Organizing Women in Contemporary Russia: Engendering Transition by Valerie Sperling (review)

Abstract

reviews 777 In short, although the book is a useful contribution, it is by no means comprehensive or definitive. As outlined above, there are a number of pertinent areas not examined and, despite the rather too frequent use of variations of the word 'convincing' in the introduction to the work, this reviewer still felt that there were a number of important areas not covered by the work which were worthy of examination. Conflict StudiesResearch Centre S. J. Main DefenceAcademy of the UK Sperling, Valerie. Organizing Women inContemporary Russia: Engendering Transition. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999. x + 303 pp. Notes. Tables. Map. Appendices. Bibliography. Index. ?13.95: $22.95 (paperback). Valerie Sperling's meticulously researched and carefully argued study is based on extensive interviews with members of women's organizations in Moscow and two smaller, provincial cities (Ivanovo and Cheboksary), mostly conducted between 1994 and 1996, as well as her observations as a participant in meetings and events. She examined women's motives for becoming involved in such groups as well as how they operated at local and national level. In the first chapter, Sperling provides an overview of the Russian women's movement in themid 1990s. She then sets her analysis within the framework of theories of social movements, as well as the particular context of thepost-Communist transitionwith due attention paid to the Soviet legacy. The Communists had a narrow perception of sexual equality which focused on theworkplace and neglected the position ofwomen in the home leading, on the one hand, to the 'double burden' experienced by Soviet women, and on the other to a perceived emasculation of men. This contributed to a backlash against sexual equality even before the collapse of Communism. Certainly, women found a voice with Gorbachev's 'openness' as well as the opportunity to organize independently of the state. However, the obstacles were considerable, including thepolitical and economic instabilityof the tran sitional period and the weak communications and economic infrastructure. There was also the problem of finding an audience in a situation where women were facing open, indeed blatant, discrimination in the workplace, both in terms of their gender and their age. Not surprisingly, a key form of association was based on efforts to help women back into the workplace (through for example encouraging craft work, promoting business skills), albeit inways which reinforced a gendered division of labour. Most women who attended these support groups did not see themselves as feminists but were looking for the means to survive in the new market economy in which the sex industry, already developing in the late 1980s, not only became big business but was presented as 'empowering' women (at least younger women) in contrast to the 'de-sexing' experienced by Soviet womanhood. Despite all the hurdles, a small women's movement emerged, partly as a fight-back against the loss of services, notably around child-care, previously 77^ SEER, 86, 4, OCTOBER 2008 provided by the state and employer; and partly as a struggle against sexual inequality. As Sperling noted, there is no Russian term for 'gender', and indeed even feminists inRussia tend to accept that there are 'essential' differ ences between women and men. They nevertheless recognized that the post Communist political structures were (still)male-dominated and developed networks and lobbying strategies to try to influence politicians at both local and national level, despite their suspicions of political parties and of hierarchical structures generally. It proved extremely difficult to organize a mass movement; indeed, Sperling observed that feministsdid not tryto do so. The post-Communist media was not only generally unsympathetic but often downright hostile. Activists recognized thatwomen's organizations were seen as hangovers from the Soviet period, while feminism was stillperceived as a Western concept. Because women's groups lacked resources they often looked abroad forhelp, including to theUnited Nations, NGOs andWestern feminist movements. Whereas Sperling noted that globalization enabled women's organizations tofind new sources of support, sheworried that this might skew the focus of the Russian movement towards Western concerns and in favour of theminority of activists. The author warned that by the late 1990s the women's movement was concentrating on maintaining existing organizations and networking, and was retreating to academic...