ABSTRACT
The holding of democratic elections and the existence of a party dedicated to defending the interests of women would have seemed inconceivable outside the realms of science fiction. Anastasia Posadskaya was a founding member of league for society's liberation from stereotypes in 1988 and has consequently had the opportunity to witness all the stages in the development of the women's movement. The NE ZHDI ("Do Not Wait") manifesto published in 1990 by the independent women's democratic initiative accorded first priority to women's struggles for economic independence. In many regions of Russia, particularly in the provinces and in rural areas, women have more or less disappeared from politics. Russians are very suspicious of official organizations because of their experiences under the centrally controlled communist system. In the postcommunist context it is very important to create organizations that are open and publicly accountable. The difficulties faced by the independent women's democratic initiative, NE ZHDI, is a good illustration of this.
