3-GORBACHEV+Phillips,+Mary+Claire

Gorbachev's Approach to the Changing Role of Women in the USSR.

Before the Bolshevik Revolution, Russian women were seen as being weak and worthless to the point of being subhuman. Russia was a very staunch patriarchy, and women were almost seen as subhuman. With the introduction of a government and philosophical ideal that believed that all humans, no matter their socioeconomic level, race, or gender, have worth and are equally responsible for advancing their mother country. As soon as Communist leaders took over, one of the first promises was to promote and ensure full equality for women in Russian society. Although women were supposed to be considered equals, when World War II hit - they were expected to fill their traditional roles as mothers to help rekindle the population after severe losses in the war. The government started awarding women the "Mother Heroine" award if they raised families greater than ten kids. The government also provided incentive to women to grow their families through retirement pensions as well as food and amenities supplements. Although there was an attempt to In Mikhail Gorbachev's own //Perestroika// (c. 1987), he claims that in order to strengthen the family there needs to be an effort on the women's part to improve the role of "the family". However, as reported in "Restructuring the 'Woman Question': Perestroika and Prostitution", it is doubtful that Gorbachev was actually concerned with women's issues and more preoccupied with painting an idealic image upon Russia. With the Perestroika's new policy of "glasnost", or openness, many women's issues that had previously been concealed behind the blissful ignorance of the optimistic Communist government were now out in the open. Topics such as prostitution and teenage female promiscuity and sexuality revealed more to the Soviets about the faults of their own country and to realize that these were not just "faults of capitalism". By helping reveal to the world the plight of Russian Women, Russia was given a prime opportunity to follow through on their original promises towards women's equality. However, Russia instead chose to overlook their issues and set the stage for future issues to arise in the 21st century. With women's roles left unclear at the time of its collapse, societal and familial obligations were left even more unclear and often fell onto women to figure out.

Political Cartoon on Women's Roles in Russia in the 20th Century

Mikhail Gorbachev on Women and the Family

"Restructuring the 'Woman Question': Perestroika and Prostitution" by Elizabeth Waters

Empowering Women in Russia: Activism, Aid, and NGOs
Rachael Stryker   Works Cited - http://www.icl-fi.org/english/womendrev/oldsite/BOL-WOM.HTM Mikhail Gorbachev on Women and the Family - http://www.jstor.org/stable/1973044 "Restructuring the 'Woman Question': Perestroika and Prostitution" by Elizabeth Waters - http://www.jstor.org/stable/1395211 "Empower Women in Russia: Activism, AId, and NGOS" by Rachael Stryker - http://www.jstor.org/stable/4150951