Feminism+Communism

I really enjoyed reading about the evolution of feminism after the rise of communism. The changes brought on by communism promoted efforts to liberate and mobilize women. In Russia, many of the laws that were being brought to the government's attention were regarding full legal and political equality for women, marriage had become a civil procedure, divorse was legalized, illigitimacy was overruled, women didn't have to take their husbands sur-names, pregnancy leaves for working women, and women were becoming involved in the country's movement of industrialization. The leaders of Zhenotdel, which was an all women organization, really helped push the women's movements in the 1920's. From conferences to training to muslim women being able to take off their veils, it was all moving in a positive direction until the male communists ruled against it and the leader at the time, Stalin abolished Zhenotdel. China came around with the marriage law of 1950 which promoted easy divorce, free choice in marriage, etc. With help from the CCP they tried to apply the changes, and also helped to create the Women's Federation.

The Rise and Fall of Communism

The reading from this section is packed with interesting information regarding the beginnings of communism and it's spread across the world. Starting witht the Berlin Wall being breached in Germany, which was there in the first place to prevent the people of east berlin from escaping to the west, sparked the first sign of communist tyranny. Modern communism stemming from the teachings of Karl Marx, referred to the final stage of historical development when social equality and collevtive living would be most fully developed with ownership of private property. It's crazy to think that a third of the world was living in societies which were governed by communist regimes. Communism in Russia powered through in a year due to the pressure of WW1  and Russian society full of tension. The chaos of society in Russia led to the end of the Romanov dynasty which had been around for over three centuries and transformed into a social revolution. Following Russia, China was overcome by communism in 1949 and their struggles lasted for decades. China gained help from a small communist party known as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) which efforts were geared towards organizing the working class. Following the leadership of Mao Zedong, the Chinese faced an intense battle with the Japanese and were victorious in 1949. After the setteling of communism, then began the creation of socialism in the soviet union and china. Lead in the soviet union by Stalin and still under leadership of Mao Zedong in China.