Synopses & Reviews
Women have participated in war throughout history, but their experience in Russia during the First World War was truly exceptional. Between the war's beginning and the October Revolution of 1917, approximately 6,000 women answered their country's call as the army was faced with insubordination and desertion in the ranks while the provisional government prepared for a new offensive. These courageous women became media stars throughout Europe and America, but were brushed aside by Soviet chroniclers and until now have been largely neglected by history.
Laurie Stoff draws on deep archival research into previously unplumbed material, including many first-person accounts, to examine the roots, motivations, and legacy of these women. She reveals that Russia was the only nation in World War I that systematically employed women in the military, marking the first time that a government run by men had organized women for combat. And although they were originally envisioned as propaganda-promoting patriotism and citizenship to inspire the thousands of males who had been deserting or refusing to fight—Russian women also proved themselves more than capable in combat.
Describing the formation, provisioning, and training of the units, Stoff sheds light on their social and educational backgrounds, while recounting a number of amazing individual stories. She tells how Maria Bochkareva, commander of the First Russian Women's Battalion of Death, and her unit met its baptism of fire in combat and how Bochkareva later traveled to the U.S. and met President Wilson. Within these pages, we also meet Maria Bocharnikova, who served with the First Petrograd Women's Battalion that defended the Winter Palace during the Bolshevik Revolution and whose detailed account of her experience dispels much of the misinformation concerning that storied event.
Stoff also chronicles the exploits of the Second Moscow Women's Battalion of Death, Third Kuban Women's Shock Battalion, and the First Women's Naval Detachment, all within the context of Russian society, the Revolution, and the war itself. Enhancing and informing this presentation are more than two dozen historic photos.
Stoff's remarkable account rescues from oblivion an important but still little-known aspect of Russia's experience in World War I. It also provides new insights into gender roles during a pivotal period of Russia's development and, more broadly speaking, resonates with the current debates over the role of women in warfare.
Synopsis
Chronicles the experiences, impact, and significance of thousands of Russian women who joined the military to defend their homeland—all examined within the context of Russian society, the Russian Revolution, and the war itself. Based on deep archival research and numerous first-hand accounts.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Technical Notes
Introduction
1. The Russian Context
2. Individual Women Soldiers, 1914-1917
3. Russia's First All-Female Combat Unit
4. The Women's Military Movement
5. The Official Women's Combat Units
6. The Fate of the Movement
7. Imaging the Woman Soldier
8. Conclusions
Epilogue
Appendix A: Russian Women's Military Organizations of 1917
Appendix B. Manifesto Issued by the Women's National Military Union of Volunteers
Appendix C. Personnel of the 1st Russian Women's Battalion of Death Who Took Part in Battle on July 9, 1917, at Novospasskii Forest near Smorgon
Appendix D. Staff List of the 2nd Moscow Women's Battalion of Death
Appendix E. Members of Moscow Women's Battalion of Death Chosen to Become Cadets of the Aleksandrov Military College
Appendix F. Volunteers of the 1st Women's Naval Detachment
Notes
Bibliography
Index