NATASHA TOLSTIKOVA

RabotnitsaThe Paradoxical Success of a Soviet Women's Magazine

Rabotnitsa, the oldest Russian magazine for women, has a long history. Itstartedin 1914 before the October Rfvolutwn and not on^ji

survived rigid Communist Party censorship but became the most popular publication in the Soviet Union. This article looks at the

strengths and the strategies that made this long and successful history possible, paying attention to the various topics that were mitten about

in the maga^ne as well as the types of photographs that appeared and the changes that occurred over time. It concludes that women readers

not only wanted to compare their lives with those of other women, but they sought standards and social ideals that they could emulate while

adhering to party requirements. In Rabotnitsa, Soviet women found a friend, an adviser, a consultant, and an entertainer.

In the early 1990s, Soviet feminist Nadezhda Azhgikhina wrotethat Kabotnitsa {yeoman Worker, a magazine for women) was sec-ond-rate journalism and poor literature with bad production

cjualides, all of which were typical of the Russian press.' Thus,Kubotnitsa was similar to almost any other pre-perestroika Sovietpublication with its unremarkable journalism and substandard quali-ties.̂ Yet, it became the most popular Soviet niagazine, at one pointreaching a circulation of severalmillion.

What complicates the paradoxical place of Y^botnitsa is thehistory of the magazine. It began in 1914 as a women's supplementto Pravda, and it still is published. In the Soviet Union, it enjoyedpopularity and large readership. However, in post-Soviet times itlost its luster, becoming an ordinary women's magazine. Duringthe Soviet period, Rabotnitsa was oriented toward proletarian women;it was politically and socially active, and it was supported by thou-sands of women who not only read it but also routinely pardci-

A^^ TASHA TOLSTIKOVA is an assistantprofessor in the Department of Journal-ism and Communication at the Univer-sity of Maine. This article was inspiredby her dissertation research onRabotnitsa. The author wishes to thankEric Peterson for his insights andsug^es-dons ahout this article.

pated in its cteadon. What strengths of the magazine made such along history possible? How has the publicadon survived drasdcand rigid piirty censorship and still remained the most popularwomen's magazine in the Soviet Union? This ardcle looks at thefirst fifty years of the history of Rabotnitsa, 1914-1964, arguably themost dramadc and challenging years of its existence. In the SovietUnion, there were strong des between the press and the polidcs.The charismadc and controversial personalides of V.I. Lenin, Jo-seph Stalin, and Nikita Khrushchev—the first leaders of the coun-try—defined the existence of the state in general and the press inpardcular. After their reign, the Soviet Union descended into stag-nadon.

The method for this smdy was an examinadon of Kabotnitsa aswell as cridcal textual readings of the magazine drawing upon thestudies of Ros Ballaster, Margaret Beetham, Elizabeth Frazer, andSandra Hebron.'These authors of the W^omen's Worlds: \deokgy, Femi-ninity and tbe Woman's Maga:(ine suggested that the close historicalreading of women's magazines helps to understand the placementand sigmficatice of discourses about womanhood and femininity.*The objecdve of the study was to document the development ofRabotnitsa, to analyze and evaluate its ideology and content withindifferent historical and polidcal realides, and to situate it within theinsdtudon of the Soviet press.

The following analysis is based upon a close reading of about25 percent of the magazine during each year it was published. Be-cause it was published unevenly (in 1914 there were seven issuesand in 1931 tiiere were sixty), it is easier to approximate a percent-

Journalism Histoty 30:3 (Fail 2004) 131

age of the issues read rather than to report a number which variedfrom year to year. The close reading was contextualized within thelarger historical, economic, polidcal, and social developments ofthe time. Thus, the paper conceptualizes Rabotnitsa by placing itwithin the larger contexts such as of the Soviet press and the his-tory of the country. Then, it documents major developments inthe history, content, and social role of the magazine. Lastly, thepaper discusses the expectadons of women and the recepdon ofRabolnitsa by its readers.

In October 1917, after the Bolsheviks took power, they de-clared a new polidcal regime and created the tools to support it,one of which was the press. The Bolshe-viks posidoned their press as the antago-nist to the bourgeois press, and unlike theindependent press of the West, the So-viet press was openly affiliated and closelyguided by the party. The official beliefsystem of the Soviet Union was Marx-ism-Leninism, which was mainly a Uto-pian complex of thought. The polidcalinsights of sciendfic materialism becamethe basic view for tnillions of Soviet cid-zens. The party elite was the main pro-ducer of ideological goods, which it dis-tributed mainly through communicationchannels and which were utilized to con-trol society. Anthony Buzek, who in the1960s studied the mechanisms of theSoviet press, suggested, "The Marxist-Leninist theory [saw] the press as a chan-nel through which the party can influencethe masses, communicate with them anddirect them in the process of construct-ing a classless society; it sees the press asa 'tool of educadon and organizadon ofthe society on the principles of sciendficsocialism.'"*

Realizing the high propagandisdc potential of the written word,Lenin paid close attendon to the fundamental principles of thenew press. There were several of them,̂ such as narodnost' [popu-lace-oriented] or ideinost' [ideologically correct]; however, they weresound only in theory, because in pracdce they were problemadc toimplement. Although the Soviet press system had a solid sciendficbasis in pracdce, it was a sham. The opinions came neither fromthe readers nor from the writers but from the party, which was theonly possible opinion in the Soviet Union. This communicadonstrategy used a transmission model with a linear direcdon from topto bottom.^ The press was deprived of muld-vocality and diversepoints of view, creadng only one possible view of the world. AsFrank ElUs, a researcher on East European media, suggested, "So-cialism reasserted the power of dogma over reason and experi-ence.""

During most of the period from 1914 to 1964, the countrywas sealed from contacts with the outside world, and theSoviet press was mainly the only news source available to

the populadon. This monopoly on publicadon severed the link be-tween producers and consumers of the media, and the desires ofreaders were ignored.̂ Because of financial support from the state,Soviet publishers were not concerned with profits and comped-don. And even a small amount of adverdsing in the media was not

"In October 1917, after

the Bolsheviks took power,

they declared a new political

regime and created the tools

to support it, one of which

was the press.

