Rural life of Russian women

Abstract

The relevance of the study of the living conditions of rural women is related to the actual demographic situation in the Russian hinterland. In rural areas of the Russian Federation there is a stable decline in the population due, first of all, to natural population decrease, as well as migration outflow connected with low standards and quality of life, unattractiveness of labor in rural areas, and social infrastructure. Rural women as a socio-demographic group with typical socio-psychological, ideological, moral and ethno-cultural characteristics, similar spiritual values, social experience and lifestyles, being a more numerous part of the population of rural territories, act as a kind of bulwark for preservation of the village, its culture, traditions and rural economy as a whole. A quarter of all Russian women live in rural areas. Distribution of the country’s population by gender and age groups as of January 1, 2019 shows that women predominate in the rural population (52%). And the group of women over working age is twice as large as that of men (6775 thousand against 3230 thousand). In other words, Russian village has actually a female face. In this regard, the study of rural women’s issues is very important and timely. The article shows the role of women in the social development of the village, provides excerpts from interviews of rural female activists, their reasoning about how they live despite the difficulties that surround them. It highlights demographic trends in rural areas, assesses the quality of the labor potential of rural residents in comparison with urban residents, and shows a higher level of self-realization in labor activity among women than among men.