Feminism and suffrage in Russia

women, war and revolution 1914–1917

Olga Shnyrova

pp. 124-140

in: Alison S. Fell, Ingrid Sharp (eds), The women's movement in wartime, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007

Abstract

The outbreak of the First World War provoked a surge of patriotism in Russia, among both men and women, and the popular press were fulsome in their praise of those who broke the law for patriotic reasons. Shortly after the beginning of the war, for example, articles appeared that recounted the stories of women who joined military troops by concealing their sex. The truth was usually revealed only after they had been wounded or captured. Among them were women from all classes: peasants, factory workers, aristocrats and students. Many of them were honoured with awards and their deeds were admired by the general public, a fact reflected in a sketch entitled "Then and Now" (Figure 4) that appeared in the popular illustrated journal Ogonek (The Light).