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define themselves within the context of prevailing poli tical and social terminology, presuppositions, and views. Historically few of them have been able to articulate their views, break from the verbal mold, and defend their policies. This is true when retrospectively the poli cies of the women prove to be correct. Let me illustrate by looking at the politics of Rus sian feminists during the critical years of the first Rus sian revolution between 1904 and 1908. The Russian Empire at the time included a good one third of Poland, all of the Baltics, the Caucasus, much of Central Asia, and most of Ukraine. It also had — not in the Russian center but mainly in the western peripheries — a sizeable Jewish population. The cities were largely Russian; even the Jews who had money and education (prerequisites to receiving the mandatory government permit to live in the cities) tended to be Russified and cut off from their Jewish roots. The revolution of 1905 gave Russians an opportunity to reverse the tradition of centralized bu reaucratic authoritarianism and establish a representa tive, modernizing regime that could benefit the popu lation. Russia had just withdrawn from a disastrous war with Japan and the pressure of worker, student and intelligentsia unrest had forced the government to pro mise a representative assembly chosen by some kind of popular elections .12 Every political liberalization in Russia brings with it a flowering of cultural life and of out-reach programs that at other times are banned by the police .13 The period of 1905 was especially rich in the establishment of literacy societies, programs aimed at bringing general enlightenment to the population and economic coopera tives directed at ameliorating the conditions of the peasants. Russian liberals threw themselves into all this activity, and into political life as well. Russian society at the time had an articulate and educated urban population that supported liberal reforms, had an outlet to the press and the outside world, and had hopes of succeed ing, without bloodshed, to restructure Russia into a constitutional monarchy. As many authoritarian states, Russia did not only centralize its government but also its society. Public opinion, and the writing and analysis of history, centered largely in the two capitals — St. Petersburg, the seat of government since the 1720s and Moscow, the historic capital dating from the Mongol times. To this day our analysis of Russian developments is often generalized from the experience of these two major cities. Russian women had established the usual upper class philanthropic societies which in turn spawn ed regional branches in the non-Russian areas of the Empire. The centrist approach kept the peculiarities of the provincial organizations from being noticed by historians, as well as the residents of the capitals them selves. The sudden growth of organizations of non-Russian make-up and goals caught the liberals unaware. They had discussed the issue of anti-semitism, but the solution to it they saw in the Jews being treated as Russians, and essentially becoming Russian except for their Jewish faith. The growth of Yiddish cultural organizations surprised the liberals. The growth of nationalist aspira tions among the Poles the Russians could understand, but similar developments among the Balts, the Ukrain ians, Georgians, Armenians and other nationalities caught them unaware. The liberals immediately distrust ed these developments, seeing in them only divisive tactics that would weaken the democratic forces. With their urban, centrist focus, the liberals presumed that the power of the Tsar could only be limited by rallying to their version of the opposition, deferring all other aspirations, and establishing a united front under their leadership. To be continued... 7. Hence the unwillingness of Soviet women to breathe life into the Councils of Women that Mikhail Gorbachev tried to create upon assuming power. 8 . Natalia Kobrynska is a case in point. In the 1880’s she argued that socialism without feminism would only spell a double burden for women; for a brief introduction see Martha Bohachevsky-Chomiak, "Natalia Kobrynska: A Formulator of Feminism,” in Andrei S. Markovits and Frank E. Sysyn, eds... Nationbuiiding and the Politics of Nationalism. Harvard Uni versity Press, 1982, pp. 196-219, and her Feminists Despite Themselves: Women in Ukrainian community life 1884-1939. (University of Alberta Press, 1988). 9. Polish literature is especially rich in this approach, for an Od przadki do astronautki. Warsaw, 1963. 10. There are of course differences in the historical devel opment of the Russian state and the peoples of Eastern Europe, as well as some differences in the historical development of the states of Eastern Europe with the various governments of Rus sia. The Asian territories of Russia are particularly in marked contrast to those of Eastern Europe, but even there when we focus on the peoples of East Europe and the peoples of Russia we see the underlying similarity of the societies of whole areas despite the political and historical differences. 11. "In Search of a Metaphor for the Major: A Feminist Challenge,” Liberal Education. September/October, 1990, pp. 18-21, quotation from p. 21 . 12. From news item in ibid., p. 42. HOLIDAY GREETINGS! Greet your family and friends with the holidays in “Our Life”. By purchasing a "greeting ad” you not only share your best wishes but also support our magazine. Holiday greetings ads received by November 1st, wil run in the December issue; those received by December 1st, will run in the January issue. Three (3) lines of text is $10.00.
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