WOMEN IN THE ORGANS OF SOVIET PEOPLE’S POWER (THE CASE OF THE USSR IN THE POSTWAR PERIOD)

The article examines the acquisition of political rights by Ukrainian women in historical retrospect, noting the complexity and discreteness of the process. Ukrainian women were the first to receive the right to vote within the Russian Empire (1917), but were unable to fully use them due to the Bolshevik coup, which returned the country to the old dictatorial system of government. Western Ukrainian women in interwar Poland managed to become active participants in the process, winning representation in the Polish Sejm and Senate during two electoral cadences in 1928 and 1930. Although there were only two female representatives, M. Rudnytska and O. Kiselevska, their involvement serves as a notable and effective example of Ukrainian women's participation in representative bodies of power within a relatively democratic system. The paper highlights the role of Ukrainian women in the representative bodies of power of the USSR in the post-war period. The duties of women deputies and their position in society are analysed. Based on the materials of state archives narrative sourcesm the author shows the, the real situation of women deputies and the impossibility of exercising their deputy powers in the conditions of the command and control system and strict party dictates. The article notes that despite the loud statements of the Soviet leadership about the active participation of women in the socio-political life of the country, Soviet women’s representation in government was significantly inferior to men's and reached only 30–35 %. However, if we take into account that throughout human history there has been no example of parity in gender governance, and the situation in other countries where women did not have voting rights at all, the Soviet statistics are truly impressive. The article presents statistics on the number of women in representative structures and executive committees of the Soviets at various levels. The author points out the factors that facilitated or hindered women’s involvement in government: a formalized approach to the role of women in Soviet society, party quotas, excessive workload of women at work and family problems, including motherhood, and gender stereotypes. The author emphasizes the fictitious or semi-fictitious status of a woman deputy, whose legal capacity was limited by the «peculiarities» of the Soviet electoral system and the representative branch of government in general. The author emphasizes the relevance of women's involvement in government in modern Ukraine in order to optimize government decisions and build a truly democratic society.