ABSTRACT
While there is debate on what constitutes single motherhood, especially since matrifocal families predominate in Russian everyday life, single motherhood has become a norm since the end of World War II. In the late Soviet period, legal changes increased divorces, and even while men were encouraged to become more involved in family life, stigma surrounding single motherhood continued. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, social support for all mothers was cut (in real value), childcare services slashed, and families extolled, privatizing motherhood. One exception to this trend has been the introduction of maternity capital in 2006, intended to halt demographic decline. This chapter explores the policy shifts which have made single motherhood common and difficult depending on the levels of kin support that mothers have, one of the persistent challenges during the gendered transition to market capitalism.
