Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy

By Julia Ioffe

Categories: History, Politics & Social Sciences

Motherland (2025) is journalist Julia Ioffe's history of modern Russia told through its women, from the 1917 revolution to Vladimir Putin's autocracy. Blending memoir, reporting and history, Ioffe follows figures such as revolutionary Alexandra Kollontai, Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya and his mistress Inessa Armand, Soviet women at war, members of Pussy Riot and Yulia Navalnaya, alongside women from her own family. She argues that the fate of Russia's experiment in women's equality helps explain the country's turn back toward autocracy.

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• Sarah Jessica Parker: “Congratulations @juliaioffe On your deeply fascinating and wonderfully received book!!!! Deserving of all the praise. My fellow greedy readers, grab it. Add it to your pile or start reading this weekend. Check with your local independent bookseller or your local library. Happy reading! X, SJ PS More book coverage soon, as I catch up sharing titles I have been sneaking and loving.”