“I saw the system from the inside”: Raisa Rudenko, a Ukrainian female dissident between social and political spaces
The article presents a study of the resistance of Ukrainian female dissidents in the Soviet Union from the 1960s to the 1980s based on the autobiographical story of Raisa Rudenko, who was involved in the activities of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. The analysis distinguishes between social and politi...
Gorde:
| Argitaratua izan da: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/chreecc, |
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| Egile nagusia: | |
| Formatua: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Hizkuntza: | Anglais |
| Argitaratua: |
Cahiers d’histoire russe, est-européenne, caucasienne et centrasiatique
2026
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Gaia: | The article presents a study of the resistance of Ukrainian female dissidents in the Soviet Union from the 1960s to the 1980s based on the autobiographical story of Raisa Rudenko, who was involved in the activities of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group. The analysis distinguishes between social and political spaces. Social space refers to everyday life, the household and related activities; it follows that the political space belongs to the masculine world and the social space to the feminine. The use of these terms instead of the “private/public sphere” opposition is due to the specificity of public life in the communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The specificity of women’s resistance against the Soviet totalitarian system is illustrated through Raisa’s life. The main thematic axis here is how the fulfilment of gender roles impacts functioning in social and political spaces. The analysis also examines Raisa and Mykola Rudenko’s relationship—both as a married couple and as dissident partners—and how it was impacted by the constant harassment of the security services. It then discusses the role of female dissidents’ social support networks, including in labor camps, and of survival strategies in such an environment. |
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