Abstract
Women played a pivotal role in the Soviet victory over Nazism in the ‘Great Patriotic War, 1941–45’. In contrast to most other combatant countries in the Second World War, Soviet women took on roles in the military, industry and agriculture that elsewhere were generally regarded as the exclusive domain of males. This chapter narrates the roles of Soviet women on the front lines and on the home and domestic fronts. It analyses the mechanisms employed by the draconian Stalinist regime at a critical moment to mobilise millions of women for the war effort. It also considers to what degree, if at all, mass female participation in the Soviet war effort was emancipatory.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Markwick, R.D. (2018). ‘The Motherland Calls’: Soviet Women in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945. In: Ilic, M. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Women and Gender in Twentieth-Century Russia and the Soviet Union. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54905-1_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54905-1_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54904-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54905-1
eBook Packages: HistoryHistory (R0)