Women In Post-Revolutionary Russia: The Opportunities And Obstacles

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even with the advantages of the Communist leadership, there were some pitfalls, as well. While the increased leniency of divorce laws was obviously an advantage to many unhappy wives, some men made use of the new freedom also. Some women were left to raise their children alone, and without the salary of their husbands, found it almost impossible. Although these women now had complete economic independence under the laws of Lenin, in practice all was not as simple. With several young children to watch over during the day, it was difficult for any mother to be able to engage in any work outside of family life. The realities of these women were shown clearly in Alexandra Kollontai's novel Love of Worker Bees. based on life in post-revolutionary Russia. When Mr. Feodoseev abandons his wife for another woman, she is horrified at the thought of trying to get a job while raising three school-aged children. However, in Kollontai's novel, she is seen as petty and jealous by certain ...

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created. Called by its Russian abbreviation of Zhenotdel, the Women's Department worked to transform the economic, political, and social liberation of women into a reality. The social workers opened literacy classes in the rural areas and informed the women there of the new laws. They rallied against prostitution and searched for ways to end female unemployment. But perhaps nowhere was the impact of Zhenotdel more profound than in the towns of the central Asian areas of the Soviet Union. There workers from the Women's Department sneaked into bathhouses and food markets to inform the women of their new rights. In 1927, "...one hundred thousand women gathered on town squares and ...

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