Document Type

Thesis

Date of Degree Completion

Spring 2025

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

History

Committee Chair

Roxanne Easley

Second Committee Member

Chong Eun Ahn

Third Committee Member

Jason Knirck

Abstract

After the October Revolution of 1917, the new Bolshevik regime sought to reshape the lives of women to fit the new socialist future. In line with Marxist thought, they attempted to draw mothers out of the home and into the public sphere. Through legal reforms and social services, the Communist Party worked to relieve mothers of the double burden which tied women between work and the home. This research focuses on the various methods used by the Bolsheviks in their attempt to reform motherhood in the decade after the revolution. Most importantly, it helps to uncover the impact it had on the women who were the victims this socialist experiment. Using legal documents, theoretical writings, Soviet publications, and personal writings, this project researched the policies and the realities faced by mothers in the early Soviet Union. While the lives of mothers improved in some areas such as legal protections, labor laws, and access to state services. Yet, the nation’s economic conditions, the urban and rural divide, and women’s own opposition left many mothers out of this vision of new Soviet motherhood.

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