searching for text on contemporary women's issues in Russia

Tue Feb 10 17:47:33 UTC 2004

Dear Dr. Denner,

The latest thing I saw is "Sex Slaves on the Main Street " (or smth.
similar) by Peter Landesman in NYTimes Magazine (Jan. 25) on trafficking and
how these girls end up in this part of the world. It is quite long and,
though gives some background (before 1991 all women had jobs, hence there
was no traffciking), is more about Mexico (a temporary destination) and US
(final point).

When I think of it (gender is my field), everything that I've seen in the
Western (and non-Western, too) media on post-Soviet women/gender is either
about battering or trafficking; I have never seen (probably, I just didn't)
media materials providing some glimpse or analysis of women/gender as
complex social issues (while there are such materials on gender issues in
the West).

You could try to look for articles at "Russian Feminism Resources"
(http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2533/russfem.html ) - there is a "Life and
Work" headline for media materials).

Another option could be Open Women Line (www.owl.ru) - they seem to have
materials in English.

Still another: http://www.we-myi.org/ :
"We/Myi" (previously known as "Vyi i Myi"), The Women's Dialogue" is a
Russian-language magazine for women published bimonthly in Moscow. Its
co-editors are Nadezhda Azhgikhina and Colette Shulman. Each issue is
summarized and partially translated into English, with particular emphasis
on the articles and reports originating in Russia (and NIS).

Below are links to individual texts; some may not be working now, though
(and, again, most are on traffciking).

Elena Gapova

For Better or Worse, Russian Brides Not Boring
Lyn Visson looks at Russian women and American men. (Moscow Times, June 17,
1998)
http://www.amber.ucsf.edu/~ross/russia_/west2.txt

Bye Bye Babushka, More Russian Women Are Boss (Christian Science Monitor)
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1998/02/19/intl/intl.6.html
business

Harder for women
The Russia Journal 8 Jul 2000
http://therussiajournal.com/index.htm?obj=3179

A woman's place is in : protection
Clothing boss builds Moscow security firm
Russia Journal

Training of a Female Cosmonaut
By Yuri Karash
Moscow Contributing Correspondent
posted: 07:00 am ET
26 January 2001

http://www.space.com/news/spaceagencies/woman_cosmonaut_010126.html

Women in Russian Radio Astronomy [Acrobat PDF file, 82Kb]
Reflections by two Russian radio astronomy women: Vera Izvekova and Svetlana
Suleymanova. Comments on general attitudes to women in the sciences. Paper
presented at a meeting on the status of women in astronomy, September 1992.
http://www.stsci.edu/stsci/meetings/WiA/izvekova.pdf

Wise Beyond Their Pre-Teen Years
Two gifted sisters, aged 12 and 13, become the youngest students to enter
the Russian Government Financial Academy. (The Russia Journal, June 29,
1999)

http://therussiajournal.com/index.htm?obj=225

Eastern European Women Battle for a Better Workplace
Overview of the main challenges faced by working women in Eastern Europe and
the Former Soviet Union. (Christian Science Monitor, August 8, 1997)
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1997/08/08/feat/feat.1.html

Economic Crisis Hurts Women and Families First 1998
Chelnoki, change in professions
http://therussiajournal.com/index.htm?obj=1154

Russian women enter the export market
Some women make an informed choice to work abroad and send money home; this
article focuses on Russian dancers in Egypt. (The Russia Journal, September
6, 1999)
http://therussiajournal.com/index.htm?obj=754

Two men are arrested for bringing Russian women and girls to Alaska to work
as strippers.
http://dir.salon.com/sex/world/2001/01/22/alaska/index.html

Traffickers' New Cargo: Naive Slavic Women
how women from Ukraine, Russia and other parts of the former USSR are
tricked into sex slavery abroad (New York Times, January 1998)
http://www.brama.com/issues/nytart.html

Roadside Girls of Russia
Unemployment in rural Russia drives young women into prostitution (The
Independent, August 1999)
http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/stop-traffic/1999/0450.html

>From Russia, With Love
The mail-order bride business is booming, but critics question what it
delivers
http://www.poppolitics.com/articles/2000-06-19-mailorder.shtml

Women in the Reindeer Herding Communities of the Russian Far North
research report from Bulgaria, about women on the Kola Peninsula in Russia
http://www.nbu.bg/iafr/ongoing.htm#Wo

http://www.siecus.org/inter/russia/russ0001.html
In Post-Soviet Russia, Fertility Is on the Decline; Marriage and
Childbearing Are Occurring Earlier" - article by D. Hollander from Family
Planning Perspectives, 1997; now on the SIECUS website.

http://www.neww.org/vim/14/kigai.htm
Family Planning in Russia
Abortion and contraception. Translated article by Natalia Kigai, from We/Myi
magazine, 1997.

http://therussiajournal.com/index.htm?obj=1147
Women of Russia - this article looks at the Women of Russia movement as it
was in early 1999. See also the Women of Russia platform and a bio of
Ekaterina Lakhova.

http://www.isar.org/isar/archive/GT/GT8Yukina.html
Paths for Russian Women into Politics
Irina Yukina gives examples of participation in women's NGOs as a path into
politics. (Give and Take, Summer 2000)

http://www.we-myi.org/

Globalization - a Remedy or a Quest? The Russian Experience
Olga Lipovskaya looks at the Russian women's movement, civil society and
globalization. (Lola Press magazine, 1999)

http://www.isar.org/isar/archive/GT/GT.html
Summer 2000
Women and the Third Sector

----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Denner <mdenner at STETSON.EDU>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: 10 February 2004 10:37 AM
Subject: [SEELANGS] searching for text on contemporary women's issues in
Russia

Dear Colleagues:

We're having a speaker -- a Russian historian from Irkutsk -- read a lecture
on women in contemporary Russia. The lecture is in conjunction with a
diversity week on gender issues & is open to the public. I'm looking for a
short article, preferably from the mass media (New York Times, Harpers,
Time, etc.) that gives an accessible overview of some of the current issues
faced by women in Russia -- for instance, gender equity, women's health
issues, bytovaya zhizn', changing role of women, etc.

The article (or articles) will be distributed in advance and are aimed at
providing the audience with some context so that they can ask informed
questions and participate in an informed discussion on the issue.

So, anyone have any advice for such articles that you've used in classes or
read recently?

Thanks in advance,
mad

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Dr. Michael A. Denner
Russian Studies Program
Stetson University
Campus Box 8361
DeLand, FL 32724
386.822.7381 (department)
386.822.7265 (direct line)
386.822.7380 (fax)
http://www.stetson.edu/~mdenner
http://russianpoetry.net

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