Feminism in the Post-Soviet space: the geopolitics of Estonian feminism

Abstract

The article deals with the problem how Estonian geocultural difference (Estonia as a small, economically vulnerable post-socialist country in the borderlands of Europe) constructs Estonian feminism(s) both in today’s and historical context. The geocultural location has had a great influence upon Estonian society and culture, and the Estonian situation can be understood as a state of being somewhere in-between (see Koobak and Marling 2014), not only geographically but also socio-culturally. Estonian feminism began in close connection to the Estonian national movement in the second half of the 19^th century. The Soviet period in Estonia (1940–1991; from 1941 to 1944 Estonia was occupied by Nazi Germany) which interrupted the feminist tradition had a controversial meaning considering the gender aspect. Although the idea of gender equality was an integral part of Soviet ideology, it was not implemented in reality. Estonia was regarded as the Soviet republic both economically, geographically (the neighborhood of Finland) and culturally closest to the West. Thus, Estonian gender ideas consisted of a mixture of Soviet gender equality rhetoric, the ideas of Estonian nationalism, some Western influences, puritanical attitudes toward sexuality and the female body. Feminism reappeared in Estonia after the restoration of independence. The Estonian experience belongs to those small stories set in a specific local context (see Lykke 2010) and as such, it has shaped feminist practices that are a result of complex socio-spatial power relations and intersections of ethnicity/nationality, gender, geocultural place etc., both historically and in today’s context.

Keywords:

• Estonia
• feminism
• geopolitics
• post-socialism
• socialism
• Soviet gender politics

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the anonymous referees for their valuable comments which improved the presentation of this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This article was supported by the European Union Regional Development Fund (Centre of Excellence in Estonian Studies) and it is associated with the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research research project IUT 22-2.

Notes on contributors

Eve Annuk

Eve Annuk (PhD) is a literary scholar, Senior Researcher at the Estonian Literary Museum and the Centre of Excellence of Estonian Studies, and Editor-in-Chief of Ariadne Lõng, Estonian journal of gender studies. In 2011-2014, she headed the research project ‘Gender question in Estonia: the local situation and international influences’ financed by the Estonian Science Foundation. Her main research interests are Estonian literary history, post-socialism, gender studies and autobiography studies. She has extensively studied the life and work of Lilli Suburg (1841-1923), the first Estonian feminist, writer and journalist, and of the poet Ilmi Kolla (1933-1954). Her current work focusses on the various aspects of gender and culture in the Estonian context, including feminism and new media. She has published numerous articles on literary scholarship as well as book reviews in different publications. She is the compiler of the first collection of Estonian women’s life stories, ‘Naised kõnelevad’ (Women speak, 1997).