Synopses & Reviews
How have women's lives changed in the republics of the former Soviet Union since the fall of the USSR? This is the first book systematically to examine changes and continuities across these states, focusing on women and work, social roles and women in politics. Drawing on interviews with women in factories, on farms and with women streetsellers, politicians and activists, the book questions whether women are "victims" or "agents" of change, and describes various strategies of coping and adaptation to new economic and social instabilities.
Review
"The collection is varied and amazingly rich in detail and analysis; even those who are well-versed in the literature of women in the post-Soviet economy and society will find much new and exciting material here. It is absolutely required reading for any researcher or student of the post-Soviet world." Choice"All those interested in the ongoing transformations in Eastern Europe will find this book illuminating and thought provoking. It is highly recommended to specialists, students, and the general reader." Historian"...this is a volume that students of Eurasian history and culture, as well as those engaged in a critique of the modernist assumptions about women and development will find useful as a springboard for exploring the dimensions of the relationship between social change and social relations." Azade-Ayse Rorlich, Slavic Review"This collection's goal of portaying women more as actors than victims in their society is admirably achieved." Journal of Ukrainian Studies"Post-Soviet Women is a valuable collection. It contains much important information for scholars about the lives of women and the societies in general that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book is also a solid contribution to the study of women world-wide because it presents the opinions of women who often question and/or reject Western notions of feminism. The volume forces readers to re-examine their own biases and opinions about the Baltics, Central Asia and Russia." Canadian Slavonic Papers, Alison Rowley, Duke University"All those interested in the ongoing transformations in Eastern Europe will find this book illuminating and thought provoking. It is highly recommended to specialists, students and the general reader." The Historian"Post-Soviet Women is a valuable collection. It contains much important information for scholars about the lives of women and the societies in general that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book is also a solid contribution to the study of women world-wide because it presents the opinions of women who often question and/or reject Western notions of feminism. The volume forces readers to re-examine their own biases and opinions about the Baltics, Central Asia and Russia." Canadian Slavonic Papers, Alison Rowley, Duke University
Synopsis
This volume is the first to to take a systematic look at the position of women in the post-Soviet states of the former USSR.
Table of Contents
1. Victims and agents: gender in post-Soviet states Mary Buckley; Part I. Women in the russian Federation: 2. Do Russian women want to work Sarah Ashwin and Elain Bowers; 3. Rural women and the impact of economic change Sue Bridger; 4. Women and the culture of entrepreneurship Marta Bruno; 5. Images of an ideal woman: perceptions of Russian womanhood through the media, education and women's own eyes Rebecca Kay; 6. 'She was asking for it': rape and domestic violence against women Lynne Attwood; 7. 'For the sake of the children: gender and migration in the former Soviet Union Hilary Pilkington; 8. When the fighting is over: the soldiers' mothers and the Afghan madonnas Kathryn Pinnick; 9. Adaptation of the Soviet women's committee: deputies' voices from 'Women of Russia' Mary Buckley; 10. Women's groups in Russia Olga Lipovskaya; Part II. Women Outside Russia in Newly Independent States: 11. Women in changing societies: Latvia and Lithuania Nijole White; 12. Progress on hold: the conservative faces of women in Ukraine Solomea Pavlychko; 13. Out of the kitchen into the crossfire: women in independent Armenia Nora Dudwick; 14. The women's peace train in Georgia Tamara Dragadze; 15. Between tradition and modernity: the dilemma facing contemporary Central Asian women Shirin Akiner.