Politics in Post-Soviet Russia: Where Are the Women?

There are very few women in high-level decision making within the Russian federal government, & it looks as if change will not happen soon. This is consistent with Russia's past, where barriers to women's political participation existed. There is a growth of women's organizations, but overall, the public pressure to change the status quo remains low. There was a successful women's bloc in 1993, but generally, politicians have tried to garner women's votes by highlighting the few women in their party. Unfortunately these women are not included in major decision making. For many, a few token women in low positions is acceptable. 1 Table. R. Larsen