The active participation of the Russian women in the great war

Abstract

This thesis attempts to inquire the active participation of the Russian women in the war effort during the First War World War. Its origins can be traced back in the Sisters of Mercy which had been established during the Crimean War in 1854-1856 as well as in the general movements of women’s rights in Russia. An examination of the activities of pioneer women who worked as volunteer nurses and soldiers in the battlefronts, not to mention their critical role in the economy, clearly demonstrates that Russian women were by no means passive bystanders during the First World War. While the Sisters of Mercy did contribute to the medical treatment of the wounded and sick soldiers, the Women’s Battalion of Death constituted an unprecedented example of a female combat unit in the Russian military history. Apart from a number of secondary sources and monographs, the diaries and letters of several Russian and English women have been utilized in order to inquire their motives and experiences.