Kommunistka [Communist], no. 9, 11, 1923

Moscow: Krasnaya Nov, 1923. Illustrated wrappers. Item #606

Two issues (9, 11). Book measures: 31 x 23 cm. 52; 48 pages. Text in Russian. Both copies with light wear to wrappers; no. 11 is chipped and torn.

"Communist" or "Kommunistka" was a political magazine targeted at women in the USSR. It was founded by Inessa Armand and Alexandra Kollontai and served as the official publication of the Zhenotdel, a government agency focused on women's issues.

Published on a monthly basis, "Communist" had a broad readership, including proletarian women, female workers, peasant women, and housewives. The magazine's primary focus was on matters related to women's liberation, both in theory and practice. It asserted that the revolution alone could not completely eradicate gender inequality or the oppression of women within families and society. Armand and Kollontai emphasized the need to address the low representation of women in the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), in economic management roles, in councils, and in trade unions, advocating for special attention to be given to this issue.

In the pages of "Communist," prominent figures like Inessa Armand, Alexandra Kollontai, Nadezhda Krupskaya, and others expressed their views on various topics, including sexuality, abortion, marriage and divorce, free love, morality, family, motherhood, and women's liberation from male dominance. The magazine asserted that the emancipation of women was intimately linked to the construction of a collective communist society.

"Communistka" ceased publication in 1930, coinciding with Joseph Stalin's dissolution of the Zhenotdel.

Price: $150.00