Women, Gender and The Russian Revolutions of 1917: Challenging the Traditional Interpretations

1917 is the most studied year in 20^th century Russian history. Yet despite that, this paper argues that the question of the role of women in the key historic events accords with traditional and/or Soviet inspired stereotypes. Thus, if they are assigned any role in the February Revolution which toppled the Tsar, women are depicted as apolitical bread rioters instead of conscious political actors. The fact that the women’s demonstrations which sparked the February Revolution took place on International Women’s Day is played down; the role of male workers is emphasized. The March 19 demonstration for women’s suffrage which took place in Petrograd soon after the February Revolution is invisible in almost all Russian and Soviet histories. If mentioned at all, the demonstration is demonized as a ‘bourgeois feminist’ affair. Indeed, pictures of that march have been incorrectly identified in key works about the 1917 revolutions. In the case of the October/Bolshevik Revolution, the dominant narratives juxtapose the manly Bolsheviks against the weak Provisional Government, whose headquarters in the formerly Tsarist Winter Palace was guarded by female soldiers. This paper will examine the myths and gender stereotypes connected with critical events of 1917, in the light of modern scholarship in women’s history, transnational feminism and intersectionality. The paper will include recent Russian archival research as well as excerpts from the newsreel showing the March 19^th women’s rights demonstration.