The Bolsheviks positioned

their press as the antagonist

to the bourgeois press, and

unlike the independent press

of the West, the Soviet press

was openly affiliated and

closely guided by the party."

considered a source of financial means since all of the Soviet me-dia existed mostly on the party budget. Unlike in the West, wheremass media was designed to inform and entertain, in the SovietUnion, it existed solely for instrucdonal purposes,"* and topics re-lated to everyday life, such as consumpdon or fashion, were rarebut highly valued by Soviet audiences.

Without rigid censorship, such total control would not havebeen possible. Censorship was formally established a few days afterthe Bolsheviks took power," and it was in place for more thanseventy years as a way of keeping the non-Communist ideas frommarring the picdare of the world created by Soviet ideology'^ But

the phenomenon that was most relevantwas the internal censorship that flourishedin the Soviet Union. The majority of thepopuladon, if not ideologically indoctri-nated, quickly learned what was expectedof them. Years of professional pracdcegave authors and editors a sense of inter-nal limitadons and what was permissiblefor publicadon. Formal censorship oftenwas not necessary because Soviet authorsalready knew the proper ideological wayto present the material. Thus, self-censor-ship was a common way for journalists andwriters to control ideological errors andavoid being reprimanded or even sacked.'-*

The inner censorship that existed inthe Soviet mass media took its toll on theaudiences. An ideal Soviet reader differedfrom a typical reader in the Western world:he or she was not just a recipient but anobject of transformadon. The act of read-ing had ideological consequences. Al-though mass media was conceptualized asa linear process, the reader was seen as apart of the final product that was con-structed through interacdons with mass

media, which made he or she no less important than the message.This mumal influence created a unique product of Soviet culture.Because of the totality of the Soviet media system, the reader wascondidoned quickly and knew what kind of publicadon was proper.

In accordance with the general economic system of centralplanning, circuladon of newspapers and magazines was planned.Decisions on which magazines would survive and how many cop-ies of a single issue should be produced were based on ideologicalconsideradons and the availability of paper rather than audiencedemand. Soviet magazines were sold through a central distribudonagency, mosdy by a limited subscripdon. Therefore, few copies wereavailable through kiosks. The restricdon on prindng lifted only inthe 1960s, which resulted in a massive upsurge in the circuladon ofpopular magazines such as Rtibotnitsa.^*

Distinct developmental periods, which were gready influencedby party polidcs, can be found within the Soviet system of massmedia. After the Revoludon of 1917 violendy interrupted tradi-donal life, the Bolsheviks resorted to war Communism with an in-flexible non-monetary economy and an equal distribudon of re-sources. The Soviet press of that period was rigidly controlled be-cause of the power struggle within the party, which resulted in po-lidcal and military censorship.

To relieve pressures on the general populadon and to restorethe economy, the Bolsheviks introduced in 1921 the New Eco-

132 Journalism History 30:3 (Fall 2004)

nomic Policy (NEP), which was a gentle and more gradual path tocommunism. It restored private trade and relaxed the attitudes ofboth the party and the people. The Bolshevik press of the NEP(1921-1928) occasionally gave its space to multiple voices that wereexpressed within the party limits. The presence of the multipleopinions had its roots in competition with the private publicationsthat became available. To win the attention of the public, the So-viet press had to adjust its strategies and enlarge the scope, allow-ing topics that previously were considered frivolous (for example,fashion pages).

During the Stalin period (1929-1953), the press championedthe main objective of the period: to transform the SovietUnion into a well-equipped industrial world power. It was

the least interesting period for the press because it was ruthlesslycontrolled. When Khrushchev became the head of the party (1953-1964), he had resolved to change the boring and dull nature of thepress, and for a few years, several new publications practiced open-ness and creative journalism. However, the majority of the publica-tions continued without sharp details and while withholding keyinformation.'^

Rabofnitsa was started by Nadezhda Krupskaia, Lenin's wifeand a revolutionary, together with a group of Bolshevik women.Gail Lapidus claimed that Rabotnitsa in 1914 was intended "as thetheoretical organ and organizational center for the socialist women'smovement, a device that would link female party activists to womenworkers.'"^ Its first editorial insisted that women workers were themost backward and exploited part of the proletariat.'^ Thus, themagazine was designed to disseminate ideas of the Bolshevik revolu-tion and to bring women into the proletarian struggle, because theymade up more than half of the population and without them suc-cess in the revolutionary struggle would be in question. AlthoughRabo/ni/sa was organized and run by women and directed towardwomen, it called for women to join male organizations.

An independent, autonomous women's press would have con-tradicted many of the Bolshevik and, later, Soviet fundamentals.However, the importance and great potential of a women's press asa cultural and political influence on the female masses was wellrecognized by the party.'" Nevertheless, some male Bolsheviks haddoubts about a separate magazine for women and being associatedwith bourgeois feminism threatened the proponents of Kabotnitsafor a long time. However, Bolshevik women were careful to sepa-rate themselves from bourgeois feminists, whom they called"ravnopravki" [those for equal rights]. Tbe founders of the maga-zine believed that only a class struggle could eliminate gender prob-lems. Thus, they exercised an ideological balance between beinglabeled a feminist organ and their desires to liberate proletarianwomen.

