Young Adulthood

Streetkids during the Civil War Era. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Soon after Viktor’s death came two more major revolutions in Petrograd - the March and November revolutions - attempts to overthrow the government. The Winter Palace was stormed once again in November, leading into the Civil War soon after. This was a dangerous time to be in the city, with violent fighting in the streets and death everywhere. The Bolsheviks quickly gained power in numbers, and it was clear which way the revolution would go. Although like my parents before me, I just wanted to keep my head down, I found myself being drawn to the female leaders of the revolution - women like Aleksandra Kollontai drew me into the revolution. She spoke of helping the Soviet Union become stronger, and wanted to give more opportunities to women. I latched on to these ideas and worked even harder to achieve my degree, entering into university.

With the birth of the Soviet Union, I saw changes come into my life as a young woman. The government changed, as did the name of my city once more, to Leningrad. I also saw more opportunites in my life relating to my gender. Through news from the Zhenotdel, a department of the government focused on women, I was excited by the opportunites that were occuring for women - divorce laws became liberalized, abortion was legalized, and more and more women were entering the workforce. My mother had told me that she had never dreamed of any of these opportunities being available to me, and encouraged me to take advantage of them while I could. I was completely enchanged with the ideas spread by Kollantai and the Zhenotdel.

After completing my education, I immediately entered the workforce to begin contributing to the state. I began working as a schoolteacher. I did not have any interest or focus on getting married, Kollontai and the other leaders of the Zhenotdel pulled me away from the idea of working for a family and towards the idea of working for my country. I admired these women and wanted to do what I could to be like them. I was able to focus on my work for many years and found myself really enjoying my work, although the wages were low. As I was unmarried, I continued to live with my parents and contribute my wages to the family. Without my brother, my parents wanted me to stay at home with them.