The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-10-24


Celebrations are organized at the
openings of these Lenin corners.
In "Krestianka' we find very many
letters sent in by peasant women.
They are coming from Ukrainian
villages, from White Russian villag-
es, from Caucasia-C ossack women.
These letters represent the "bit"
(mode of life) of the present village.
A revolution goes on in the village,
the past did not disappear yet, the
hundreds and hundreds of years of
darkness, prejudices, illiteracy, domi-
nation of priests is yet felt very much
1t could not disappear entirely yet.
The mujik looks with suspicion
when his wife goes to the election
of the village or village district
Soviets. Many quarrels occur on ac-
count of it. The women were ridicul-
ed at the beginning and many peas
ants expressed their disapproval of
the "baba" becoming an equal, but
enlightenment changed the situation
somehow, the women organized meet
ings at which speakers explained the
new spirit and position of Soviet
Russia. The meetings of women
discussed the needs of the life and
existence of the village community,
so the men began to understand that
the differentiation of sex Is only arti-
fetal in regard to social and economic
problems. The women of the Russian
villages carries the burden of life as
well as the men and in addition, they
raise the young generation.
The great mystery of the existence
of the Russian village was the peas
ant woman, her energy and her en-
durance was the great secret that
could keep the village community |
alive. Now, with her awakening, de-
velopment and enlightenment, the |
Soviet government brings into play
an element that will astonish the
world with its power and with its
possibilities. We read letters how |
peasant women in Soviet Russia, on
their dying bed, are asking their |
children not to call the pop (priest) |
but to make them a red funeral or
how peasant woman, decides that
she has to devote her life in working
for her sisters and goes to a large \
town to study in workers school. |
The whole village goes out to give |
her a send off and everybody is ex-
pecting to receive letters of instruc-
ton of what to do in order to serve
the community in its needs.
In "Krestianka" we find also letters
that tell us of tragedies in the village
of Soviet Russia. The husband comes |
home in some cases drunk, and still |
beats his wife. A kosac woman tells |
in detail that her whole body is COW
cred with wounds and that she went |
to the court of the district and the |
judge issued divorce Immediately |
and divided the belongings in half so |
the Russian peasant woman of today ]
has a protection against the brutal |
ity of those that are yet ignorant of |
the equal rights the Krestianka enjoys
in Soviet republics.
The peasant women organizes as
sistance for the poor children of the
village that have no clothes or shoes
to go to school. They cooperate with
the teacher of the village school, they
help in the. building up of the new
educational system in their land.
They organize nurseries for the sum-
mer when they are busy on the field,
and the school teacher or the organ
ization worker is left with the chill
dren.
It is remarkable to note the tune Of
the district and gubernatorial confer
ences that are held of the Russian
peasant women. The frank state
ments of their situation demonstrates
to us how in Soviet Russia out of the
depths Of the villages grows a woman
that is looking realistically about her
position in life. The reports Of these
conference are full of description how