Alevtina Vasilyevna Fedulova (russian: Алевтина Васильевна Федулова, born 14 April 1940) is a Russian political activist and former leader of the Soviet Women's Committee (later the

Union of Women of Russia The Union of Women of Russia (Russian: Союз женщин России (СЖР); known before 1991 as the Soviet Women's Committee) was a women's political organisation in Russia. Its leader was Alevtina Fedulova. In 1993, it was the dominant ...

Early life

Fedulova was born on 14 April 1940, in

Elektrostal Elektrostal (russian: Электроста́ль, from Russian Электро (Elektro), lit: Electricity, Electric and Сталь (Stal), lit: Steel) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Mo ...

, to an illiterate, yet intelligent, mother and a blacksmith father, who died when she was young. An excellent student, Fedulova wished to become a teacher as a child, but went to a local

technical school In the United States, a technical school is a type of two-year college that covers specialized fields such as business, finance, hospitality, tourism, construction, engineering, visual arts, information technology and community work. Associa ...

linked to a local factory. Under pressure, Fedulova's mother paid the tuition to allow her to finish at the school, enabling her to take entrance exams in Moscow for a teacher training institute there. Fedulova married at age 20, while still studying at the institute, in 1960. Her husband was conscripted to military service around the time their son was born. Upon graduation, she became a teacher of biology and chemistry. She remained as a high school teacher for ten years.

Political career

In 1963, Fedulova joined the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union "Hymn of the Bolshevik Party" , headquarters = 4 Staraya Square, Moscow , general_secretary = Vladimir Lenin (first) Mikhail Gorbachev (last) , founded = , banned = , founder = Vladimir Lenin , newspaper ...

, about which she expressed some ambivalence. Fedulova later became head of the Pioneers and was the executive secretary of the

Soviet Peace Committee The Soviet Peace Committee (SPC, also known as Soviet Committee for the Defense of Peace, SCDP, russian: Советский Комитет Защиты Мира) was a state-sponsored organization responsible for coordinating peace movements active ...

. In 1987, she left her position to work for the Soviet Women's Committee full-time, and was elected vice-president of the organisation that same year. From 1981 until 1986, she was a member of the CPSU's Auditing Commission, and was promoted to the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

in 1990. After the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, Fedulova's position of power within the CPSU made many feminists sceptical. However, as leader of the

Women of Russia Women of Russia (, ''Zhenshchiny Rossii'', ZhR) was a political bloc in Russia. History The party was established in the autumn of 1993 by merger of three women's groups, the Union of Women of Russia (the dominant force), the Association of Russi ...

bloc in 1993, but not affiliated to any political party in particular, she became a member of the

Duma A duma (russian: дума) is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions. The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...

. This resulted in 8% of the Duma belonging to the Women of Russia bloc, allowing them to form their own official faction within the Russian government.

Personal life

Fedulova is married to her husband, a former deputy sports minister, and has one son and two grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fedulova, Alevtina Living people Russian feminists Russian women's rights activists 1940 births First convocation members of the State Duma (Russian Federation) 20th-century Russian women politicians