Eurthermore, the female revolutionaries who created Kaboinitsastill needed the approval of male Bolsheviks, who not only sanc-tioned the magazine but took all of the credit for its creation andproduction. According to the introductory article to the publishedarchival documents on the history of Rabo/ni/sa, "[T]he publicationof the magazine was assigned by the Central Committee [of theparty] to the Bolshevik women,"''' therefore taking the initiativefrom the women and placing it within the party. During the earlyyears of Kabotnilsa (1914-1918), no Bolshevik man published anarticle, officially greeted the new publication, or showed approvalof it in any form.^ In fact, the Central Committee, which assigned(hence initiated tbe publication of the magazine), did not provideit with financial means so it existed solely on charity and donations

Rabotnitsa ran a flapper-style dress pattern in 1925 showingRussian women how to dress fashionably, yet modestly. Thedetailed instructions made it easy for young revolutionarywomen to dress in a manner approved by the government

from readers. '̂The first issue of Rabotfiiisa had no cover or illustrations and

consisted of sixteen pages of tightly printed text. The editorialsand sbort articles propagated Bolshevik ideas and affirmed the needfor working women to join proletarian men in their struggle, mak-ing it a revolutionary proclamation rather than a popular magazine.Significant space was devoted to correspondence from workingwomen, and a number of printed poems and short fiction werewritten mostly by readers. The fiction of the first issues was didac-tical yet naive. For example, in "A Newspaper Girl," a short fictionstory,^ a young woman had lost her husband and in order to sup-port herself had to sell commercial newspapers. She met a boywho convinced her to read and sell Pravda instead. She followed hisadvice, and it changed her life According to several sources, read-ers had trouble understanding the political propaganda that wasaimed at them but loved the fiction." Nevertheless, the first issuereportedly made a strong impression on the audience.̂ '' Barely lit-erate working women of early revolutionary Russia appreciatedspecial attention but were hard to indoctrinate with radical views.Their traditional values ensured their conservatism so they reacted

Journalism Hislory 30:3 (Fa/12004} 133

til

favorably to familiar devices and techniques.Although Rabotnitsa never ceased its attempts to educate and

indoctrinate women, and mobilize them for political action, ulti-mately it was the success of its popular fiction that influenced thefuture content and made it successful with readers. The fiction alsohad a political angle, but its form was familiar and it was easier todigest.

The need for a special Bolshevik women's organ was explainedin the editorial in the first issue of Kaboltiitsa in February 1914:there were issues pivotal for women workers that had not beencovered by the mainstream prcss.̂ ^ Apparendy, Bolshevik interpre-tation of what was important for womenwas politically driven. In 1917, after thecollapse of czarism, Rabotmtsa continuedto promote Bolshevik objectives andplayed a significant role in the prepara-tion of the female masses for the revolu-tionary struggle.

During its history, there were severalgaps in the publication of Risbotriitsa,mostly because of economic shortages. In1923 after one such interruption, itemerged as an illustrated, engaging, andenergetic magazine with a large numberof stories and poems as well as artwork.From a dry, thin, bi-weekly pamphlet itbecame a popularly written, thirty-two-page illustrated monthly which circulatednationwide. It relied upon a network ofworker and peasant correspondents, andits primary goal was to revive the link be-tween the party and its female constitu-ents.̂ "

Rabotnitsa was always a Bolshevikpress organ although it changed its affili-ation name several times. In 1914, it was"the organ of the Russian Social-demo-cratic Workers' party." In 1919, after a two year lobbying effort byfemale Bolsheviks, Zhenotdel, a special party section for women,was created to handle their problems on the party level.̂ ^ Thus,after not being published for several years because of the hard-ships of the civil war, Rabotnitsa began to be published under aus-pices of this organization. However, Znehotdel was in charge ofthe publicadon for only seven years. When Rabotnitsa returned in1923, in addition to the printed affUiadon, it began to carry imageson its covers. In 1930, after an official declaration of women's equal-ity with men,-" Stalin abolished Zhenotdel, and Rabotnitsa becamesimply "a social political magazine."

Apparendy, this change did not appeal to the readership be-cause in the second half of the same year Rabotnitsa Gvoived into a"weekly magazine for women workers and wives of workers, thepublication of the Central Committee of VKP (b)^' [or, the earlyname of the communist party in Russia, Vsesoiuznaia Kommunist-icheskaya Partiia Bolshcvikov: All-Union Communist Party of Bol-sheviksj." Rabotnitsa had to redefine itself once again during WorldWar 11 when in 1942 it acquired a generic subheading, "The public-political and literary-artisdc magazine" (without any reference towomen). After the war, it dropped its subheading altogether and, inaddition to the regular image, only the tide, the publishing house"Pravda," and the political slogan "Proletariat of the world, unite!"appeared on the cover. It carried this afOliadon throughout the entire

'^Although Rabotnitsa never

ceased its attempts

to educate and indoctrinate

women, and mobilize them

for political action,

ultimately it was the success

of its popular fiction that

influenced the future content

and made it successful

with readers. The fiction

also had a political angle,

but its form was familiar

and it was easier to digest."

Khrushchev period.The 1914 and the 1917 issues of Rabotnitsa mosdy covered

topics related to political and economic propaganda that were de-signed to highlight the need for women to join men in their libera-don efforts: editorials, reports from political meetings, and articleson poor working conditions. From the beginning, the magazinealso published fiction and poetry often written by readers. The tra-ditional culture in which women had been raised and continued tothrive despite the revolutionary efforts, however, demanded thepresence of traditional women's topics in the magazine if it wasgoing to become truly popular.

The party, and Zhenotdel in particu-lar, were concerned with the low circula-tion figures for Rabotnitsa. A resolution ofthe Fifth All-Union Meeting of the headsof the local chapters of Zhenotdelstressed the importance of agitation andpropaganda through the women's press,which was "the best way to disseminateour ideas among working women . . . who[are] not able to comprehend the generalmedia."^ At this point, the leaders ofRjibotnitsa resolved to add sections onhousehold advice, fashion, and cooking-traditional activities that preoccupiedwomen. Thus, during the NEP, its con-tent expanded. While the majority of themagazine remained devoted to polidcalpropaganda, it started to include articleson child care and health advice. Since read-ers were educated on physics, astronomy,and chemistry, they also were informed onthe latest achievements in science. Later,when free time, however small, became aquesdon of concern for the state, enter-tainment features, such as crosswordpuzzles and word games, began appear-

ing in Ruibotnitsa. Other popular topics were pregnancy, venerealdisease, and the harm of abordon as well as culinary recipes andfashion patterns. Thus, on the back cover of an issue in 1925,̂ ' apattern showed how to make a dress in the flapper style that wasfashionable yet modest. The detailed pattern and instructions madeit easy for young, revolutionary women to keep up with the seduc-dons of the NEP. The signs of femininity were abundant: the shortskirt, the delicate pointy shoes, and the chic bob. The topics initi-ated in the 1920s remained a staple for the years to come, essen-dally without change until the demise of the Soviet Union.

isual images produced the most impact on the readers. Themagazine covers performed several functions: they gave a"face" to the issue and attracted attendon by honoring

women of achievement. To see one's face on the cover of Rabotnitsawas similar to receiving national recognition. During the Soviet time,covers of Rabotnitsa usually displayed a single Soviet woman or agroup of women of distinction. Women were photographed orpainted realisdcally in working clothes while engaging in some ac-dvity: working, reading, wridng, or talking (activities in which theemancipated women would engage). AU the covers idendfied theirsubjects with tides, achievements, or place of work.

