Commonwealth Club of California Podcast Julia Ioffe: A Feminist History of Modern Russia
Nov 10, 2025
In a compelling discussion, journalist Julia Ioffe, author of "Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia," explores the evolution of women's roles in Russia from the revolutionary era to today. She reveals how Soviet ideals transformed into a constricted view of femininity and motherhood, reflecting on her family's history and the loss of professional prestige amongst women. Ioffe addresses the implications of postwar policies on familial structures and masculinity, while challenging Western perceptions of feminism, asserting its rich roots in Russian history.
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The Exhausted Soviet Woman
- Soviet policy forced women into full-time work while state support for domestic labor evaporated, creating a double burden that exhausted generations of women.
- Julia Ioffe argues this systemic overload led many women to reject the ideal of doing everything, captured as “yes, she can do everything, but she doesn't want to anymore.”
How Careers Were Feminized
- Feminization of professions lowered prestige and pay, so fields like medicine and accounting lost status as men abandoned them.
- Ioffe notes women held many degrees but were blocked from leadership, refracting careers through home-life needs.
Vodka Visits Became A Workplace Holiday
- A WHO doctor recalled visiting Moscow hospitals where most doctors were women and relied on the visitors' vodka as a day off.
- The women treated those visits as rare workplace holidays because domestic labor awaited them at home.
