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Chapter 6 - Serving in a Socialist Home

Paid Domestic Labor and Etatization of the Home

from Part II Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2024

Alissa Klots
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
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Summary

After the official transition to socialism in the mid-1930s, the state continued to rely on urban women’s labor outside the home. With socialization of household tasks still a distant dream, domestic service was reimagined as an integral part of the socialist economy, signaling a major change in the understanding of housework’s place in Soviet society. The domestic worker became a reliable house manager, responsible for the maintenance of the Soviet housing stock, a dedicated nanny who raised Soviet children, and a professional caregiver who indirectly contributed to her employers’ productivity by taking care of their needs at home. Yet, the recognition of domestic workers as equal builders of socialism only solidified the gendered hierarchy of labor. Urban men and women working outside the home had the privilege of transferring the responsibility for housework to peasant migrants or women from other marginalized categories. As a result, many Soviet citizens continued to view domestic labor as degrading.

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Chapter
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Domestic Service in the Soviet Union
Women's Emancipation and the Gendered Hierarchy of Labor
, pp. 180 - 209
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Serving in a Socialist Home
  • Alissa Klots, University of Pittsburgh
  • Book: Domestic Service in the Soviet Union
  • Online publication: 25 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009467193.013
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  • Serving in a Socialist Home
  • Alissa Klots, University of Pittsburgh
  • Book: Domestic Service in the Soviet Union
  • Online publication: 25 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009467193.013
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Serving in a Socialist Home
  • Alissa Klots, University of Pittsburgh
  • Book: Domestic Service in the Soviet Union
  • Online publication: 25 April 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009467193.013
Available formats
×