Motherland

A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy

De: Julia Ioffe

Narrado por: Julia Ioffe

Acclaimed journalist Julia Ioffe tells the story of modern Russia through the history of its women, from revolution to utopia to autocracy.

In 1990, seven-year-old Julia Ioffe and her family fled the Soviet Union. Nearly twenty years later, Ioffe returned to Moscow—only to discover just how much Russian society had changed while she had been living in America. The Soviet women she had known growing up—doctors, engineers, scientists—had seemingly been replaced with women desperate to marry rich and become stay-at-home moms. How had Russia gone from portraying itself as the vanguard of world feminism to the last bastion of conservative Christian values?

In Motherland, Ioffe turns modern Russian history on its head, telling it exclusively through the stories of its women. From her own physician great-grandmothers to Lenin’s lover, a feminist revolutionary; from the hundreds of thousands of Soviet girls who fought in World War II to the millions of single mothers who rebuilt and repopulated a devastated country; from the members of Pussy Riot to Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, Ioffe chronicles one of the most audacious social experiments in history and how it failed the very women it was meant to liberate—and documents how that failure paved the way for the revanche of Vladimir Putin.

Part memoir, part journalistic exploration, part history, Motherland paints a portrait of modern Russia through the women who shaped it. With deep emotion, Ioffe shows what it means to live through the cataclysms of revolution, war, idealism, and heartbreak—and reveals how the story of Russia today is inextricably tied to the history of its women.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Stupendous research and insight

An astonishing work of history as well as contemporary reportage, Julia Ioffe tackles the most awe-inspiring and darkest periods of Russian history—for women. As deeply researched as it is felt, this listener was blown away by Ioffe’s account, which opens desperate questions for the future of Russia’s political leadership and policy reform. I am hoping this book reaches its intended audience—not so much the hardened minds and hearts of politicians who might never change from sheer inertia, but the citizenry whose only choice at this time appears to be to suffer for justice which might not come in their lifetime.

Chilling and compelling. Highly recommended.

Sincerity!

The factual breakdown of the survival of the people. Weaving the family history into the narrative.

Julia Ioffe's eloquent way of weaving historical and personal stories together

I absolutely loved this book. It was a compellingly interesting and moving way to present her personal and non personal history. In a word, a masterpiece.

Brilliant!

There are history books that inform, and then there are those rare works that reframe history itself. Gripping, raw, and profoundly illuminating, Motherland doesn’t just retell history, it reclaims it. In flawless narration by the author, it is an ode to the women who reshaped their world and a call to each of us to carry forward their unfinished fight for dignity, equality, and truth.

Brilliant. Just so good.

I’ve studied Russian history and literature for years and this book pulled things together in such a brilliant way. She is both a great journalist and insightful human observer, with a skill for making sense of a complicated journey. As Russia becomes ever more present in the American experience, this is a must read.

A Love Letter to women of Russia

This work of love dedicated to Julia Ioffe's grandmother Emma is also a love letter to Russian women. "Motherland" is part a history of the Soviet Union and Russia centered on the country's women, and part a multi-generational saga of the author's family, where the lives of her fore-mothers (the author's term) mirror the destinies of millions of Soviet women. The book nurtures the mind but providing a fact-filled and incisive analysis of the treatment of the "women's question" in Russia over the last century. At the same time it touches the heart by including dozens of inspiring or heart-rending stories of prominent Russian women and author's women ancestors illustrating how the implementation of country's policies affecting women worked in practice. Julia Ioffe narrates this audiobook, which is a separate bonus. You are exposed to the amalgam of the author's analytical and emotional sides and get the proper pronunciation of all the Russian terms to boot. The books stays with you for a long time after you are done listening to it.

Extraordinary perspective

Incredible retelling of Russian history from the inside, the unique perspective of someone whose own life, and that of her family members and associates, were woven into the story. Moving and insightful.

The missing context

The author fails to note that the destruction of women's rights and freedom in Russia was a consequence of the restoration of capitalism.

A Plethora of Information

This book is absolutely incredible, chocked with information about the last century of Russian history from a feminist perspective. I have read a lot of Russian history but not from this perspective. It also got me up to date about what is presently going on in Russia and how it affects the United States. Depressing. The author is thorough, seems to leave few stones unturned. She writes as a Russian American woman who has lived in both worlds. Excellent

Devastating history of women

This was a remarkable book. I’m still recovering from the absolute suffering of women described in it.