Red Valkyries cover art

Red Valkyries

Feminist Lessons from Five Revolutionary Women

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About this listen

The lives of five socialist women and their legacy for modern-day feminists

Red Valkyries explores the history of socialist feminism in Eastern Europe. Through the revolutionary careers of five prominent socialist women active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries—the aristocratic Bolshevik Alexandra Kollontai; the radical pedagogue Nadezhda Krupskaya; the polyamorous firebrand Inessa Armand; the deadly sniper Lyudmila Pavlichenko; and the partisan, scientist, and global women's activist Elena Lagadinova—Kristen Ghodsee tells the story of the personal challenges faced by earlier generations of radicals.

None of these women was a perfect leftist. Their lives were filled with inner conflicts, contradictions, and sometimes outrageous privilege. But they managed to fight for their own political projects with perseverance and dedication. Always walking a fine line between the need for class solidarity and the desire to force their sometimes callous male colleagues to take women's issues seriously, these women pursued novel solutions with many lessons for those who might follow in their footsteps.

©2022 Kristen R. Ghodsee (P)2022 Tantor
Gender Studies Politicians Politics & Activism Russia Social Sciences Socialism Imperialism
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Really good introduction to five women I would have had a passing knowledge of but have never really looked into. Glad I did. I should probably start reading the written works of these ladies.

I'm embarrassed by my own ignorance.

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