Women and Transformation in Russia (Routledge Studies in the History of Russia and Eastern Europe)

This book looks at Russian women’s mobilization and agency during the two periods of transformation, the turn of the 19th-20th century and the 20th – 21st century. Bringing together the parallels between the two great transformations, it focuses on both the continuities and breaks and, importantly, it shows them from the grassroots point of view, emphasizing the local factor. Chapters show the international and transnational aspects of Russian women’s agency of different spheres and different historical periods. The book goes on to raise new research questions such as the evaluation and comparison of Soviet society and contemporary Russia from the point of view of gender and women’s possibilities in society.

Aino Saarinen works on Russian and Eastern European issues at the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Kirsti Ekonen is researching in Russian Studies at the Department of World Cultures at the University of Helsinki, Finland.

Valentina Uspenskaia is Professor of Women’s History and Gender Studies at the Tver State University, Russia.