3-GORBACHEV+Shigematsu,+Ryo

Area of Soviet Society to study: Women

What was the situation for that group/institution before Gorbachev became Premier? In Soviet society, before Gorbachev became Premier, women accounted for the larger proportion of the Soviet Russia population than males, however, were under-represented. In the 14th congress, a mere 3 out of 106 on the Central Committee were women. Additionally, during the Stalinist era, more than half the population of females over the age of nine in Russia were illiterate. Women were at a great disadvantage in the patriarchal Soviet society. As time went on, women saw a slow improvement of their worth in society, which can be seen through their slight increased role in the Central Committee. In 1961 their participation rose to just slightly over three percent. Obviously, there is an unbalanced value of worth in society due to one’s gender. Apart from the political representation differences, women experienced discrepancies in the protection of their equality, the availability and conditions of their health care clinics, standards of fairness in the workplace, and the immense pressure of maintaining work and taking care of their families. After Gorbachev became Premier, there was a record-breaking thirty-three women on the Central Committee, and women began to be politically recognized more than they ever had before in Russia. In addition, the pressure of being a woman in Soviet Russia was recognized and the social improvement of women in Russia was underway. Document: “ The Central Committee, for a start, was always more representative of male than of female party members, a disproportion that was still more conspicuous in a society in which women accounted for more than half of the total population. The 14th Congress, which met in December 1925, elected only three women to the Central Committee out of a total of 106 members and candidates; there was an even smaller proportion of women among the delegates at the congress itself, although the proportion was considerably larger among delegates from more industrial regions” Evan Mawdsley and Stephen White, The Soviet Elite from Lenin to Gorbachev: The Central Committee and Its Members, 1917-1991(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 244, [|__http://www.questiaschool.com/read/110068641__]. How did that group/institution interpret the way in which Gorbachev's reform policies applied to it? At the very beginning of Gorbachev’s Premiership, he took a very active interest on the conditions of women. Women did not originally have a reaction to this prospect of reform because societal pressures encouraged them not to react. However, over time women grew to develop a sense of optimism at the possibility of their improvement in society. Martin Walker, correspondent of the Guardian, stated that Especially due to the lack of value women have always felt from the Soviet Russian society, the prospect of the future that Gorbachev seemed to be very promising to women in all of Russia. Despite some optimism, the goal of freedom and equality seemed to be impossible for Soviet Russia in the 1980s. Even with propaganda provided through Gorbachev’s reform, the female and male population remained skeptical at the emancipation of women in Soviet Russia. Women craved their emancipation in this Eastern World, however, the condition of their oppression had been infused in Russian society for decades, and was not easy to escape. Women believed that they deserved the right to their freedom and emancipation, but grew skeptical of Gorbachev being able to provide this for them. Women were no where close to men in being granted the same social resources and equal opportunity in society. There was such a great division in society between the treatment of males and females, that women grew to question the legitimacy of biological gender differences. Marsh, Rosalind J. Women in Russia and Ukraine. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996.

How did the Soviet state apply those policies to that group/institution, and what were the effects? Gorbachev was more invested in improving the conditions of women in Soviet Russia than any leader prior in his country.According to Ester Reiter, Basically, Gorbachev initiated the creation of a system of women’s councils. By doing so, he provided women with a stronger and more unified voice. The effects of this included an increase in national recognition, an increased awareness of the dissatisfactions of women and difficulties that they face, and the creation of the LOTOS collective. The LOTOS is a group of intelligent women who are interested in learning about western feminism as well as diminishing the social stereotype of women in Soviet Russia. In 1988, the Moscow News created a column titled “She and We”. This column printed articles about and by women, which furthered the strength of the movement. The effect of all of these policies instilled in Soviet Russia had the end result of the emancipation of women. "Studies in Political Economy." Overemancipation? Liberation?: Soviet Women in the Gorbachev Period. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. < [|____http://spe.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/spe/article/view/13043/9934____] >.

What was the significance of Gorbachev's reforms as they pertained to that group/institution? The significance of Gorbachev’s reforms is that they eventually led to the emancipation of women. However, women have expressed a concern that it led to their over emancipation. According to Ester Reiter, Women cannot have the same rights and social freedoms as men in Soviet Russia due to the acceptance of the idea of biological differences and necessity for women to fulfil their “womanly mission”. The belief of this lifestyle makes it difficult for women to focus on education or a career, if being a wife and mother is believed to be their life purpose. The focus was staying at home, as stated in Wilma Rule’s book. Women were very encouraged to return to the home and focus on family after the recent gain of their emancipation. The freedom of women to have a voice threatened the “womanly mission”. Due to this threat, women were negatively affected by economic reforms, which encouraged them to stay at home. The significance of Gorbachev’s reform for women is that although emancipation of women was reached, it was soon discouraged again when the “womanly mission” was threatened.

"Studies in Political Economy." Overemancipation? Liberation?: Soviet Women in the Gorbachev Period. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. < [|____http://spe.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/spe/article/view/13043/9934____] >.

Rule, Wilma, and Norma C. Noonan. Russian Women in Politics and Society. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996

Bibliography: Evan Mawdsley and Stephen White, The Soviet Elite from Lenin to Gorbachev: The Central Committee and Its Members, 1917-1991(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), 244, [|__http://www.questiaschool.com/read/110068641__]. Marsh, Rosalind J. Women in Russia and Ukraine. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996. Rule, Wilma, and Norma C. Noonan. Russian Women in Politics and Society. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1996 "Studies in Political Economy." Overemancipation? Liberation?: Soviet Women in the Gorbachev Period. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014. < [|____http://spe.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/spe/article/view/13043/9934____] >.