Psychologists from California and Moscow argue about Russian feminism.

Moscow has visited Daniel Rankur-Lafayer - the professor of the Californian university (USA), the author of research "Slavish soul of Russia". In his opinion, our women – loving spouses and mothers – there is no equal woman in the world.

Daniel Rankur-Lafayer:
- Sometimes I envy Russian men: what women have got to them! But, I have been shocked, when during the first visit to Leningrad, 30 years ago, there I was the witness of how the young man has striked the girlfriend's face, and nobody said a world. And she has not caused any indignation about it. All Russian classics, all folklore and, alas, modern sociological researches specify sad dependence of the Russian woman. As the sociologist Larissa Kuznetzova wrote "the habit to kowtow has acquired in centuries with original psychology".

Olga Mahovskaja:
- you speak about old tradition, and your compatriot and the sociologist of Ada Baskina considers, that freedom of the soviet women is the reason of Americans women's envy. Today we could easily live without struggle for the rights, but the problems rising before women during postreorganization time, have played with us a malicious joke.
Seeing, what heavy life was lived their mothers, our girls began to search happiness in a marriage with rich Russians, and it is even better with foreigners, irrespective of their prosperity, by a principle "it will not be worse". The latent competition between the woman and the man in the USSR after disintegration of the country and as a result privatizations was finally resolved for the benefit of men. It maybe the main social consequence of all economic reforms. Women appeared are practically discharged of the property and began to take only by what they were presented by the nature.

Daniel Rankur-Lafayer:
- Nevertheless we could not leave the national traditions. The American woman would be offended by frankly sexist saying "hair is long - mind is short", which is not only specifying on neglect to the adult woman, but also marking by itself a phase of a complex when attitudes of the person with the world are under construction exclusively in a key "mother-child".
If father psychologically or physically is absent, result of excessive mother's love can become the son-misogynist. We know about such phenomenon in our black ghettoes. Traditional Russia described as patriarchy, but it is only half-truths. The underside is matriarchy in family. Domination of men in a political life of Russia is incited by growing influence of women in families.

Olga Mahovskaja:
- Notwithstanding what 90-96% of our men after divorce do not participate in education of children, as well as afroamericans, dramatic kind of men and women attitudes in Russia historically another. As a result of often wars we constantly physically lose our men. But there is a paradox here - in full force the echo of war get up to us through generation when it is more easy to live. Infantile men are promptly multiplied alongside with husbands-despots. A choice of the successful Russian woman today is tragical: to be rolled away to ideals of patience and humility, or to frighten men by the independence.

Daniel Rankur-Lafayer:
- The reasons of misfortune of the Russian woman are much deeper. Imagine: during all history of Russia, which is the country orthodox, Jesus Christ's cult prospered not so much as reverence of the Virgin. St. George though flaunts on your arms, does not protect Russian, but the Virgin store it. Exactly so as two-year-old children perceive their mother.

Olga Mahovskaja:
- You criticize our ideals from the point of view of Protestant ethics and the western imaginatation of an equality of sexes. The traditional Russian family, as psychologist Vladimir Druzhinin has shown, in all centuries represented psychological fight of the man and the woman. The husband posesses authority, to the wife the responsibility is delegated. Women possess today enormous informal authority, not only in family, but also in collectives. There is a known truth in secret desire of the Russian woman "to hide behind a strong back". But there is no present any masochism in it. The Russian woman have never knew norms in the social life, therefore today she tries to live in conditions of imagined norm, trying on herself an image of a bohemian beauty or mothers or feminist.

Daniel Rankur-Lafayer:
- I do not think that feminism in Russia is only the form of psychological protection. It is sensitive reaction of clever women in Russia on overwhelming men who push aside them on a roadside. However on the whole it is very easy for Russian woman to slide in old habits and consider again: "If he beats me that means he loves!" Every year I spend in Russia several weeks. And I notice very few changes in behaviour of Russian women. Certainly, they look much more attractively than those who could be met in 1970-80 years. But deliberate underlining by them in clothes of the sexuality speaks just about slavish dependence on man's estimations. What is normal for the girl, in the mature woman is an attribute of infantility. Your women do not concede to men in it. Sometimes it seems to me that Russia is populated with teenagers.

Olga Mahovskaja:
- We search. We want to be high-grade. The requirement to be externally attractive is old norm and is fixed in genes. In the USSR alongside with women-heroines, women – workers, occured an image of a woman-scientific as a romantic image, selflessly devoted science, which is not having children and more often unhappy in love. But these clever heads were played by the sexiest actresses. And today our movie stars are not only sexual, but also clever.

Daniel Rankur-Lafayer:
- However, you see, the fact of a marriage till now is criterion of female success in Russia. Till now to be lonely at you country, I would tell, more shameful, than to be illiterate or the plain woman. "Be not born beautiful, and be born happy" - the wish which has kept actuality in Russia. For the Russian woman there is a lot of ways fortunately. With any cases the psychological analysis would help, in which I am engaged and which has not found wide recognition at your country. Why? You will surprised, but the prospect of Russian women's happiness depends on a apartament question, instead of on quantity of psychological services. Young people are compelled to live with parents, brothers and sisters. There is no opportunity to stay alone. And for the woman does not remain anything else than to devote herself to the child under supervision of parents, just as in novels of XIX century. The psychologist from Saint Petersburg has told to me that American feminists refuse Russian women in their charm, aspire to emasculate their affectibility. But appearance is not the unique basis for maintenance of woman's self-respect. And at your country it remains to be such unique basis.

Olga Mahovskaja:
- Daniel, I think, the ideal Russian woman will read these our reasonings rather critically. Independent people are not inclined to rely on opinions of others, even if it is psychologists. The life of the woman in Russia is still not fruit candy, it is much more intense, than glossy magazines inspire. The Russian woman possesses unique, richest experience of development. She is extremely initiative and inventive. Therefore, practically not being present on a political stage, in a real life she plays the main and more and more appreciable role.

Disclaimer:
The articles on my website are an additional service for the visitors. I provide them because I think they are related to Russian woman portrait and which I think, might be of interest for the users. The contents of these articles do not necessarily reflect my believes.