How have stereotypes of Russian women changed over the past century?
They’ve changed dramatically. Fifty years ago, the image of Russian women celebrated by the Soviet state was the heroine mother-worker. If you look at Soviet Socialist realist sculptures, you see women with muscular arms holding sheaths of wheat or a hammer and sickle while also suckling an infant. That stereotype was beneficial to the Soviet state. Now the Soviet Union is gone, and a new stereotype of the hyper feminine woman has emerged. Q: Do they just care more about their appearance now, or is it that they can care more? A: Both. If they have the money, Russian women can now buy the same things that Western women can, and they do. They spend a greater portion of their income on clothing and makeup than many women in the West. This is also because salaries are still comparatively lower in Russia, while the price of consumer goods is the same as in the West. They see looking good as a social necessity. In job advertisements in Russia, you’ll find help wanted ads that say, “Must be y
