Mother Russia and the crisis of the Russian national family: The puzzle of gender in revolutionary Russia*

Once upon a time there lived a rich widow, with a beautiful face and vigorous body, not old and not young, by the name of Mother Russia. She had been married twice, the first time to the peasant‐bogatyr Mikula Selianinovich, and the second to the no less renowned v/arnoT‐bogatyr Il'ia Muromets.

Her husbands had left her countless riches. And God had blessed both her marriages with many children. For the most part, her children were hard‐working people and valiant warriors. They worked their father's land and protected it from hostile neighbors.

But, as always happens, the family was not without its black sheep. Mother Russia also had some children who were good‐for‐nothings, idlers, drunkards, and empty‐headed chatterboxes. And it was not surprising that these good‐for‐nothings grabbed power over all the widow's other children.

As the loving mother began to grieve and take ill from their indecent debauchery, they assumed control over her and all her possessions. And they began to squander and drink up her wealth, and to send all sorts of healers to try and cure their sick mother.¹