«Women scientists resemble guinea pigs...» Anecdotes about women-scientists in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia

Abstract

The thematization of the history of gender discriminations, the analysis of changes of their character in Russia after 1985 became possible owing to the collapse of the so-called “soviet scholarship”. From that time on the author collected the anecdotes, that reflect the inequities in the employment status, compensation, and reputational standing of women in the sciences. The tools of folklore studies (folkloristic) have been a crucial resource for understanding the nature, impact, and prospects for changing gender-based forms of oppression. The author hopes that in this spirit this text actively draws on, and contributes to elimination of asymmetry in Russian sciences.