Until the late 1960s, most Western scholars studying the history, culture, social and political life and economy of Russia and the Soviet Union, paid scant attention to the participation and experience of women. The multifarious ways in which gender roles and perceptions of gender were influenced by and in turn influenced the heterogeneous cultures of the Soviet empire were largely ignored. However, this neglect has slowly been rectified and now the study of women and gender relations has become one of the most productive fields of research into Russian and Soviet society. This volume demonstrates the originality and diversity of this recent research. Written by leading Western scholars, it spans the last decade of tsarist Russia, the 1917 revolutions and the Soviet period. The essays reflect the interdisciplinary nature of women's work, women and politics, women as soldiers, female prostitution, popular images of women and women's experience of perestroika.

"...the volume contains much that is topical, valuable, interesting, and well written...." A. H. Koblitz, Choice

"As Edmondson notes in the introduction, one of the aims of this collection is to stimulate further research, and along with providing much-needed information and analysis itself, the volume does provide an impetus for future scholars. Finally, many of these essays will be useful in the classroom, and all will be of interest to those who want to know more about the history of women in Russia and the former USSR." Jehanne Gheith, Russian Review