On July 20, 1917, Russia became the world\u2019s first major power to grant women the right to vote and hold public office. Yet in the wake of the October Revolution later that year, the foundational organizations and individuals who pioneered the suffragist cause were all but erased from Russian history. The women\u2019s movement, when mentioned at all, is portrayed as meaningless to proletariat and peasant women, based in elitist and bourgeoisie culture of the tsarist era, and counter to socialist ideology. In this groundbreaking book, Rochelle Goldberg Ruthchild reveals that Russian feminists in fact appealed to all classes and were an integral force for revolution and social change, particularly during the monumental uprisings of 1905-1917. Ruthchild offers a telling examination of the dynamics present in imperialist Russia that fostered a growing feminist movement. Based upon extensive archival research in six countries, she analyzes the backgrounds, motivations, methods, activism, and organizational networks of early Russian feminists, revealing the foundations of a powerful feminist intelligentsia that came to challenge, and eventually bring down, the patriarchal tsarist regime. Ruthchild profiles the individual women (and a few men) who were vital to the feminist struggle, as well as the major conferences, publications, and organizations that promoted the cause. She documents political party debates on the acceptance of women\u2019s suffrage and rights, and follows each party\u2019s attempt to woo feminist constituencies despite their fear of women gaining too much political power. Ruthchild also compares and contrasts the Russian movement to those in Britain, China, Germany, France, and the United States. Equality and Revolution offers an original and revisionist study of the struggle for women\u2019s political rights in late imperial Russia, and presents a significant reinterpretation of a decisive period of Russian-and world-history.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
University of Pittsburgh Press
ISBN-13
9780822960669
eBay Product ID (ePID)
95797651
Product Key Features
Subject Area
Gender Issues, Citizenship
Author
Rochelle Goldberg Ruthchild
Publication Name
Equality and Revolution: Women's Rights in the Russian Empire, 1905-1917
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
History
Publication Year
2010
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
336 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
230mm
Item Width
150mm
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Rochelle Goldberg Ruthchild
Series Title
Russian and East European Studies
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States
Best Selling in Textbooks
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Textbooks