Women’s Liberation in Russia and its Impact on Russian Literature

Despite being a part of Europe, Russia has always been very elusive. Although there were many parallels, the position of women differed in Russia than in Europe and America because of the political situation. The serfs were emancipated in 1861 and gradually the society started witnessing a change from the feudal to a capitalist economy. The nineteenth century turned a new leaf in the history of women’s liberation in Russia. The Russian society was strictly hierarchical and there was utter lack of mobility within the different sections of the society. However, the women belonging to the upper strata of the society enjoyed greater freedom and autonomy. Although women could work in factories, hospitals, schools etc, they owed obedience to their husbands. It is also evident that women resented these restrictions. Gradually women realized that their autonomy was only a façade to keep them under control. This dichotomy in society along with women’s aspiration to seek independence has been portrayed by the major novelists and play wrights of the period like Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov. Their works of fiction portray the lives of the flesh and blood women of the nineteenth century society and give us a peep into the turbulent psyche of the women of the time.