The task of the magazine was to promote a new life and illus-trate the ways to attain it. The Bolsheviks' goal was to create a New

134 Journalism History 30:3 (Pall 2004)

Woman, the antithesis of the traditional woman who was preoccu-pied exclusively with household activities. The New Woman was tobe active and independent, transformed into a fully functional pro-ductive person,'- and this tough equal of man was even expectedto look like a soldier of the revolution. The typical image of such afemale was a young militant dressed in a militarized leather jacket,big furry hat, and trousers, with a Browning gun on her hip." Thisimage coincided well with what Anne Gorsuch called the "revolu-tionary maximalism and passionate obsession with the great ideasof the time Ithat] were interwoven with extreme asceticism, whichoften passed over into crude and excessive simplicity of manners.""

The images of Kaboitiilsa performed an ideological task byshowing Soviet women in new occupations. "A Militia Girl,"" a1924 article signed only by a first name, Elena, told of a youngwoman who worked for the state militia (equivalent to the police).The accompanying photograph showed the stolid heroine lookinginto the camera with suspicious, narrowed eyes while she had ahuge gun on her side and was wearing a dark uniform with blackstockings and Mary-lane shoes. Readers could not only be proudof their sister performing an important task usually reserved formen, but they also could entrust her with their protection. Themilitia girl was surely always on guard for revolution.

The cover of the December 1927 issue depicted a typicalwoman of the era. She was writing with an open ink steel pen. Hershort hair resembled a man's haircut, and she wore a dark militaryservice jacket and a serious expression. The absence of any embel-lishment, such as jewelry, cosmetics, or a manicure, showed hersolemn determination. A contemporary American feminist mightinterpret this androgynous "New Woman" as a symbolic figure whosubordinated female welfare to higher revolutionary goals yetadopted patriarchal prejudices. Barbara Evans Clements argued thatthe masculine behavior of Bolshevik women was an effort to provethat they could be rational, unemotional, and tough as men in anew world "free of invidious distinctions of class, ethnicity, andgender."" Although actively promoted by the party (and byKabolnitsa), such an ideal woman was still rare in the new society.

With the political changes of the late 1930s, the image of theNew Woman underwent revisions. While women on the coversduring the Stalin years were shown in normative roles, they becameprettier and were often depicted in attractive clothes and wearingcosmetics. In addition, their achievements now included not onlyindustrial work but the large number of children they had borne.The cover of the January 1938 issue depicted Tatyana Fedorova, adeputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and a famous industrial"shock worker." Unlike women on the covers in the previous era,she was portrayed with mascara, lipstick, and styled hair. Shockworkers were glorified for their industrial achievements yet wereexpected to look attractive."

On the pages of Kabotnilsa of this period images of womenappeared that could not have been imagined earlier. They were notworkers, not even students, but merely wives. This sent a messagethat it was all right for a woman to be a wife or even a housewifebecause she could still advance the good of society and be rewardedfor her services to society. The cover in January 1937 depicted

The cover of the December 1927 issue (top) depicted a typicalRussian woman of the era. Her short hair resembled a man'shaircut, she wore a dark military service jaeket, and had a seri-ous expression, and there was no jewelry, cosmeties, or mani-cure. But eleven years later, the cover o/Rabotnitsa showed anindustrial worker with mascara, lipstick, and styled hair.

BABbTHMIIA 1

Journalism History 30:3 (Fall 2004) 135

Valentina Semenovna Khatagurova, the wife of a major in rhe RedFar East Army. She had been awarded a medal of the Labor RedBanner although the nature of her achievements was not specified.She was poruayed on the cover wearing a military uniform, butunlike the "militia girl," her hair was styled naturally and she smiledat the camera.'"

While ideals of women during the Krushchev period remainedsimilar in principal to those of previous decades, they were en-riched with additional features. Feeling that Communist ideals hadbeen corrupted by Stalin, he wanted to revive Leninist ideas and toenergetically move the country toward Communism." Khrushchevparticularly wanted to restore the ].^ninist norms of party life andto build a Soviet consumer heaven to prove the superiority of thesocialist system.*' Romanticism and lyricism were conditions thatwere supposed to inspire young generations to social achievementsand draw them away from material pursuits.

Thus, covers of Raboinitsa started to depict nameless women

engaged in non-ideological activities with a distinct lyrical flavor.The cover in July 1960 showed a young woman in a forest pickingwild strawberries. She appeared absorbed in her thoughts while inthe background a mysterious fog created a romantic mood. Thecomposition was called "Wild strawberries are ripe!" and had a hintof sexual associations. The picture was unusual because the girlwas not identified as a worker and was presented in a leisure pur-suit. Despite all of the "Communist" rhetoric in Khrushchev's time,women's roles changed litde from those of Stalin's time. Womenwere expected to participate fully in the work economy yet care fortheir families. Maggie McAndrew argued that the women onRabo/misa's covers were not chosen to attract male attention but tohighlight and elevate the social position of women.'

