Equality & Revolution : Women's Rights in the Russian Empire, 1905-1917

Rochelle Goldberg Ruthchild

ISBN 10: 0822960664 / ISBN 13: 9780822960669

Published by University Of Pittsburgh Press Jul 2010, 2010

About this Item

Neuware - On July 20, 1917, Russia became the worldu2019s 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 womenu2019s 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 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 womenu2019s suffrage and rights, and follows each partyu2019s 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 womenu2019s political rights in late imperial Russia, and presents a significant reinterpretation of a decisive period of Russian--and world--history.

Seller Inventory # 9780822960669

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Equality & Revolution : Women's Rights in the Russian Empire, 1905-1917
• Publisher: University Of Pittsburgh Press Jul 2010
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0822960664
• ISBN 13: 9780822960669
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 246W x 161H x 28D millimeters 246 millimeters width by 161 millimeters height by 28 millimeters depth
• Weight: 543 grams

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

Rochelle Goldberg Ruthchildis a research associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University, professor emerita of graduate studies at Vermont College/Union Institute & University, and former director of the Russian School