Post-Soviet Women

“Inevitably in the shadow of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the question Russia watchers will ask is where the soldiers’ mothers are who took to the streets to protest the Chechen wars. In its analysis of how the conservative turn in politics of the last two decades has undermined the steps made towards gender equality and the empowerment of women in the USSR successor states, this anthology provides some convincing answers. The story is not all gloom. The impressively researched essays, which introduce the reader to a broad range of case studies, also tell of the ways that women are fighting back within the constraints they face by an emboldened patriarchy across the region.”

--Judith Pallot, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford, UK

This volume explores how different post-Soviet countries have reinterpreted and diverged from the Soviet gender roles and values. It synthesizes results from multiple empirical studies that attend to increasingly conservative features of political governance in the region, particularly the authoritarian regime in Russia. The authors consider diverse enactments of ideologies, policies and practices of gender equality and women’s rights in crucial areas, such as legislative institutions, media, and social activism. The volume contributes to understanding post-Soviet societal dynamics relevant to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5, which emphasizes gender equality as part of fundamental human rights.

Ann-Mari Sätre is Professor in Eurasian Studies and Director of Research at the Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Uppsala University, Sweden.

Yulia Gradskova is Associate Professor of History and Research Coordinator at the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies at Södertörn University, Sweden.

Vladislava Vladimirova is Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at the Institute for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Department of Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology, Uppsala University, Sweden.