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Working Women of the East: A digital resource for exploring the Soviet Union through the lives of women on its periphery

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About the Pamphlets 19 image_header 2021-11-16T09:26:17-05:00
Truzhenitsa Vostoka (Working Women of the East) was published by the Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva (Ministry of Maternity and Infant Care) under the auspices of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party between 1927 and 1928. Thirty pamphlets were issued in all; Houghton Library is home to 24 of them. The complete list is found at the bottom of this page; titles in brackets are missing from the library's set.

Each pamphlet describes a different woman found in the Soviet Union's multi-ethnic empire. Women from ethnic groups found in the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Far East, North Siberia, and the Volga-Ural region are represented, as are a few groups found on the U.S.S.R's borders such as Afghan and Chinese women.

Each cover portrays a detailed portrait of a woman representative of her ethnic group surrounded by textiles, animals, and other symbols important to her culture. The titles, though consistently rendered in Cyrillic, are rendered in a script that mimics the group's language and written characters. Inside, the pamphlets' text provides demographic information as well as chapters on the status of women before the 1917 Russian revolution and since the revolution. This information is complemented by maps and illustrations that portray important aspects of the women's lives such their work, shelter, clothing, and leisure activities. The pamphlets pay particular attention to the historic, economic, and cultural role women have played within their societies.

In her book Soviet Politics of Emancipation of Ethnic Minority Woman, Yulia Gradskova identifies the pamphlets as informational primers for doctors, teachers, and foot soldiers in the Zhenotdel, or the Women’s Department of the Communist Party, who were dispatched throughout the Soviet Union to address issues of health, hygiene, literacy, gender equality, and other topics. From this, we can conclude that the print runs would have been rather small and the intended audience included well-educated and loyal political elites. Apart from Gradskova whose work only briefly touches on them, no one has published a close reading of Truzhenitsa Vostoka.

Full list of titles:
1. Berger, A. Azerbaĭdzhanka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
2. Khudadov, V.N. I Demidov, G.V. Gruzinka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
3. Shamkhalov, A. Dagestanka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
4. [Osetinka. Moskva : "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927-1928.]
5. Venediktov, N. Turkmenka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
6. [Armianka. Moskva: "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927-1928.]
7. Moskalev, V. Uzbechka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
8. [Kazachka. Moskva : "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927-1928.]
9. Stina, I.A. Bashkirka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927-1928.
10. Lʹvovich Steĭnberg, Evgeniĭ. Tatarka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
11. [Buriatka. Moskva : "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.]
12. Dobrianskiĭ, V.N. Oĭratka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927-1928.
13. Dobri︠a︡nskiĭ, V.N. IAkutka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927.
14. Mikhaĭlov, A. Mariĭka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927.
15. Mikhaĭlov, A.I. Voti︠a︡chka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927.
16. Smirnov, N. Kalmychka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
17. Mikhaĭlov, A.I. Chuvashka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
18. Ivanovskiĭ, S. Tadzhichka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927.
19. Smirnov, N.A. Kurdskai︠a zhenshchina. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927.
20. Mikhaĭlov, A. Mordovka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
21. [Kabardinka. Moskva : "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927-1928.]
22. Berger, A. Chechenka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
23. Shtusser, A.I. Afganka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
24. Smirnov, N.A. Turchanka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927.
25. Shteĭnberg, Evg. Kitaianka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927.
26. Khat︠s︡revin, Z.L. Persianka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
27. Dobri︠a︡nskiĭ, V.N. Zhenshchina komi (Zyrianka). Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
28. Shteĭnberg, Evg. Kamchadalka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1928.
29. [Mongolka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927-1928.]
30. Namitokov, A. Cherkeshenka. Moskva : Izd. "Okhrana materinstva i mladenchestva" NKZ, 1927-1928.