3-GORBACHEV+Hardie,+Ryan

SOVIET REFORM IN THE GORBACHEV ERA

Area of Soviet Society to study: Women


 * What was the situation for that group/institution before Gorbachev became Premier? **

Before Gorbachev became Premier, Soviet women outweighed the population of Soviet men. Despite the sheer numbers, men were more prominent and more valued in society. According to David Hoffman, Women’s value was diminished so that they would fulfil their “womanly role” of being a mother and a wife. In addition, women did not have much of a political voice. In Soviet Russia’s 14th congress, only 3 out of the 106 members on the Central Committee were female. In addition to the political unbalance, more than half the population of women above the age of nine were illiterate. 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.Women added of little intellectual value to Soviet society and were given little importance, but with the progression of time and Gorbachev as the new Premier, women began to see a slow but sure improvement in their political and social standing. Women now held a record-breaking 33 positions on the Central Committee, more than ever before. With this surge of political representation, women began to gain more of a voice in Soviet society. Along with political recognition, women began to gain recognition on the stress and pressure of being a woman in Soviet Russian society.

Document: Hoffman, David L. Stalinist Values The Cultural Norms of Soviet Modernity, 1917-1941. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press, 2003.

**How did that group/institution interpret the way in which Gorbachev's reform policies applied to it?** From the start of Gorbachev’s position of Soviet Premier, he held an active interest on bettering the conditions of women in Soviet Russia. The glasnost, or “opening” of Gorbachev’s reform policies, were filled with promises that the women of Russia found hard to believe. For decades they had been conditioned to believe that freedom was not in their cards, so they were not too optimistic. However, as time went on, women were believed to have the most to gain from his reforms, so their doubt turned into optimism. Martin Walker wrote about how The future of women in Soviet Russia was beginning to look up. Women felt undervalued in the patriarchal Russian society, and the promise of a better future was difficult to dismiss. However, the prospect of emancipation seemed to be unattainable for women in Soviet Russia. Through societal stereotypes and the media, the value of women in Soviet society had constantly been diminished. Even with the propaganda created by Gorbachev’s reform, the condition of oppression of women in Soviet Russia seemed like a barrier that was unable to break. Women could not deny that they deserved emancipation and freedom, and while they craved equal opportunity and equal social resources as the men in their society, the division between women and men seemed to be too large to break. The baggage created from decades of oppression created an air of skepticism surrounding the way Gorbachev’s reform policies were interpreted by women of the era.

Document: 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. He supported women economically, familialy, and socially. In addition, he applied these policies leading to emancipation by increasing the volume of women’s voices. According to Ester Reiter, Gorbachev created a system where women could congregate, due to his initiation of these women’s councils. This gave the women of Soviet Russia a stronger and more unified voice which would increase awareness and recognition of the issues at hand. In addition to the Zhensovety, the LOTOS group was formed on the basis of diminished the social negativities of women in Soviet Russia as well as providing a way to learn more about western-style feminism. The difficulties that women face in every-day life was not a burden known by most males in Soviet Russia, and these organizations that were supported by Gorbachev allowed for the spreading of awareness of these dissatisfactions. The effect of all of these policies and organizations that had been thrusted upon Soviet Russia from the had the end result of the emancipation of women.

Document: "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____] >.

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. 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”. Society places a huge emphasis on Soviet women being able to fulfil their duties in the home. The commitment and pressure 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 of the Soviet woman was to remain at home, as stated in Wilma Rule’s book. After a short period of emancipation, women were encouraged to return to the home and focus on family and motherhood.The freedom of women to have a voice and be an intellectual addition threatened the “womanly mission”. Due to this perceived threat, women were negatively affected by economic reforms, which encouraged them even more so to stay in the 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. Women had not been grained true freedom due to societal pressures of being a lady of the home.
 * What was the significance of Gorbachev's reforms as they pertained to that group/institution? **

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

Bibliography: Hoffman, David L. Stalinist Values The Cultural Norms of Soviet Modernity, 1917-1941. Ithaca NY: Cornell University Press, 2003. 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____] >.