The Portrayal of Women in the Oldest Russian Women’s Magazine “Rabotnitsa” From 1970-2017

This study focuses on the portrayal of women images in Russia, particularly the transformation from Soviet woman to modern woman based on the analysis of one of the oldest Russian women’s magazine- “Rabotnitsa”. The sample for this study covers two periods: three decades of Russia during the era of the Soviet Union period (1970-1990) and two decades of the Post-Soviet period (1991-2017). A total of 586 relevant images were identified; 311 images by Rabotnitsa over the three decades during the Soviet Union’s period by random sampling of 20 issues published by Rabotnitsa between 1970- 1990, and 275 images by Rabotnitsa by random sampling of 20 issues published in the Post-Soviet Union period. The study was analyzed using a quantitative content analysis and grounded in framing research. Goffman’s six categories of Gender Analysis guided this research with one category being appropriated from a study by Kang (1997). The findings displayed that the images of women in the Post-Soviet Union period did not significantly change from the images discovered among the last three decades of Soviet Union period in the fifth category by Goffman. However, circulation of stereotypical portrayal of women did change in two categories- “Licensed Withdrawal” and “Independence”