Today many compatriots speak of upholding traditional Russian family values. What those values mean in practice varies because every family has its own history, shaped by age, status, and personal experience.
Over the past century, the woman’s role as the guardian of the home has been challenged by modernization. The old peasant way of life fixed certain tasks, but in the 1920s, as large numbers moved from villages to cities, life shifted. Initially it did not help the women. Both men and women worked, yet housework often fell to the woman as a matter of custom.
Daily life demanded a great deal of strength. There were no refrigerators, so cooking was daily, and provisions had to be bought with attention to long lines and occasional shortages in the 1930s. Food habits were simple and durable: soup, porridge, jelly, potatoes, herring, pickled cucumbers, yet every purchase needed processing and storage. Glass jars and bottles were scarce; products came wrapped in newspaper or cloth bags, and each tin counted for more than its weight in gold.
When family members returned home, a pot of hot potatoes wrapped in newspaper might rest under a pillow. If butter was available, it was kept underwater to preserve it. In winter, meat could be hung from a string outside the window to keep it from spoiling.
Meals were often cooked on kerosene stoves. The tasks extended beyond basic cooking: flax had to be boiled; laundry and linen required hard, manual effort; shirts and undergarments were starched and kept white, as dyed fabrics were deemed unsafe. Clothes demanded ironing, heated on coal-fired irons, and garments were repaired and mended by hand. Aprons, sleeves, and collars were washed separately to stay clean; wardrobes were repaired and extended by the women who often wore many hats at once in those years.
Cleaning was laborious without vacuum cleaners or modern detergents. Floors of wooden parquets required scrubbing twice a year, and hot water was not always available at home. People sometimes went to rivers in smaller towns to do laundry if running water existed at all.
City women dressed differently from rural women, choosing outfits that reflected a more urban style. They wore socks with belts, shorts or warm trousers in winter, and a homemade bra, a hat or beret. A woman often had to be skilled in many crafts: patching elbows, knitting socks, mittens, scarves, and building or repairing clothes. Shoes were repaired by shoemakers, and high heels often wore down quickly.
For many, this was the norm of a prosperous life free from war and oppression, even though wars, arrests, and the forced resettlement of entire peoples still occurred.
Yet contraceptives were unavailable, there was a shared bathroom, and families lived in close quarters in multi-room apartments with mothers-in-law and children sleeping nearby. A bright memory might be a vacation spent with relatives in a sanatorium in Yalta, where a dress with a sailor collar and a straw hat were worn for the journey, and hard pears were packed in a fiber suitcase that would ripen during the trip.
The generation born in the 1930s and growing up in the 1960s experienced a shift in lifestyle. People moved into smaller apartments and began to acquire household appliances. The refrigerator solved the food dilemma, soups lasted for days, and ready-made cutlets and meatballs appeared on shelves. Linen was pressed, numbers appeared on sheets, and television brought new programs that even made iron use easier with electric irons. Fabrics with exotic names like crimplene, jersey, and nylon entered wardrobes and required less upkeep. Comfortable knitwear and raincoats became common, and washing machines started to appear in homes, though many still required hand spinning and careful handling of laundry. Vacuum cleaners began to resemble space-age gadgets. Progress felt tangible and exciting.
People enjoyed coffee in cups, the comfort of sofas, and the new technology of tape recorders. There were early trips to socialist countries, and leisure activities like hiking and canoeing became more popular. Fathers found time to cook, while mothers learned to manage dishes and daily chores with greater ease. Children learned that education mattered just as much as nourishment, echoing the ideas of modern parenting pioneers who emphasized balanced development and curiosity.
By the close of the century, women experienced more freedom. Diapers replaced earlier challenges, milk formulas and fruit-and-vegetable jars simplified feeding, and new products—plastic bottles, aprons, and other conveniences—made daily life smoother. The era also brought a surge of gadgets like washing machines and, later, the end of ironing as a daily chore. Families gained access to their own cars and visited larger supermarkets. Vaccines, vitamins, and better nutrition allowed for more optimistic family milestones. Winter nights included simple pleasures like a glass of wine and chips, while the household climate shifted toward a more relaxed rhythm, with grandparents’ advice becoming less authoritative and caregivers stepping in as needed.
In the 21st century, the adult children of this era interact with the world online. Ready-to-eat groceries and pet foods are readily available, clothes survive longer, and travel light with carry-on luggage. Disposable tableware appears for guests, while health-conscious choices—smoothies, mindful eating, and separate waste collection—have become common practices. The traditional family dynamic, in which the woman did most of the labor, has diminished in prominence, freeing time for personal goals and aspirations. The division of labor that once rested on physical work by men and more intimate home tasks by women has faded, and economic shifts now push families to redefine roles.
Only cultural, mental expectations remain in some pockets, and even these are fading. In rural settings, conversations about gender roles shift between tradition and practicality, sometimes with surprising moments like families on the Volga fishing together, mother and daughter sharing duties and enjoying the moment with enthusiasm. The author offers a personal view that may not align with every editor’s stance, reflecting the evolving fabric of family life as it continues to change across generations.