By covering certain topics and omitting others, Rahotnifsa si-multaneously acknowledged women's special interests hut also re-stricted their social space. For example, this study found a totalabsence of articles covering topics of sexuality, including such press-

ing concerns as contraception. By avoid-ing this topic, the state pretended that itdid not exist. Zoya Timofeeva, a vice edi-tor-in-chief of Raboim/sa during the pro-gressive 1960s, explained the magazineavoided printing anything on sexualitybecause its editors feared vulgarity andan unscientific approach.^ This line ofofficial thinking led to an embarrassing,if not amusing, moment in the 1980sduring a "televised bridge" between So-viet and American audiences when dur-ing a discussion about sexuality, a Sovietwoman proudly announced, 'There is nosex in the Soviet Union!"^

In 1914, 12,000 copies of the firstissue of Rabotnitsa was printed, which atthat time was a large number for a peri-odical. However, Nadczhda Krupskaiawas concerned that it was not largeenough and "did not reach the provincesat all."* At the beginning of the NEP(New Economic Policy), circulation sankto a mere 10,000. After that, however, itrose steadily, reaching 329,000 in 1930and 500,000 in 1932, and in 1937, thenumber of pages in a single issue totaledthirty-six. However, a shortage of paperand low priorities for magazine publish-ing during World War 11 reduced circu-lation to only 100,000 in 1942. By De-cember 1954 it had again climbed to500,000 and steadily continued its riseto 2.5 million in 1961. In the 1960s, withperiodicals given priority over books in

The I960 issue o/Rabotnitsa showeda young woman in a forest pickingstrawberries, apparentiy absorbed inher thoughts, while a mysterious fogin the background created a roman-tic mood. The composition was titled,"Wild strawberries are ripe!" whichgave it a hint of sexual associations.

136 Journalism History 30:3 (Fail 2004)

the allocation of paper,̂ for the first time in history there were norestrictions on the number of copies of Rabotnitsa produced. Also,during this decade, the magazine became at least nominally selfsufficient through increased circulation and was even expected toturn profits.''

Because there were no known audience studies of Rabotnitsa^it is impossible to make a clear distinction in readership during thedifferent historical periods. The popularity of Ru/hoinitsa was appar-ent from the author's personal interviews with Soviet readers in1999 when they recalled theirpast experience with the magazine. Italso was illustrated by a story told by Ada Levina, a journalist whoworked for the magazine from 1955 to1999. She recalled that subscription re-strictions on the magazine led to the popu-larity of collective subscriptions;

(In 1955], i often visited the factories,such as [all-women] textile factories with 1,000women workers. They had a special 'night standtable' which held issues of Kabolnilsa that thisfactory floor subscribed to. A woman couldcheck out the issue for one night, the next dayshe hud to bring it back and pass it on to thenext reader by putting it inside this night stand.So, 1,000 women read the same single issuethat they matiaged to subscribe to as a factoryfloor. With my own hands I held these soiledissues that were read over hundreds of times.'

Subscriptions to Rabotnitsa were al-ways limited, either by economic or po-litical considerations, leaving individualsnot able to receive the magazine by mail(the party was concerned with the possi-bility of any phenomena or publicationbecoming more influential than itself).However, its journalists had extra num-bers of subscriptions for the magazine,which they used for their family andfriends and for the heroines of their sto-ries. During the subscription period,*Rabotnitsa's journalists were swamped withrequests and often used some of their pay-checks to pay for subscriptions for otherpeople.'

In 1914, editorials, agitation articles,and even fiction for Rabotnitsa-wete written by Nadezhda Krupskaiaand other Bolshevik women. Although well educated, these womenwere professional revolutionaries, not journalists, and it took de-cades before professional journalist took charge of Rabotnitsa.Though correspondents of both genders wrote for the earlyRabotnitsa, it is unknown if every woman's name really belonged toa woman. Anna Elizarova reported that in the fifth issue in 1914 atleast one poem was written by a man, Grigorii Trusov, who signedit with a female pseudonym, Grusha Trusova. According toElizarova, he thought that it was more appropriate to have womenwriting for a women's publication.'"

From its early history, Rabotnitsa tried to keep close to its read-ers. In 1917, professional Bolsheviks were still in charge of themagazine although an enlarged editorial board, consisting of vol-unteer working women from factories and plants, helped to deter-mine the direction of the magazine. This public editorial board

"Subscriptions to Rabotnitsa

were always limited,

either by economic

or political considerations,

leaving-individuals not able

to receive the magazine by

mail (the party was concerned

with the possibility of any

phenomena or publication

becoming more influential

than itself). However, its

journalists had extra numbers

of subscriptions

for the magazine, which

they used for their family

and friends and for the

heroines of their stories."

became a permanent feature and a trademark of Rabotnitsa andhelped the magazine to keep abreast of the problems of workingwomen.

During the 1930s, organizational activity became a distinct fea-ture of Rabotnitsa. The magazine mobilized its audience for publicinspections, public showings, and competitions between factoriesto ensure better industrial work and to promote socialization andactivism among women. Outside the pages of Rabotnitsa, staffmembers worked to increase literacy among the audience, orga-nized literary clubs, and sought ways to attract women to collectiveefforts." They sponsored ski trips as well as automobile and bi-

cycle races to commemorate noble Sovietcauses.'̂ Especially in the 1930s, after theabolition of Zhcnotdel, the Women's Sec-tion of the Party, Rabotnitsa played the roleof a large national club where a womancould find interesting things to do andcould seek help when needed. The maga-zine also duplicated, and in some instancessubstituted for, the state functions ofmonitoring the legal rights of womenworkers, reacting to their personal or col-lective complaints, and sometimes evenhelping in the distribution of goods. MariaShaburova, an active member of the edito-rial board, recalled that in 1935, duringwidespread shortages of consumer goods,a plant that manufactured enameled disheshad distribution problems. Rabotnitsarented railroad platforms and moved thegoods, making them available to consum-ers.'-'

