I don't think I've written about it before, but if you've talked to me in person about Russia, you may have heard my views on feminism in Russia. They can be distilled thus: Russian women (here I''m speaking of the older generation, I think women of my generation are in many ways of a different mind) tend to be great feminists in deed, and terrible ones in word.
Women here perform all sorts of tasks, from manual labor to highly-skilled (if not paid) careers as doctors, lawyers, journalists, etc. There are, although in the highest echelons a limited number, women who serve in all manner of capacities in government.
On the other hand, opinion and woman-on-the-street surveys suggested that, despite all that, few thought that any woman was fit to serve as president.
This extends to family life, where women shoulder the overwhelming majority of the burden in the home, but often get little credit.
All of this was brought to mind by a brief incident in the cafeteria of one of the archives a day or two ago. I went to lunch along with two colleagues, the three of us representing three different cultural backgrounds. When we had finished eating, we each gathered our dishes and returned our trays to the designated area. Two of us were a little quicker, and stood waiting for a few seconds for Lucy, the third, to bring her tray over.
For which we were duly scolded by the women behind the counter: "You men! What are you doing letting her carry her tray! Hmmmpf!"
I was in shock, and could not think of a proper way to respond.
I immediately thought of the disconnect between the woman, who spent her entire work day lifting large stacks of the trays, washing dishes, etc. but at the same time considered it inadvisable for another woman to lift her own tray.
Lucy assured us that she was quite capable of carrying her own tray, but nonetheless, I have continued to think about it.
I never batted an eye, for example, the other day when I helped a woman carry a large baby carriage up a set of stairs in the metro, but clearly the boundaries in Russian culture for what tasks are considered to necessitate help are rather different than our own respective home countries.
