Post-Communist Transition and Women's Agency in Eastern Europe

Central and East European Studies Series, 3 (International Studies Library, 39) The exigencies of post-communist transition have no doubt affected women's lives enormously ? the rise, e.g., in human trafficking in Eastern Europe. Contributions to this volume address this and other challenges posed by the resultant gender gap in poverty in the region. Yet, other articles chronicle the heritage of communism in the Soviet Union, which despite the "double burden" of challenging professional work and daunting domestic responsibilities, provided women with education and expectations that ensured, for some, a successful, if still difficult, transition to democratic rule and a market economy. This at times paradoxical situation is investigated under the rubrics of "History and Commemoration," "Women in Post-Soviet Russia," "The Soviet Heritage Beyond the Border," and "Revelations in Women's Narratives." Table of Contents Introduction HISTORY AND COMMEMORATION 1. Adrienne M. Harris, "Evolution of the Immortal: Dynamic Images of World War II Heroes 2. Natalia Pushkareva, "Women's History in Russia: Status and Perspective between Eastern Traditionalism and Western Feminism WOMEN IN POST-SOVIET RUSSIA 3. Natalia Vinokurova, "Russian Women in Science and Education: Gender Equality, Gender Inequality" 4. Ann-Marie Satre, "Women's Work, Political Strategies and Survival in Rural Russia" THE SOVIET HERITAGE BEYOND THE BORDER 5. Pirjo Pollanen, "Transnational Family Care in Rusian-Finish Families in the Finnish-Russian Border Region (Karelia): Russian immigrant women's perspective 6. Kristina Abiala, "Longing and Hope: Present and Future for Young Moldovan Women" REVELATIONS IN WOMEN'S NARRATIVES 7. Karin Sarsenov, "The Textualization of Disgust: Marital Violence in Russian Autobiography" 8. Rashmi Doraiswamy, "Women's Writing and the Politics of the Everyday: Spotlight on Nina Gorlanova" 9. Ranjana Saxena, "Russian Women's Prose and Narrative Techniques: Olga Slavnikova's The Immortal" About the Author: Cynthia Simmons is Professor of Slavic Studies at Boston College. She specializes in gender and cultural studies, literary theory, and the literatures of Russia and ex-Yugoslavia. Her publications include Women Engaged/Engaged Art in Postwar Bosnia: Reconciliation, Recovery, and Civil Society, Writing the Siege of Leningrad: Women's Diaries, Memoirs, and Documentary Prose (with Nina Perlina), and Their Fathers' Voice: Vassily Aksyonov, Venedikt Erofeev, Eduard Limonov, and Sasha Sokolov.