EMERGE: From "the woman question" to women's movement (1855–1863)|Seven Public Lectures on the History of Russian Feminism

When: Thursdays, 18:00 | 8 January – 19 February 2026 Language: English Admission: free, please, register via the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfzNMyxwRJ6gNQYhkgNXfnF4laAz6fxztc0f4F2vTn8akve1A/viewform

This series tells the story of how women in the Russian Empire moved from near-invisibility in public life to visible, consequential agency in just a few decades. We follow the activists who built charities, publishing ventures, schools, petition campaigns, and finally underground networks. Along the way we trace how a women-led civic sphere confronted both patriarchy and autocracy, often under censorship and police surveillance.

The course is grounded in fresh archival research and a clear conceptual frame: Nancy Fraser’s idea of counterpublics and Ulrich Beck’s account of metamorphosis help explain how power grows in constrained spaces and then changes the rules of the game.

Why now?

A fact-based narrative of effective resistance is urgently needed in an era of right-wing backlash and democratic fatigue. The project this course draws on was conceived as exactly that: a readable, evidence-rich account that restores women to the centre of Russian modern history. It also speaks to the present. Today’s Feminist Anti-War Resistance, operating under anonymity and threat of long prison terms, mirrors the survival strategies of nineteenth-century women who wrote without bylines and organized in the shadows. Remembering earlier victories and mistakes is a civic resource, not a luxury.

Vienna is a fitting place to host this conversation. In the Habsburg capital, a Women’s Employment Association formed in 1866, part of a synchronous European surge that included St. Petersburg’s Women’s Publishing Cooperative in 1863 and London’s Society for Promoting the Employment of Women. Our meetings will make these cross-border echoes audible.

Lector: Dr. Masha Bratishcheva, historian, author and podcast show-runner.

Collaboration of FAR Vienna and Dialogbüro Vienna. FAR is a group of Russian feminists founded in February 2022 to protest against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.