The author sets the task of revealing the issues of mutual assistance of women in times of difficult life situations (difficulties associated with the parents prohibition of marrying for love, cases of difficult life circumstances) based on the stories collected during field ethno-graphic work in different regions of Siberia (using case study method). Timewise these stories or records (interviews, memoirs) refer to the first third of the XX c., before the period of state reform of the way of life of the Russian and, in a particular case, Siberian village in the 1930s.
The family atmosphere in the Siberian families was supported by traditional rules of behavior and decency, largely determined by the Orthodox faith. The mechanism of mutual aid was clearly manifested in relation to children left without parental care, as well as to the elderly. Such people were taken to the family for maintenance and the main burden was placed on the female staff, as the participation in the fate of orphans was mainly for young and old women. The study showed that Siberian peasant women, being in economic, psychological and other dependencies from men throughout their lives, developed traditions of mutual assistance and mutual support in difficult life situations. The forms of women’s mutual assistance were diverse and covered many aspects of everyday culture.
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