Soviet Women Everyday Lives (Routledge Studies in the History of Russia and Eastern Europe)

Based on an extensive reading of a broad range of women’s accounts of their lives in the Soviet Union, this book focuses on many hidden aspects of Soviet women’s everyday lives, thereby revealing a great deal about how the Soviet Union operated on a day-to-day basis and about the place of the individual within it. Including testimony from both celebrated literary and cultural figures and from many ordinary people, and from both enthusiastic supporters of the regime and dissidents, the book considers women’s daily routines, attitudes and behaviours. It highlights some of the hidden inequalities of an ostensibly egalitarian society, and considers many wider questions, including how extensive was the ‘reach’ of the Soviet regime; how ‘modern’ was it; how far were there continuities after 1917 between the new Bolshevik regime and Russia’s imperial past; and how homogenous and how mobile was Soviet society? Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 Acknowledgments 9 Chapter 1: Introduction 10 Experience as history 10 Notes 14 Chapter 2: Born in the USSR: Soviet identities 16 Self-characterisation of the Soviet woman 16 Official identities 18 Internal passports 19 Names 21 ‘Ethnic nationality’ 23 Generational cohorts 26 Social status 28 CP or not CP 30 Conclusion 33 Notes 33 Chapter 3: A happy childhood 39 Soviet schooling 40 Curriculum content 43 ‘Always ready’ 48 Summer camp 51 Conclusion 52 Notes 53 Chapter 4: Looking for love 58 Sources of knowledge 60 Inhibitors 62 Places to meet 63 Courtship 63 Sex before marriage 64 Single women and illegitimate children 67 Extra-marital affairs 68 Homosexuality 69 Nationality issues 70 Relationships with foreigners 71 Abuse of authority 72 Conclusion 73 Notes 74 Chapter 5: Emancipation and equality 79 Contemporary reflections on equality 81 The domestic division of labour 83 Benefits of the Soviet system 84 Workplace friction 86 Domestic workers 86 Evident inequalities 88 Attitudes towards female sexuality 90 Sexual exploitation 90 Conclusion 91 Notes 93 Chapter 6: Health and welfare 97 Urban living 98 Workplace environments 99 Health care services 100 Bathing and the banya 101 Laundry 103 At the Soviet convenience 104 Menstruation 107 Food supply, storage and nutrition 109 Cigarettes and alcohol 110 Conclusion 111 Notes 111 Chapter 7: Reproductive health and maternity 118 Attitudes to marriage and motherhood 118 Reproductive health 120 Abortion 123 Maternity wards 125 Maternity leave and childcare 129 Childrearing 131 Conclusions 132 Notes 133 Chapter 8: Consumption, Soviet style 139 Status markers 142 Street wear 144 Dressing for the job 146 Footwear 148 Regional dress 149 Underwear 150 Hairstyles 152 Cosmetics 153 Accessories 154 Soviet luxury 154 Conclusion 157 Notes 157 Chapter 9: Custom, ritual and superstition before and after 1917 164 Writing about rites 168 Customs 169 ‘Let’s Sit Down Before the Trip’ 169 Bitter, bitter, bitter 169 Rituals 171 Baptism 171 Funerals 173 Superstitions 175 Fortune Telling 175 Black Cats 176 Conclusions 177 Notes 178 Chapter 10: Go West 183 Internal travel and tourism 184 The near abroad 186 Overseas visits and work placements 187 Realities of the West 190 Emigration 193 In lieu of a conclusion 196 Notes 197 Appendix 1: Foreign film showings in the Soviet Union 202 Appendix 2: Russian idioms and sayings 205 Bibliography 208 Women’s diaries and memoir literatures 208 Life stories, oral histories and interviews 211 English-language contextual sources 212 Russian-language contextual sources 216 Websites 216 Index 217