The Death of Russian Womanhood
The post-Soviet era has marginalized a generation of Russian women who defined themselves by sacrifice in the name of a greater cause. Dmitry Shlapentokh examines their predicament, and suggests that Russia has suffered by losing the spirit that underpinned their achievements.
Valentina Tereshkova, the first female Soviet cosmonaut – indeed, the first woman to go into space – recently celebrated her 70th birthday. In an interview, she stated her only wish: to fly to Mars, even with a one-way ticket. It was an implicit wish for a spectacular form of suicide, for a spectacularly prosaic reason: the loss, experienced by thousands of Russian women of her generation, of her life’s existential foundation.
Valentina Tereshkova, the first female Soviet cosmonaut – indeed, the first woman to go into space – recently celebrated her 70th birthday. In an interview, she stated her only wish: to fly to Mars, even with a one-way ticket. It was an implicit wish for a spectacular form of suicide, for a spectacularly prosaic reason: the loss, experienced by thousands of Russian women of her generation, of her life’s existential foundation.