03.03.2023
The Exhibition is located at the entrance to the Reading Room of the Library
The Exhibition presents publications of the late 19th - first half of the 20th century, reflecting the history of the development of the women's movement in the West and in the Russian Empire, the evolution of political slogans for the celebration of March 8 in different periods of Soviet history, and the features of the women's movement in modern Russia.
The celebration was initiated by feminists Klara Tsetkin and Rosa Luxemburg and was conceived as an opportunity for women around the world to stand up for equality.
The Women's Day in the Russian Empire was celebrated on the initiative of the RSDLP in 1913. According to Alexandra Kollontai, the First Women's Day in Russia was a political event.
In the first years of Soviet power, the Day was not celebrated. In 1921, at the 2nd Communist Women's Conference, it was decided to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8 in memory of the women's strike in Petrograd in 1917.
In the early 1920s, March 8 turned into an official holiday, symbolizing the unity of workers and women in the struggle to build a new society.
The fight against fascism in the1940s, the support for the liberation struggle in the countries of the third world, the movement for peace became the main theme of the celebration. In 1941-1945 it became a day when women helped the Red Army to strengthen the military and economic power of the Soviet state.
In 1965, for the first time in Russia, March 8 was declared an official holiday in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women in the construction of socialist.
The women's movement in the post-Soviet period reflects the modern political system and is based on the joint actions of women's organizations with the aim of changing gender relations in the areas of management, employment and social policy.
