Annotated Resource Set (ARS)
Title / Content Area:
Images of Women throughout the Russian Empire before and after Soviet Rule
Developed by:
Allegra Azulay
Grade Level:
6–12
Essential Questions:
What are perceptions of women and their roles before the revolution and after the fall
of Soviet communism?
How, if at all, has the changing landscape of time influenced the perception of women
throughout the area of the Russian Empire/Former Soviet Union?
Contextual Paragraph:
As the Russian Empire expanded from Europe into Siberia and Central Asia, women
throughout the empire continued their everyday tasks—whether maintaining the
household, exploring, working alongside the men, and/or preserving and passing on
their native culture to future generations. These roles both persevered and changed
after the fall of Soviet communism throughout the landscape once known as the
Russian Empire, now made up of new federations and independent nations.
Students will explore photographs of women from several cultures across the Russian
Empire (prior to the 1917 revolution that lead to the formation of the USSR) and then
revisit images of women in everyday life after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991.
Students can compare and contrast how roles are perceived before and after Soviet
rule or between cultures within the vast empire. They can also discuss similarities
and/or differences with women in the U.S. during these time periods (pioneer women,
native American women, women in the 1990s), and how history and politics influenced
the role of women in both regions.
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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Resource Set
Harvesting Tea, 1907
Jewish Children with
their Teacher, 1911
“The Empire That Was
Russia”
“The Empire That Was
Russia”
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/images/p8
7_7055__01522_.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/images/p8
7_8066__01861_.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/work.html
Young Buriat girls
(Molodye buriatki),
1899–1904
A woman-translator in
the vanguard
(Zhenshchinaperevodchik v
peredovykh otriadakh),
1904
Young Russian Peasant
Women, 1909
Meeting of Frontiers,
“Siberian Postcards”
Global Gateway, “Tsarist
and Soviet Posters”
“The Empire That Was
Russia”
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.npc001
_00012
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.npst01
1
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/ethnic.htm
l
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/images/p8
7-5251.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/ethnic.htm
l
Giliak daughter and
mother
“Sobranie al'bomov”
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.na0004
_14401
Resource Set
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Kumys, 2002
The Bakalskii Mine,
1910
Kazakh back-yard, 2002
Railroad station
platform, food vendors,
Tobol'sk, Russia, 1999
“The Empire That Was
Russia”
Materials of the EthnoPhoto Expedition
"People on the Frontier"
Materials of the EthnoPhoto Expedition
"People on the Frontier"
Brumfield Collection
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/images/p8
7_4363__00636_.jpg
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.edb002
8
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.n
dlpcoop/mtfxph.eil0024
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.p
np/ppmsc.04016
Drying wash at the edge
of the Sukhona River,
Tot'ma, Russia, 1998
Brumfield Collection
http://www.loc.gov/pict
ures/resource/ppmsc.0
3122/
A family from Tajikistan,
a former Soviet republic
in Islamic Central Asia,
negotiates the streets of
Moscow, 1992–2002
“Reflections,” Russian
Photographs from the
Moscow Times
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/reflections/images
/ref0023s.jpg
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/reflections/reflectexhibit.html
http://www.loc.gov/exh
ibits/empire/work.html
Foundations Annotations
Curriculum Connections
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Learning about women/gender studies in the region through primary sources encourages not only the study of history, but also geography, politics, economics,
religion, and social studies.
Curriculum Standards
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills
Social Studies, Grade 6 (15) Culture. The student understands the similarities and differences within and among cultures in various world societies. The student
is expected to: (E) analyze the similarities and differences among various world societies.
World History (24) Culture. The student understands the roles of women, children, and families in different historical cultures. The student is expected to:
(A) describe the changing roles of women, children, and families during major eras of world history.
World Geography (17) Culture. The student understands the distribution, patterns, and characteristics of different cultures. The student is expected to:
(C) compare economic, political, or social opportunities in different cultures for women, ethnic and religious minorities, and other underrepresented
populations.
Sociology (12) Social inequality. The student understands changing societal views on gender, age, and health. The student is expected to: (A) analyze how
gender roles affect the opportunities available to men and women in society.
Content & Thinking Objectives
Students will understand that women and gender studies exist in different forms in varying regions throughout history.
Students will learn about the role of women while developing cultural sensitivity.
Students will not only compare and contrast foreign cultures with their own, but will also compare foreign cultures with each other (various cultures in the
context of the Russian Empire and former-Soviet sphere).
Inquiry Activities & Strategies
In small groups, have students pull information from the images by making inferences about the surroundings and attire of the people depicted (such as, why
women are/are not depicted in each setting).
Have students compare the role of everyday women with those in American culture during the same time periods and try to come up with a reason for any
similarities/differences. Have students examine the differences and similarities between the role of women in the former Russian Empire and in the United
States.
Have students compare what they know about women in Russia, Siberia, and/or Central Asia with the actual photographs: how does the commercialized
portrayal of women in these cultures compare with actual life as seen in the photographs?
Brainstorming lists: “What might the role of these women be in their societies? Within the family?” “How might that change as time passes and the country
undergoes one revolution after another?” “How do these pictures differ from more commercial images of women or images of famous women from the
Teaching with Primary Sources - Annotated Resource Set
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region?” etc.
Discuss how life in the “Russian Empire” has or has not changed for some or all of the populations in it from the early 20th century to the 21st century.
Assessment Strategies
Group discussions
Picture identification: show students photos of women from around the world and have them guess which ones are from a certain time period or region.
Short research presentations (could be done in pairs) about the role of women or a particular woman in one of the many cultures found in the Russian Empire
or a former-Soviet region (e.g., in modern Russian society, in Islamic societies of the region, famous women in the Russian Empire prior to 1917, famous women
in modern times throughout the former USSR).
Other Resources
Print and Other Media Resources
Radio Free Europe: “The Iron Ceiling: Sexism Still Strong In Russia.” 6 Nov 2012.
http://www.rferl.org/content/The_Iron_Ceiling_Sexism_Still_Strong_In_Russia/2161847.html
NYTimes: “Women of Russia, Unite!” 12 Sep 1992. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/12/opinion/women-of-russia-unite.html
NYTimes: “Woman’s Advance in the Russian Empire” 21 Sep 1913. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archivefree/pdf?res=F6061FF63A5F13738DDDA80A94D1405B838DF1D3
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