopmentof a civilsociety;indeed,
this is where some of the activistsseem to embraceessentialistviews
of women. In the process of organizing,however,activistsencounter
politicalforcesresentful of theiractivism,forcesthatsee theiractivities
not only as an unwelcomeintrusioninto the new politicsof men but
as a hindranceto the developmentof economic and governmentalre-
form.Activistsconstantlyface essentialistargumentsabout womenthat
seek to limitRussian women's autonomyand power.In the processof
counteringthe politicalessentialismthatis so powerfultodayin Russia,
manyactivistsare beginningto shareresourcesmorereadilyand to work
togetherin coordinatedways to combatthesenegativepoliticaland eco-
nomic effects.Through this process,women may develop a common
consciousnessand come to articulateand advance a uniquelyRussian
feminism.
James Madison College

MichiganStateUniversity
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Organizing Women Before and After The Fall: Women's Politics in The Soviet Union and Post-Soviet Russia

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OrganizingWomenbeforeand after

theFall: Women'sPoliticsin theSoviet

We wantto crosstheborderof isolation;we wantto act

For women here,it is veryimportantto have theirown

We would like to thankMichiganStateUniversity's Officeof InternationalStudiesand

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T WWO CONCLUSIONS EMERGE fromthe most recent

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context,discuss some of the women's organizationswe have been fol-

The historical context and legacy

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the familywere not centralissues to most Bolsheviks.The challengeof

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rates(see Buckley1989). Althoughreopened,thewoman questionagain

For all that women's rightswere part of the Bolshevikprogram,

The Leniniststate'simageof woman as workerwas soon modifiedby

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stateregulationsthatmade divorcesmore difficult to acquire,and abor-

The production/reproduction dilemma

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Over the years . . . we failedto pay attentionto women'sspecific

In the Gorbachevera and in post-SovietRussia, therefore,

The contemporary social, economic, and political context for

I startedworkingat the factoryin 1975 and I've givenit, or to be

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anymore.But I feelsorryformychildren-who needs them?!Our

The arduous lifeof women in the formerSovietUnion has been well

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or have opened again witha new all-malelabor force.Defenseindustries

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echoes throughoutthe parliament.15 The implicationsof such discrimi-

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The legacy of state controlover interpretations of women'sissues and

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GenderStudies,arguesthattheverytermgenderreflects the supposition

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more importantlyperhaps, betweenmovementsand theirestablished

The organization of activism

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and of thezhensovety(women'scouncils)associatedwithit. As we noted

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surprisingly,thisgrouphas also playeda majorrolein educatingWestern

The firstone is assistance to unemployedwomen.... Once a

The Union of Womenof Russia also engagesin moreexplicitlypoliti-

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pointedout earlier,in theDecember1993 elections,theUnion organized

1. UnifieddemocraticRussia withcommoneconomicand cultural

Using theirorganizationalinfrastructure and contactswith women all