REVISITING THE ISSUE OF WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN NATIONAL-STATE BUILDING THE KOMI AUTONOMY IN 1920–1930s

Abstract

The study of the gender aspect in the personnel policy of the RCP (b) – ACP (b) during the period of the Soviet power establishment is one of the most interesting historical issues. The article discusses the experience of involving women in the political life of the Komi Autonomous Region – the Komi ASSR in the first years of statehood formation. On the example of creating women’s organizations in the party-state apparatus and their participation in delegate meetings, the first experience of women’s socialization into the “new life” is summarized. The article presents as well the results of analyzing the social-demographic and social-professional information about women-participants of Komi regional party conferences held during the specified period. The study was carried out using such sources as questionnaires and registration lists of women-delegates containing personal data on their age, nationality, party experience, social position, education level. Documents and materials of sixteen party conferences were processed – from January 1922 to January 1940. Based on the study of social characteristics of activists of the women’s movement it is established that mainly representatives of the indigenous nationality took part in the work of the supreme governing body, of whom a significant part belonged to the peasant community. In the composition of the women’s delegate corps of the 1920s there were more women who had secondary education, while at the regional conference held in the 1930s, mainly delegates with primary level of education were present. Personal data obtained from the archival sources give the opportunity to form a generalized social portrait of women, occupying the managerial positions in the party-state authorities. Most of them were communists of indigenous nationality, employees by their social status; they had a secondary or higher education and had the teaching background. The author analyzes their movement through the ranks which changed the social status of the women’s movement activists. However, despite the comprehensive women’s involvement in the socio-political life of the Komi region, in the community of the supreme party-state leadership there was a considerable gender asymmetry.