Gender issues in transition: urban and rural Russia

Irina E. Kalabikhina, Moscow State University

The purpose of the study is to assess the range of gender issues that have emerged since the beginning of reforms in Russia, to demonstrate their economic, socio-demogfaphic, and cultural dimensions, and to study specific factors (demographic, socio-economic) influencing people’s adaptation to changes, to draw a picture of gender strategies in transition. The study was conducted in several regions, both rural and urban (in the proportion of 50% each): Moscow oblast, Novgorod The Great, Republic of Daghestan, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The method of focus group discussions (64 focus groups and 16 individual case studies) involved the selection of relatively homogeneous groups of people in terms of socio-demographic and economic status. The more significant differences are put up between rural and urban areas more than between regions, and between different age respondent than between male and female respondents. Most of women’s coping strategies are adopted by men.