Russian Feminism: Twenty Years Forward

This inspiring short film describes the obstacles and successes faced by feminist scholars and activists in establishing women’s studies and the women’s movement in the late Soviet Union and the early post-Soviet period. Based on interviews conducted with key figures in this history, the documentary captures the scholarly and activist exchanges that emerged in the early 1990s and their effect on developing women’s organizations and opening a public conversation about sexism and women’s issues in Russia. The documentary also looks critically at the role of foreign funding within the women’s movement during the 1990s and also at the new challenges faced by women in the Putin-Medvedev era.