essay

Peasant women and their work

world of the russian peasant : post-emancipation culture and society • Boston • Published In 1990 • Pages: 45-63

By: Glickman, Rose L..

Abstract

This historical study investigates the complex roles of women in traditional Russian farming households and communities. Prior to the 1917 revolution land was transmitted indivisibly from father to son, or in the absence of sons, to other male relatives; women lacked rights to land, including homesteads and kitchen gardens. Nevertheless, the survival of households depended on the availability of sufficient female labor for performing all domestic tasks, including maintaining the hut, grinding grain, baking bread, making butter and cheese, preparing meals, and putting up preserves. In the field, women also performed a range of agricultural tasks including tending livestock, fertilizing, weeding, and mowing and stacking hay. Ironically, this gender-based division of labor continued largely intact into the twentieth century when the economy became industrialized: women continued to perform most domestic chores while also taking factory jobs to augment household income.

Region

Europe

Sub Region

Eastern Europe

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Historian

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Teferi Abate Adem ; 2019

Field Date

not applicable

Coverage Date

1880-1914

Coverage Place

Central Russia

Notes

Rose Glickman

Includes bibliographical references

LCCN

89022637

LCSH

Russia--Rural conditions