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See also
www.plakat.ru for more examples of
feminine ideal of 1920s - 1960s. Yes, and that too is among the ingredients that constitute a modern Russian woman. |
under development
What are Russian women like?
This little project was prompted by us being asked, at the rate of least once per month, what Russian women like are like.
Here is a selection of random quotes from classic literature, excerpts form research, representative pieces of art, and some of my own and Pasha's thoughts in an attempt to answer that question.
A coherent picture may or may not form as a result of this collection. I don't know. Presently I'm at the stage of capturing whatever material I happen to come across. Sapienti sat, as Uncle Pasha likes to say.
Comments, suggestions, and contribution of meaningful quotations are welcomed.
Olesya
classic Poetry
Tyutchev, To the Russian Woman
N.A. Nekrasov, from Frost-Red_Nose
Nekrasov, Miscellaneous quotes
Ukrainian women vs. Russian women
LITERATURE
N.V.Gogol
Ivan Fedorovich Shponka and His Aunt[Ivan has this nightmarish dream when contemplating marriage.]
...the wife is not a person but some kind of woolen material; that in Mogilev he enters the shop. "What material?", asks the merchant. "Take wife, that's the most fashionable fabric! Very good quality! Now all make jackets out of it." [Then the merchant measure and cuts off his wife, Ivan takes it and proceeds to the Jewish taylor.] "No", says the Jew, "It is bad fabric. No one makes jackets out of it..."
Old Russian views
on women
(before Peter The First's reforms)
..................
Soviet propaganda poster
See also www.plakat.ru for more examples of feminine ideal of 1920s - 1960s. Yes, and that too is among the ingredients that constitute a modern Russian woman.
philosophical,
quasi-philosophical, or
otherwise conceptually perceptive observations
There are girls, mature women and babushkas. I was looking at that variety till it clicked: no links, no transition, no continuity. There are caterpillars and there are butterflies, but who has actually seen the transformation? In what mysterious pupa do Russian women prepare for the next stage of their life?
Keith B. Froggles
Traveller, writer, and mineral collector...quite a few Russian women have expressed their exasperation about the psychology of Russian men to me. My theory is that Russian men are for a not-so-small percentage drunk (they have to keep warm in that climate, after all), and that most of the rest are geniuses. Now that explains why the Russians invented everything except democracy, and managed to compose incredibly beautiful music along the way. It also, obviously, makes them impossible to live with. The drunks are out drinking, the geniuses are out inventing and composing, so that leaves the Russian women uncared for. Yet they manage to get pregnant from time to time. That must be thanks to sin. And that, of course, keeps the Church in business. Without crime police isn't necessary, without sin no need of a church.HH
random overhead phrases
Let nerds go to college. Why pore over books when I got beauty and grace. Work is for man. I am a beautification of man's life, that's how I view myself.
Izmailovsky park, two high school girls
...you never know when some idiots will blow you up. Enjoy while you can. It's foolish to plan. Besides, we are women, made to enjoy and bring enjoyments..
Neighbour at the dacha commenting on our construction plans. Summer 2002
modern feminist view
...highly unpleasant to read our feminists. Our feminists keep on telling how poor women were oppressed. But they refuse to develop a character of the woman as she should be. Let's first get our rights, then we'll see. I'm not totally sure if our women, even declared feminists, want to become like American or evern West European women. My feeling is that the they, perhaps not fully consciously or even fully unconsciously, The impression I seem to get after a few hours of studying local feminist literature is that Russian women have an overgrown sense of femininity and that they value it in themselves, and denounce modern women as sexless. They like to be not only beautiful, but weak and subordinate. I see hints of it scattered all over Russian feminist literature, which makes it seem like women ostensibly advocating feminist ideals are setting themselves up to fail. That's quite transparent actually. The Soviet brand of feminism, with women military pilots and such, fits the pattern of heroism and self-sacrifice more than liberation and pursuit of opportunities. All-in-all a depressive reading, our feminists. I'm putting this topic aside in favour of how Russian women are portrayed in poetry.
Katya Maluk, sociologist
my former student whom I got to do some research on the subject
Met got to learn that we are a valuable thing. Not of value as a body, or a wife, or a worker, but intrinsically, fundamentally. You can't take us for granted. You want us - expect to pay. I respect myself. If a man wants to talk to me, let him do that in an expensive restaurant...
An overeducated Jewish girl who thinks of herself as a feminist
statistics
Average life expectancy at birth, in 2002: .....
Average number of children: 1.7-1.8 among ethnic Russians
Abortions: An average of 4 abortions per woman per lifetime
Smokers in the xxx to xxxx population group: .....
Age of first sexual intercourse: 16 (cf. 18 in North America)
Average wage: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Women among the unemployed in Moscow: 75%
STD statistics:
170-190 cases of syphilis per 100000 (compared to 2-5 in most western countries)
At least 80% carry herpesTypical occupations: Accountants, administrators, teachers, doctors
Education statistics: ....Domestic violence: 3/4 of Russian women are subjected to some form of violence (Natalia Abubikirova of "Stop Violence" NGO), est. 14000 women die as a result of domestic violence (UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women), and about 1/2 of the population (men and women) consider wife-beating to be a private matter.
More random statistics from periodicals and other unverifiable sources
art, classic
Boyarynay Morozova by V.I. Surikov
V.I. Surikov about his "Countess Morozova" "I very much liked Russian female faces. They are uncorrupted, untouched. Why are they beautiful? - It is the harmony of their features, which is the essence of Russia. When they bow, it is like Old Believers from Preobrazhenskoye.... Of them the most poetic Russian female character is Countess Morozova.. her bow and her submission displays the strength of the soul. Her bent silhouette and spirited face invoke images from ancient Russian icons.
women in modern advertising
women in women's magazines
A review of popular magazines and women-oriented web-site seems to indicate that Russian women are concerned about:
getting slim
food
children's health
travel
keeping the husband
....
....
Achievement motive, either as applied to women themselves, or to their children, was conspicuously lacking. When discussing their children's education, the motives of prestige are often mentioned but never, not even once, did I notice the discussion of what type of education would prepare children for the modern world as it is and as we can expect it to be in 15-20 years from now.
COMMENTS FROM MEN WITH RUSSIAN WIVES
Women's organizations
In response to several inquiries from women's issues researchers I've started a list of women's organizations. Perhaps it will be of interest to Russian brides seekers.
The Grand Conclusion
Two character types seem to emerge, a stern saint/hero, and a passive object. The latter is either a sufferer, or a toy.
A conspicuous lack of planning, "can't control things" view of things, success or failure attributed to external factors.
A disproportionate amount of professionals, especially in creative business, seem to be women.
The discrepancy between passive attitudes and refusal to see the world in terms of causal relationships and apparent professional success. Do their attitudes change? Or do these groups start out differently?
.......
Background:
xxxxxx by xxxxxxx
