ABSTRACT
Sofia Nikandrovna Pavlova’s life is one of the “success stories” of the revolution. By the standards of the revolutionary period, during which the Bolsheviks took power in the name of the proletariat, she was doubly fortunate in her family background. If Posadskaya did not interview her soon, she might never have the chance, they said, because Pavlova had been very ill. So Posadskaya went to see her. Despite the importance of her work among women and the stress that the party placed on women’s emancipation, Pavlova denied any knowledge of this element of the Bolshevik agenda or any familiarity with the work of well-known Bolshevik feminists such as Aleksandra Kollontai. Pavlova’s interview reflected her continuing loyalty to the system to which she had devoted her life. Pavlova evidently organized and led meetings for such women, although her discussion of their activities makes the work sound considerably more “top-down” than do the accounts of most historians.
