Women without Men: Single Mothers and Family Change in the New Russia

286 Pages·2015·5.836 MB·English

by  Jennifer Utrata

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WOMEN WITHOUT MEN

WOMEN
f
WITHOUT MEN
f
SINGLE MOTHERS AND
FAMILY CHANGE IN THE NEW RUS SIA
Jennifer Utrata
CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2015 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in
a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be
reproduced in any form without permission in writing
from the publisher. For information, address Cornell
University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street,
Ithaca, New York 14850.
First published 2015 by Cornell University Press
First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2015
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
Utrata, Jennifer, 1970- author.
Women without men : single mothers and family
change in the new Rus sia / Jennifer Utrata. —1st
Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8014-5302-1 (cloth : alk. paper)— ISBN
978-0-8014-7957-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Single mothers—R ussia (Federation) 2. Families—
Russia (Federation) 3. Sex role— Russia (Federation)
4. Post-communism— Social aspects— Russia (Federation)
I. Title.
HQ759.915.U87 2015
306.874'320947— dc23
2014029091
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally
responsible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent
possible in the publishing of its books. Such materials
include vegetable- based, low-VOC inks and acid- free
papers that are recycled, totally chlorine- free, or partly
composed of nonwood fi bers. For further information,
visit our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover photograph courtesy of Jennifer Utrata.
For my family

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Contents
Ac know ledg ments ix
Note on Transliteration and Subjects xiii
Introduction: A Quiet Revolution 1
1. From State Protections to Post-Socialist
“Freedoms”: The Changed Context
of Single Motherhood 19
2. Diminishing Material Diffi culties:
Single Motherhood beyond Survival
Strategies 54
3. “Where the Women Are Strong”:
Navigating Practical Realism 92
4. It Takes a Babushka: Single Mothers’
Youth Privilege and Grandmother
Support 123
5. Blurred Boundaries: Married Mothers
and the Specter of Single Motherhood 151
6. Marginalized Men: Settling for the
Status Quo 179
Conclusion: Normalized Gender
Crisis 214
Notes 231
Bibliography 251
Index 263

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Ac know ledg ments
The long journey toward a book is oftentimes
circuitous; I am very grateful for several sources of encouragement and sup-
port at critical junctures along the way. This book would not be possible
without the generosity of so many Russ ians who took the time to share
their lives and even their homes with me, including mothers, fathers, and
grandmothers from all walks of life. More than anything e lse, it is the mov-
ing stories of ordinary Russ ians that captivated me and compelled me to
write this book. The friendship and kindness shown to me by Russ ian
women, especially Aleftina, Tatyana, Nina, Vika, Yuliya, Svetlana, and In-
essa, kept me grounded while dealing with the serendipity of fi eldwork, and
they offered a wonderful sense of perspective. The warmth, pers is tence, and
stubborn optimism of the Rus sians I met remain with me as a source of
inspiration.
I have also benefi ted from many sources of institutional and scholarly
support. Special thanks are owed to the faculty and graduate students in the
sociology department at UC Berkeley, for this project began in conversation
with others. Although several faculty members provided excellent feedback
and advice, I am especially grateful for my mentors— Victoria Bonnell,
Arlie Russell Hochschild, and Claude Fischer—w ho believed in this project
from the beginning and shaped my thinking at key moments along my in-
tellectual trajectory. Each of them has continued to provide support when
needed in spite of their multiple commitments. At Berkeley, my passion for
sociology was nurtured in myriad ways. Self-d oubt seems endemic to the
graduate school experience, but I was nevertheless encouraged to be as am-
bitious as possible in framing Rus sia as a case study important not only for
area studies but for sociology as a w hole. The insights of graduate school
colleagues and friends such as Jane Zavisca, Tamara Kay, Amy Hanser, Mi-
chele Rossi, Allison Pugh, Cinzia Solari, Sarah Gilman, Jennifer Sherman,
Jeremy Schulz, Suzanne Wertheim, and many, many more also contributed
toward improving the ideas in this book. The supportive friendship of Jill,
Jenya, and Becca also made the last years of graduate study more enjoyable.
ix