I"n the Stalin period with its paranoiaand suspicion, the responsibility of ed-iting the magazine was relegated from

a single editor-in-chief to an editorialboard of three women. During World WarII, the editorial hoard grew to six women,which was larger than the journalistic staffunderneath the board,'* which was a typi-cal feature of increased bureaucratization.In 1949, when the editorial board hadgrown to seven members, a single editor-in-chief assumed responsibility for the

magazine. Then, the Khrushchev period brought stability and regu-larity to Rabotnitsa, which was published once a month under thesupervision of V. Vavilina, a single editor-in-chief'^

While the day-to-day guidance of the party took place behindclosed doors, the part visible to the public was manifested in publicawards and reprimands. Duriug the Stalin period, the struggle forthe purity of Marxist thought sometimes took an extreme form byan assassination of an opponent. Several mass media publicationswere criticized for deviating from the party line, withdrawing fromthe masses, or publishing ideologically harmful materials. Punish-ments took the form of public condemnation via party decreesand directives that circulated widely in the mass media. But notonce did Rabotnitsa come under attack. Presumably, the editors ofthe magazine were especially careful in listening to the political de-mands of the day; after all, they had to defend their right to have aseparate magazine for women. Therefore, Rabotnitsa was not only

Journalism History 30:3 (Pali 2004) 137

obedient but precluded publication of all questionable material and,for a researcher, provides an exemplary form of the re-translationof general party politics. The achievements of the magazine wereacknowledged twice by the party. In 1933 an Order of the RedBanner was granted to it, and in 1964, in connection with its fifti-eth anniversary, it was awarded the Order of Lenin.'*

The official Soviet position of the 1960s stated that the maga-zine had to show examples of the political awakening to inspirereaders and increase their confidence.'^ Rabolnitsa helped not onlyto advance the communist cause but to prepare women for entryinto the larger world. McAndrew suggested it was mainly an organof economic propaganda with the womenpromoted on its pages being trained work-ers who achieved or aspired to succeed intheir fields of work. At the same time,the magazine elevated the feminine sideof a working woman, namely her abilityto take care of her family, to be an excep-tional wife and mother, and to make timefor maintaining feminine appeal.

Besides the economic and politicalweight that the magazine carried, it pro-vided readers with normadve and ideal-ized roles. Kabotnitsa believed that womenneeded to be inspired because the major-ity of its readers were "low-status, low-skilled, low-paid" women with manualjobs and careers that were not challeng-ing.'* Mark Hopkins argued that the mainpurpose of Kabotnitsa was to emphasizethe exemplary characteristics, modes ofbehavior, and habits "of the modelwoman worker." This was similar to thefunction of American periodicals for

women, which created the ideal female ofAmerican society.'''' Rabotnitsa promoted social norms that were fa-vored by the party and the state and covered officially sanctionedtopics that Soviet women had to be interested in and omitted thosedeemed unacceptable, such as sexuality or the advancement ofwomen's rights. It provided its readers with an ideologically desir-able discourse that set standards and gave direcdon to their lives.

There are several reasons why Kabotnitsa was apparently appealing to Soviet women. A systematic reading of the magazine and the secondary research suggests the magazine en-

visioned women workers as part of public life, as active membersof society. Women readers sought connection with the larger worldand socialization through their own magazine. It offered this con-nection not only figuratively but tangibly through its massive orga-nizational efforts that brought thousands of women together inbuilding kindergartens and creches (day care), inspecting coopera-tives, and going on ski trips for greater causes. Female audiencesnot only wanted to compare their lives with those of other women,but they sought standards and social ideals that they could emulate.

For thousands of readers who lived in remote places, Raboim'isaoffered not only a voice of authority but possibly the only sourceof cultural education. Although modest and reserved in content,the fiction published in it nevertheless presented women with dif-ferent worlds, difficult situations, and moral dilemmas that addressedtheir concerns. Even in reading the low-quality, predictable Social-ist Realist fiction that the magazine liked to publish, the female

"Besides the economic

and political weight

that the magazine carried,

it provided readers with

normative and idealized roles,

Rabotnitsa believed that

women needed to be inspired

because the majority of its

readers were "low-status,

low-skilled, low-paid" women

with manual jobs and careers

that were not challenging."

audience also found romance and sentiment. On a more pragmadclevel, readers received useful advice on child care, cooking, andhousehold matters, Kabotmtsa was the only general magazine thatoffered modern fashion patterns, and the regularity of its publica-tion allowed women to update their wardrobe or at least be awareof Soviet fashion trends.

It was not the only Soviet women's magazine. In the 1920s,Kommumsth} pOC'omen Communist] and Dekgatka [Woman Delegate]were published to instruct female members of the party on theo-retical questions of Marxism. Under Stalin, who viewed women ina traditional light, Obshcheslvennitsa [Socially Active Woman], a no-

table magazine for wives, highlighted im-proving the working environment of menand gave advice on how to make life cozyand comfortable.^" Then, underKhrushchev, the periodical listing for1955-1961 cited thirty-eight Sovietwomen's periodicals. '̂ However, most ofthem were local versions of the nationalKabotnitsa for the fifteen Soviet republicsand were printed in ethnic languages. Onlyfour national women's publications wereprinted in Russian: for internal marketsthere were Rabotnilsa and Krestianka [Peas-ant Woman| and for international propa-ganda there was the glossy Sovetskaia^hemhchina [Soviet Woman] originally pub-lished in Russian and then translated forforeign audiences.^ Yet, Raboi/ii/sawas theflagship among the Soviet publications forwomen. It has had the longest history, andmany of its initiatives were imitated byother Soviet women's magazines.

Rabo/nilsa phyed an important role inshaping Soviet women's norms and ideals

according to the objectives of Marxism-Leninism. By using ideo-logically charged messages and imagery, it attracted women intothe public arena. The magazine also performed an important pro-paganda role for the party with the editors realizing that this taskwas better served through "softer" topics that appealed specificallyto female audiences. The reception of Kabottjilsa was overwhelm-ingly positive. The existence of a women's magazine acknowledgedthe importance of women as a social group, and its popularity wasdemonstrated by its circulation numbers. Kabotniisa portrayedwomen who achieved high social status, advanced in their careers,and managed successful families. In Kabotniisa, Soviet women founda friend, an adviser, a consultant, and an entertainer.

