And They Lived Happily Ever After

Yulia Gradskova, holds a Ph.D. in History from Stockholm University. She is currently lecturer in History at Södertörn University. She has published several articles on femininity constructions, maternity and beauty in the Soviet and contemporary Russian context. She is also involved in the research project Family and the Strong State: Emancipation or Coercion? (Södertörn University).Helene Carlbäck is Associate Professor in History at Södertörn University, Sweden. She has published and edited several books and articles on Soviet–Swedish relations in the 20th century, as well as on Russian family and gender history.Zhanna Kravchenko holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Stockholm University. She is currently Research Fellow (postdoc) at the School of Social Work, Lund University. Her research interests include family sociology, social policy, and housing planning.

"The essays by Leinarte and Runcis offer valuable insights about the intersection of gender and nationality; Carlbäck’s, Munico-Larsson’s, and Sätre’s chapters contribute to the growing scholarship on Soviet and post-Soviet masculinity; and the essays by Carlbäck, Zhidkova, and Leinarte speak to the current historiographical interest in the ambiguous nature of the thaw. Many of the essays explore notions of agency by offering compelling examples of how people without much power manage to formulate coping strategies (see the chapters by Asztalos Morell, Farhan, Gradskova, and Kravchenko). Finally, essays by Gradskova, Khazova, Kravchenko, Rotkirch and Kesseli, and Iarskaia-Smirnova and Romanov demonstrate the ways in which gender complicates our understanding of post-Soviet politics and society".

• List of Abbreviations Preface Introduction Helene Carlbäck, Yulia Gradskova and Zhanna Kravchenko PART I 1940s–1980s The Family as a “Basic Unit of Socialist Society” Chapter 1. Lone Motherhood in Soviet Russia in the Mid-20th Century—In a European Context Helene Carlbäck Chapter 2. Family, Divorce, and Comrades’ Courts: Soviet Family and Public Organizations During the Thaw Elena Zhidkova Chapter 3. A Life of Labor, a Life of Love: Telling the Life of a Young Peasant Mother Facing Collectivization Ildikó Morell Asztalos Chapter 4. East German Women Going West: Family, Children and Partners in Life-Experience Literature Christine Farhan Chapter 5. Why Does Public Policy Implementation Fail? Lithuanian Office of State Benefits for Mothers of Large Families and Single Mothers, 1944–1956 Dalia Leinarte Chapter 6. The Latvian Family Experience with Sovietization 1945–1990 Majia Runcis PART II 1990s–2000s Social Transformation in the Mirror of Family Life Chapter 7. “Two children Puts You in the Zone of Social Misery”: Childbearing and Risk Perception among Russian Women Anna Rotkirch and Katja Kesseli Chapter 8. “Supporting Genuine Development of the Child.” Public Childcare Centers Versus Family in Post-Soviet Russia Yulia Gradskova Chapter 9. Everyday Continuity and Change: Family and Family Policy in Russia Zhanna Kravchenko Chapter 10. Single Mothers—Clients or Citizens? Social Work with Poor Families in Russia Elena Iarskaia-Smirnova and Pavel Romanov Chapter 11. Welfare Crisis and Crisis-Centers in Russia Today Aino Saarinen Chapter 12. Marriage and Divorce Law in Russia and the Baltic States: Overview of Recent Changes Olga A. Khazova Chapter 13. Doing Parenting in Post-Socialist Estonia and Latvia Ingegerd Municio-Larsson Chapter 14. Gendered Experiences in Entrepreneurship, Family and Social Activities in Russia Ann-Mari Sätre Notes on Contributors Index