Sofia Nikolaevna Smidovich (russian: Софья Николаевна Смидович, 24 February 1872 – 24 November 1934) was a

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

revolutionary, feminist and the leader of the

Zhenotdel The Zhenotdel (), the women's department of the Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks), was the section of the Russian Communist party devoted to women's affairs in the 1920s. It gave women in the Russian Revolution ...

from 1922 to 1924.

Early life

Smidovich was born on 24 February 1872 ( N.S. 8 March) to a middle-class family in Tula. She only attended high school, unlike many of her high ranking feminists peers. She joined the Bolsheviks in 1898, where she campaigned with fellow feminist revolutionaries such as Alexandria Kollontai.

Pre-1917 Revolution Activities

Before the 1917 Russian Revolution, Smidovich had taken part in various feminist protests and the

1905 revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

. She became a close and important ally for radical Bolshevik feminists at the time, most notably, Kollontai and Elena Statsova.

Differing Views to Kollontai

Post revolution, it became clear that Smidovich was one of the more conservative Bolshevik feminists and she openly rejected Kollontai's ideas of

free love Free love is a social movement that accepts all forms of love. The movement's initial goal was to separate the state from sexual and romantic matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery. It stated that such issues were the concern ...

and the destruction of the

family unit Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

. She instead wanted to focus on the plight of "single motherhood". Smidovich believed the family should have a healthy relationship of equal partners, not the complete destruction of traditional romantic relationships. Smidovich would eventually oust Kollontai as head of the Zhenotdel in 1922. Smidovich was very much in line with government policy at the time, which was against radical ideas of free love. Kollontai would describe her relationship with Smidovich in her memoirs as "too painful to talk about".

Later life

Smidovich remained an outspoken critic of "loose sexual tendencies". However, like most radical feminists at the time, she disappeared in political obscurity, after the rise of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

. Stalin viewed many feminists as potential opposition, so Smidovich was suppressed. Smidovich would die in November 1934 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smidovich, Sofia 1872 births 1934 deaths 20th-century Russian women politicians 20th-century Russian politicians Russian socialist feminists