In Russia, feminism is a dirty word. Most ladies openly and proudly state, “I am not a feminist”, meaning she is a good woman as opposed to a bad one.

Feminism in Russia: How did it change in the 21 century?

In one sentence, Russian feminism changed over the years for the worse.

The concept of equality of men and women, typical for Soviet Russia of 1917-1987, was pushed decades back after the crash of Perestroika that led to the a long-term economic crisis of 1990s.

The neo-patriotism in Russia that became a prevalent ideology since early 2000s has a very strong patriarchal component.

The current view of women in Russia is that feminism is alike a swear word. Barely any female wishes to be known as a feminist, even if she supports the ideas that feminism stands for.

Distortions

In reality, ladies in Russia have rather a blurred idea what feminism is about.

For Russian girls, feminist is someone who dresses like a man, looks hideous, doesn’t shave her legs, and doesn’t use a deodorant. Feminism is portrayed as something that destroys the very fabric of the society, part of “western values”, which are intrinsically foreign to the mentality of unique, soulful, and great Mother Russia.

Being a feminist is perceived to be linked to sexual promiscuity, bad family relationships, arrogance, and egoism. Females who support ideas of feminism are portrayed in an unfavourable light even by independent sources such as Lenta.ru.

Vice versa, being anti-feminist in Russia is perceived as dignified, supportive of strong family values, perseverance, and fidelity.

Today the official policy of the Russian government is promotion of differences between men and women, with the view of making females strive “to create a family” (get married) and have at least 3 kids. Creating a family and raising children is an authorized woman’s life purpose, which Russian girls are brought up with.

According to the officially endorsed Russian gender doctrine, women are supposed to support men in their careers rather than strive to achieve something on their own. Being career-oriented for a female is frown upon among true believers in the Great Mother Russia.

Creating a family and raising children is an authorized woman’s life purpose, which Russian girls are brought up with.

Demographics

Gender imbalance in Russian business and politics is some of the worst in the world.

The Russian parliament (Duma) has only 13% of females — that’s less than in predominantly Muslim countries of the former USSR such as Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan.

Views of modern Russian women are reminiscent of ideals of American females of 1950s. Cooking, cleaning, shopping, raising kids, and taking care of the husband are the responsibilities of a good woman. Finding a husband is the most important task for an unmarried female. A female should tolerate her lot in life and be virtuous, without striving for anything better than her husband can offer her.

Courses “How to get a husband” or “How to make your husband a millionaire” are abundant in Russia. Hundreds of thousands of Russian women pay a lot of money to lecturers and trainers teaching them how to please a man and assist the husband in moving up the career ladder — not how to be successful in one’s own right.

To understand the situation of Russian feminism today, think of 1960s America and how it was for the young women burning their bras and demanding equality.

If would like to learn more about Russian women and their views, visit Elena’s Models blog and check popular articles and news about Russia.

Read also:

• 11 tips how to choose a good Russian wife from 1916
• I am not sure I want a Russian wife, but I am curios. Is it still OK to chat to women and what should I say?
• Top-5 reasons to marry a Russian woman
• What Russian women want? How to pick a perfect gift for a Russian girl