At the same time, this study suggests several unresolved is-sues. Was Rabotnitsa an honest friend or did it help to ghettoizewomen as a group by prescribing social norms for their behaviorand their particular interests? Would its role have been more pro-ductive if it presented the world in its complexity? Would any at-tempts at dissent by Kabotnitsa have helped Soviet women to realizethe faults of the party and thus speed up the liberalization process?The position of Nadezhda Azgikhina, who criticized the magazinefor low standards and poor production qualities, does not preventseeing Kabotnitsa as an ideal source to study historical developmentsin the models and realities of Soviet women. The dominant socialbeliefs about the roles of women were supported and never ques-tioned by Kabotnitsa. The magazine mirrored the party's view ofwomen and set up ideals according to the political and economic

138 Journalism History 30:3 (Fail 2004)

expectations in different periods. Through its editorials, imagery,fiction, and even culinary recipes, it enticed women to accept domi-nant values and prospects. It indeed was an epitome of Soviet pressvalues and reflected the historical development of the Soviet printmedia. The paradojcical success of the magazine can be explainednot only by its conformity to ideological demands but by its under-standing of Soviet women's needs and desires that went beyondsimple adherence to the party line.

Future research on Rabotnitsa should be of a comparative na-ture. It would be interesting to examine how the functions of West-ern women's magazines were comparable with those of their So-viet counterparts. One possible difficulty would be to select a simi-lar media vehicle in the West. The uniqueness of Rabotnitsa was inits versatility. It appealed to proletariat women yet it was appealingto a wider population not defined by gender; it promoted partypolitics yet it appealed to the feminine side. The other possiblecomplication is the time frame: the comparison of two differentvehicles under the same time period might yield faulty results be-cause of differences in the relationship of these vehicles to politi-cal and economic conditions. For example, in the 1930s, Westernmagazines promoted female roles as wives and mothers whileRabotnitsa was concerned with industrialization, urbanization andattracting women into the labor force. If these issues can be re-solved, this proposed direction for future research would be ofinterest to not only historians of journalism but also those engagedin feminist scholarship.

N O T E S

' Nadezhda Azhgikhina, "Back to the Kitchen," Women's Renew of BiMitf XII,8(1995): 13-14.

' There were few exceptions at the begiiuiiiig of Khrushchev's term ofoffice, for example Novyi Mir [New World] or lunosi' [Youth].

' Ros Ballaster, Margaret Bcetham, Elizabeth Frazec, and Sandra Hebron,Women 'r W^ar/ds: Ideology, Femininity and the Woman's Magi^ine (Houndmills, England:McmUlan. 1991).

' Ibid, 4.' Anthony Buzek, Uow the Communist Press Works (^QVI York: Praeger, 1964),

38.

'' Por an excellent analysis of the principles of the Soviet press, see FrankEllis, From Ctasnost lo the Internet: Ruisia's New lnfosphere (New York: St. MartinPress, 1999), 8-29.

' Claude Elwood Shannon and Warren Weaver, Tbt Mcihemadcal Theory

of Communication (Urbana: University of lUinois Press, 1949).

" Ellis, From Gtasnost to the Internet, 25.

'Jeffrey Brooks, "Public and Private Values in Soviet Press, 1921-1928,"Stavic\\i;deit"\%. 1 (Spring 1989)r 16-35.

'" Ibid," T.M. Goniaeva, "Kul'tura i tsenzura: mify i real'nost', ili Istoriia bor'by

protiv pravdy (Culture and Censorship: Myths and Reality, or For a History ofStruggle Against the Truth]." in htoriia Sovetskoi Tsem^uty. Dokumenty I Komme/ttarii

[History of Soviet Censorship: Documents and CommentariesI (Moskva:Rosspen, 1997), 8. For an English sources of the discussion of censorship, seeMartin Dewhirst and Robert Farrell, The Soviet Censorship (Memchen, N.J.:Scarecrow Press, 1973); and Boris Gorokhoff. Publishing in the V.S.S.K

(Bloomington: Indiana Uniwrsiry Publications, 1939),

'- Gorokhoff, PubUshing in the V.S.S.R., 73.'•' See Leonid Vladimirov, Soviet Media and Their Message (Chicago: American

Bar Associadon, Standing Committee on Education About Communism, 1977).

" Gayle Durham Hollander, Soviet Political Indoctrination: Developments in Mass

Media and Propaganda Since Stalin (New York: Praeger, 1972), 47.

'* Vladimirov, Soviet Media and Their Message, 42." Gail Warshofsky Lapidus, Women in Soviet Society: Equality, Development, and

SocialChanp (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978), 48-

" Editorial, R^*ort/to, Issue no. 1, Feb. 23, 1914, 1.

" See L. Kagan. Rahotnitsa ipechat' [Working Woman and the Press](Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel'stvo, 1928).

" "K istorii izdaniia zhurnala 'Rabotnitsa' [Toward history of creation ofthe magazine 'Rabotnitsa"]," Jctoricheskii ArkAiv (1955): 25-53.

•'"Janet Hyer, "Pre-Revolutionary Kabotnitsa: A Study of Bolshevik Policytoward Working Women" (master's thesis, Carlcton University, 1985), 51.

=' Ibid., 48.

^ "A Newspaper Giri," Rabotnitsa, Issue n a 4, April 19,1914,3-4

" "K istorii izdaniia zhurnala 'Rabomitsa.'"

