Title Village mothers : three generations of change in Russia and Tataria / David L. Ransel

Published Bloomington : Indiana University Press, ©2000

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Description 1 online resource (viii, 314 pages) : illustrations, map Series Indiana-Michigan series in Russian and East European studies Indiana-Michigan series in Russian and East European studies. Contents Introduction -- Child welfare before the Revolution -- Soviet efforts to transform village mothering -- Courtship and marriage -- Fertility choices -- Giving birth -- Baptism and equivalent Muslim rites -- Coping with infant death -- Child care -- Conclusion. Life and loyalty in hard times -- Appendix A. List of informants -- Appendix B. Questionnaire Summary "Village Mothers describes the reception of modern medical ideas and practices by three generations of Russian and Tatar village women in the twentieth century. It first traces the entry of Western medical discourse on reproduction into Russia and its extension to the countryside during the Soviet period. Using the village mothers' own words, as captured in 100 oral interviews collected by the author and his collaborators in the early 1990s, David L. Ransel shows how the women mediated the inherited beliefs of their families and communities, the claims of the state to control reproduction, and their personal desires for a better life. The interviews tell of willing acceptance of some changes and selective acceptance of or outright resistance to others. The women interviewed were subject to powerful forces beyond their control, ranging from patriarchal tyranny to civil war, governmental coercion and violence, famine, and world war. Their testimonies, however, reveal the strategies by which they maintained a measure of personal control and choice that enabled them to build a sense of independence, endure hardship, and give meaning to their lives. The scope of these personal histories and the detailed information they convey about everyday life in rural Soviet communities provide an important and fascinating portrait of socio-cultural continuity and transformation in twentieth-century Russia."--Jacket Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-306) and index Notes English Print version record Subject Mothers -- Russia (Federation) -- Interviews Mothers -- Russia (Federation) -- History Mothers -- Russia (Federation) -- Social conditions Health. Public welfare. National health services. Sociology. Medical care. Social sciences. Women's health services. Rural health. Maternal and infant welfare. Health Social Welfare Health Services Population Characteristics Health Care Facilities, Manpower, and Services Sociology Delivery of Health Care Social Sciences Anthropology, Education, Sociology and Social Phenomena Women's Health Services Rural Health Child Welfare Maternal Welfare Patient Care health. welfare services. sociology. social sciences. 15.70 history of Europe. Women's health services Sociology Social sciences Rural health Public welfare National health services Medical care Maternal and infant welfare Health Mothers Mothers -- Social conditions Interview Mutter Soziale Stellung Dorpen. Moeders. Russia (Federation) Russland Genre/Form interviews. History Interviews Interviews. Interviews. Form Electronic book LC no. 00038908 ISBN 0253338255 9780253338259

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