Description
Book SynopsisFocuses on the problematic domains of the institutions and laws devised to cope with family difficulties, and discusses the social strains created by the transition from communist to post-communist national systems. In addition to the substantial historic analysis, actual challenges are also discussed. The essays examine the changing gender roles, alterations in legal systems, the burdens faced by married and unmarried women who are mothers, the contrasts between government rhteoric and the implementation of policies toward marriage, children and parenthood. By addressing the specifics of welfare politics under the Communist rule and the directions of their transformation in 1990 - 2000s, this book contributes to the understanding of social institutions and family policies inthese countries and the problems of dealing with the socialist past that this region face.
Trade Review"The essays by Leinarte and Runcis offer valuable insights about the intersection of gender and nationality; Carlbäck’s, Munico-Larsson’s, and Sätre’s chapters contribute to the growing scholarship on Soviet and post-Soviet masculinity; and the essays by Carlbäck, Zhidkova, and Leinarte speak to the current historiographical interest in the ambiguous nature of the thaw. Many of the essays explore notions of agency by offering compelling examples of how people without much power manage to formulate coping strategies (see the chapters by Asztalos Morell, Farhan, Gradskova, and Kravchenko). Finally, essays by Gradskova, Khazova, Kravchenko, Rotkirch and Kesseli, and Iarskaia-Smirnova and Romanov demonstrate the ways in which gender complicates our understanding of post-Soviet politics and society". * Slavic Review *
Table of ContentsPreface Family and parenting in Eastern Europe and Russia before and after the fall of socialism PART I "We think the law is totally unjust". Popular attitudes to family legislation in Soviet Russia Family, divorce, and comradeship tribunals: Soviet family and public organisations during the Thaw A life of labor, a life of love: Telling the life of a young peasant mother facing collectivization East German women going West. Family, children and partners in life experience literature The family and the state in Soviet Latvia: 1945-1989 Lithuanian Office of State Benefits for Mothers of Large Families and Single Mothers, 1944-1956. First attempts to implement the Decree of July 8, 1944 PART II "Two children is in the zone of social misery." Childbearing and risk perception among Russian women "Supporting the genuine development of the child". Public childcare centers versus family in post-Soviet Russia Everyday continuity and change: family and family policy in Russia Single mothers - clients or citizens? Social work with poor families in Russia Welfare crisis and crisis centers in Russia today: Preliminary theses and questions Marriage and divorce law in Russia and the Baltic States: Overview of recent changes Doing parenting in post-socialist Estonia and Latvia Experiences of and views on gender roles in Russian families Note on Contributors