'•* A. Elizarova , "Zhurnal 'Rabotnitsa' 1914 [The Magazine 'Rabotnitsa'\0\i,\" m i^Cpokhi "Zve^fy"i "Pravdj"(1911-1914) [FromTimes of "Zvczda"and "Pravda" (1911-1914)] (Moscow-Pctrograd: Istpart, 1928). 63-78,

" Rahotnitsa, Issue no. 1, Feb. 23. 1914.1, When Rabotnitsa hegsm in 1914.there were already numerous women'i newspapers and magazines, such aspublications for housewives (Zhenskaia ^A/^' [Woman's Lifej), fashion and literaryperiodicals [Zhenskoe bo§itstvo [Woman's Wealth]), and feminist magazines {Zhenskii

vestnik [Woman's Herald]). Various revolutionary parties, including the Bolsheviks,felt an urgency ro promote their political ideas to women,

^' Gail Warshofsky Lapidus, "Sexual Equality in Soviet Policy," in DorothyAtkinson, Alexander Dallin and Gail Warshofsky Lapidus, eds,, W^omen in Russia

(Stanford, Calif,: Stanford University Press, 1977), 120,

^ Richard Srites, The Women's Liberation Movement in Russia: Feminism, Nihilism,

and BolsheMsm. 1860-1930 (Piincexon.K.].: Princeton University Press, 1978), 331.

^Barbara Clements, "The Utopianism of the Zhenotdel," StaeicRemw5\, 3(Autumn 1992): 496,

" VKP (b) stands for "Vsesoiuznaya Kommunisticheskaya PartiiaBoUhevikov [All Utiion Communist Party of Bolsheviks]," which is one of severalearly names of the Communist party.

* Opartiinoi i Sovetskoipechati: sbornik dokumentop [On the Partj' and SovietPress: Collection of Documents] (Moscow: Pravda, 1954).

'̂ Rabotnitsa, Issue no. 39, December 1925." Clements. "The Utopianism of the Zhenotdel," 485-96.

" Anne Gorsuch, '"Woman Is Nor a Man': The Culture of Gender andGeneration in Soviet Russia, 1921-1928," Slavic?j:mwlb, 3 (Fall 1996): 656.

^ V.Z. Rogovin, "The Discussion on Problems of Daily Life and Culture inSoviet Russia during the 1920s," Soviet Sociology (Summer 1976): 3-44.

" Rabotnitsa, Issue nos, 13-14. July 1924. 38** Barbara Evans Clements, Bolshevik Women (Cambridge. England:

Cambridge University Press. 1997), 65,

*' Rtibolnitsa, Issue no. 1,Januai:^' 1938. The shock workers' movement.which was associated with Soviet industrialization, started in 1935 when a miner.Aleksei Stakhanov, exceeded his assigned t]uota by 1,400 percent. Such "shockwork" results were glorified by the government as examples of high efficiency andperformance and a "victory in life," See Richard Stites, Russian Popular Culture:

Entertainment in Society Since /POO (Cambridge. England: Cambridge UniversityPress. 1992), 71.

" Rabotnitsa, Issue n a 1. January 1937,

""* Dmitrii Volkogonov, Sem' vo^hdei:gilereia liderovSSSR vdvukh knigakh

[Seven Leaders: A Gallery of the Leaders of the USSR in two volumes]. v<3l, 1(Moscow: Novosti. 1995). 368.

*" George W, Breslauer, Khrvshchep and Brezhnev as leaders: Building Authority in

Soviet Politics (London: George Allen & Unwin. 1982).

*' Maggie McAndrew, "Women's Magazines in the Soviet Union," in BarbaraHolland, ed.. Soviet Sisterhood (^^oomm^mn: Indiana University Press. 1985). 78-115.

*'^ Interview. ZoyaTimofeeva.June 1999,

*' Natasha Tolstikova, "Signs from the Other World," unpublishedmanuscript in possession of author,

" "K istorii izdaniia zhurnala 'Rabotnitsa."' 27,

** Jenny Brine, Maureen Perrie, and Andrew Sutton, Home, School and Leisun

in the Soviet Union (London: George Allen & Unwin. 1980),

" Rilla Dean Mills, "The Soviet Journalist: A Cultural Analysis" (Ph,D. diss..University of Illinois, 1981),

"Interview, Ada MikhaUovna Lcvina.June 1999," Unlike in the West, where it is possible to subscribe for a year, in the

Soviet Union, there was a restricted calendar period for subscribing to periodicals.

Journalism History 30:3 (fall 2004) 139

" Interview, Ada Mikhailovna Levinajune 1999. of a Journalist) (Lcnigrad: Lenizdat, 1065).*" Elizarova , "Zhurnal 'RabotnJtsa' 1914 [The Magazine 'Rabotnitsa' 1914]," " Vavilina, Vsegda s vami.

63-78. ** McAndccw, "Women's Magazines in the Soviet Union," 110-11." A poem of a R^bolnitsti's literary club member was printed in June 1936. " Mark W Hopkins, Mass Media in iheSomet Union (New York:" A picture of the woman who organized the driving competition was 1970), 231.

published on the cover in November 1936. For a report on the bicycle comped- *" Sheila Fitzpatrick, '"Middle-Class Values' and Soviet Life in the 1930s," indon, see the June 1935 issue. Terry L. Thompson and Richard Sheldon, eds.. Sow/ Soeie/y and Culturt: Essays in

*' V. Vavilina, V'segda s vami: sbornikposviashchennyipiaHdeiialiictiiu ^humala Honor of Vtra Dunham (Boulder: Wesrview Press, 1988), 20-38.•RtfAo/nywa'" I Always With You: A 50th Anniversary Collection Devoted to " Letopis' periodicheskikh itidanii SSSR /PW-/?(50.(Chronicleof die SovietRabotm'lsa] (Moscow: Pravda, 1964), 232. Periodicals of 1955-1960] (Moscow: Izdatel'stvo vsesoiuznoi knizhnoi palaty,

** Ibid., 280. 1963), 623-26." From persona] research of the 1960s Rabotnilsa. " Hopkins, Mass Media in Ibt Soviet Union, 22.** N. Bogdanov and B. Viazemskii, Spravocbnik "^hurnaUsta [A Reference Book

Journalism History back issues for saleComplete your run or your library's run of JH now.

Most issues of Volume 16 (1989-90) through Volume 29 (2003-2004)are still available at $10 an issue.

Along with a list of issues that you need, send a check or money ordermade out to Ohio University to: Patrick S. Washburn, Editor,

Journalism History, E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University,Athens, Ohio 45701-2979.

J40 journalism Histoty 30:3 (Fall 2004)