ABSTRACT
From a theoretical perspective, this chapter presents a "case study" of a larger sociological issue. Demographic changes set the stage for the altered roles that older women perform in Soviet society. Certain roles, such as those of the "spouse" and the "independent homemaker," seem to be increasingly foreclosed, and the traditional babushka role is also being curtailed. This is paradoxical because state-run child care facilities cannot accommodate half of all eligible children in the cities, and as few as one-fourth in the countryside. However, many rural women cannot Kike over the role of child-minder and housekeeper simply because their families have left the area. Likewise, many elderly Soviet females living in cities no longer live with their families, thus making the babushka role even more tenuous. Work roles for female old-age pensioners have yet to take up the slack.
