SOVIET EMANCIPATION: THE PLACE AND ROLE OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY IN J. STALIN’S PUBLIC DISCOURSE IN THE 1920–1940S

Abstract

The author concludes that J. Stalin allowed contradictory rhetoric about the emancipation of women, their role in the different spheres of life of society, in particular, in the armed forces. It is obvious that the statesman emphasized gender equality and the important role of women in political life and other previously inaccessible for them areas only when it was advantageous for him to use women’s resources to achieve certain political goals. However, there was no radical changes in gender roles in the USSR during Stalin’s rule, and the claims of gender equality often were replaced by the rhetoric that enshrined the status quo in gender social roles that were native for patriarchal societies, and this is particularly evident in Stalin’s public discourse in the years of the Soviet-German war. On the eve of World War II, Stalin initiated the legislative consolidation of the ability of women to serve in the army in combat positions, as well as the conscription of some of their categories in the event of hostilities. He explained that by equality between men and women in society. However, during the deployment of hostilities directly on the territory of the USSR, which was accompanied by the active involvement of Soviet people in the defence of the homeland, mentions of them among those who served in the military gave way to highlighting their “traditional” for patriarchal society roles – victims of the enemy and workers in industry and agriculture, who support their men who are fighting at the front. Based on the mentioned above, we can state the existence of a utilitarian approach to the female population by the USSR leader, who actively used it to solve current problems in the state, but tried to maintain the status quo in gender social roles, which was reflected in his controversial public discourse on women’s emancipation.