When Russia Led the World on Women’s Rights (Yes, You Read That Right)

Julie’s Journal – The Mindful Activist Monday Edition

Gather ’round, my friends, and let me tell you a story that will make your morning coffee taste just a little more ironic. Before Vladimir Putin perfected the art of shirtless horseback riding and aggressive geopolitical mood swings, Russia—yes, that Russia—was once the global frontrunner in women’s rights.

Let’s pause for dramatic effect.

Sip your tea.

Breathe deeply.

Because this little historical twist deserves it.

In the early 20th century, while the supposedly enlightened West was still clutching its pearls over whether women might faint if allowed into a university lecture hall, Russia was flinging open educational doors and saying, “Ladies, grab a seat. Preferably one up front.”

Education: Russia’s Revolutionary Flex

Long before American women could earn many degrees without a chaperone or a worried father writing letters to the dean, Russia had established women’s higher education institutions—not as dainty finishing schools but as serious centers of study. Medicine, science, mathematics, literature: Russian women were enrolled, excelling, and in some cases outpacing the men.

Women became doctors in a Russia that was still run by czars.

Let me repeat: women became doctors in the 1800s in Russia.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, women were still being told their delicate constitutions might crumble under the strain of algebra. (I can assure you, after decades of wrestling with modern medical insurance portals, algebra was not the problem.)

These early Russian women scholars didn’t just study quietly, either. They published papers, led movements, and pushed the boundaries of what a woman was “supposed” to do. Their very existence was radical—and Russia allowed it.

Legal Rights: A Century Ahead of Its Time

Now let’s jump to 1917. While the United States was still debating whether women’s brains were equipped for political reasoning, the newly forming Russian state granted universal suffrage. Every woman—peasants, workers, the middle class—got the right to vote.

To be clear:

Russian women gained the right to vote before American women, British women, and French women.

Add to that: Russia implemented legal protections for maternity leave, workplace rights, and even abortion access. Do you feel that? That’s the sound of patriarchy cracking, at least temporarily, in a place we rarely associate with progressive anything.

Meanwhile in the U.S., women had to march, protest, organize, hunger-strike, endure arrests, and politely tolerate the political mansplaining of the century just to be considered full citizens. Russia, of all places, leapfrogged right over that threshold.

Were the motivations complicated? Absolutely. Did the ideals always match the execution? Of course not. But the policies were there—and for women around the world, they were revolutionary.

Women in the Workforce: Not Just “Helping Out”

American posters of World War II brought us Rosie the Riveter, flexing her bicep while promising that women could join the workforce temporarily—until the men returned and reclaimed everything.

Russia, however, had women engineers, scientists, factory directors, pilots, and political leaders long before it was fashionable in the West. Women in Soviet times weren’t described as “filling in.” They were expected to be full participants.

Was it a utopia? No. Did it come bundled with state propaganda and impossible expectations? Oh yes. But even so, Russia built an economy where women’s labor and intellect were fundamental, not ornamental.

Space: The Final (Feminist) Frontier

Let’s not forget Valentina Tereshkova, the world’s first woman in space—in 1963. That’s a full twenty years before NASA put a woman in orbit. While the United States was still carefully debating whether a woman could handle the “emotional strain” of space travel (oh, the irony), Russia simply strapped Valentina into a rocket and said, “Have a great flight.”

So What Do We Do With This Weird but Wonderful History?

We tell it.

We learn from it.

We refuse to accept the simple narratives handed to us like bland cafeteria food.

History is messy. Countries evolve, regress, contradict themselves, reinvent themselves, and occasionally stun us with unexpected brilliance. Russia’s early leadership on women’s rights is a reminder that progress does not follow a straight line—nor does it always come from where we expect.

And maybe it’s a tiny nudge for us, in 2025, as we keep fighting for bodily autonomy, equal pay, representation, and protection:

If Russia could lead once, we can certainly lead now.

Onward, my friends.

The Mindful Activist is watching, learning, and always—always—stirring the pot.

Julie Bolejack, MBA