|
|
| WOMEN
IN RUSSIAN HISTORY 1 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
In the l8th century the Russian Empress Catherine II [Great] had the
nerve to assert that women in Russia possessed more freedom than women in
other European countries. Was it really so? On the other hand a French
abbot who lived in Russia said outright in his book that in his opinion
Russian women were slaves of their husbands. If this was the case, then
when did this slavery begin? Russian peasant life acknowledged the equality and high value of women.
There the wife was called a man's "companion and friend for life." Family
was the basis for material and moral well-being - according to
the old saying, "God helps a bachelor and the wife helps her
husband." Working together was what sustained the peasant
family: the work a woman did was highly valued and indeed it was
thought that family prosperity to a very large extent depended
on how skillfully she managed the household.
What qualities
were appreciated in a woman? First of all, she should be
physically healthy.
She did a full day of housework and in
summer many women helped their husbands in the fields.
In the
opinions of historians, Russian peasant women had every bit as
much
|
 |
strength and endurance as men
did. The family division of labor had existed for centuries.
As they used to
say, the husband threshes the wheat and the wife bakes the bread. The men
did all the basic farming work, and tended the horses and did the carpentry
and cut up the firewood and brought in the hay. It was considered shameful
for a man to do women's work. Even a boy who fetched water might be made
fun of.
Women's responsibility was the home: preparing food, cleaning and
ironing, looking after children, and bringing in buckets of water. They
also tended the family's vegetable garden and the smaller livestock.
In extended families living together under one roof, relations were
strictly regulated in a hierarchy of submission and and division of labor
which even into the 20th century, especially in Siberia, preserved
patriarchal values. In these large undivided families there was collective ownership of
property and money, and both work and consumption were shared. The oldest
man (father or oldest brother) was head of household - the "bolshak"
governing the whole of family life. He represented the family in the
commune, controlled all household spending, and exercised patriarchal
authority over all family members.
Family property was distributed
according to his wishes, hence the sons, fearing to lost their shares,
obeyed their father. Inside the home the woman was in charge, the "bolshukha," who managed
the family funds and supplies, and kept order and assigned tasks to the
women and taught the youngest daughter-in-law to cook. In the absence of a male
head of household, the woman replaced him and the sons submitted to their
mother. But on the father's death, his rights and responsibilities passed
to his eldest son, and less often to a brother. In the home, the oldest son
was second to the "bolshak" in authority and his wife was first assistant to her
mother-in-law and first among the other daughters-in-law.
Women's tasks in the home were assigned according to their place in themhierarchy.
The mother-in-law taught the young bride to cook and if she was
a mean mother-in-law, she made fun of her. The actual meal preparation was done only by the
"bolshukha" while the young brides worked outside in the garden and tended
the animals. At times of festivities the woman spun and wove, so to speak,
for her family and washed their things, and the youngest bride also had to
bathe the old folks.
In these big families in general, life was hard on the youngest
daughter-in-law, and this is reflected in peasant lore, in the pre-wedding
songs that girls sang, with anxiety and tears at giving up their childhood
homes for an unfamiliar and even alien one where the young bride was often
looked on as a servant-gift to do the work.
At a young age girls learned to do the various jobs of the household -
to wash dishes and floors (at age six or seven) and tend poultry and other
family animals. At eight or nine she was taught to weave. Girls watered
gardens and helped fetch water and milk the cows, and they looked after the
little children. Yet, even with these chores, before marriage they were
relatively free of responsibility. In spring and summer they were outdoors
with friends, they sang and went dancing and on excursions.
Relations among young people were rather free and unconstrained, but
girls tried to avoid sexual relations with boys since a girl's fate,
especially in marriage, largely depended on her reputation. Rubbing tar on
her gate was enough to tarnish it. If the tarring culprit was caught and
turned out to be a slanderer, he himself was tarred and led naked through
the village.
Maria Kotovskaya
|
|
|
|
