Authors

Discussion

This conference presentation focuses on the adaptive agency and resilience of post-Soviet women’s collectives, with a particular emphasis on female participants from Chechnya (Russia) during the period 1991–1996, covering pre-war and war times in Chechnya before and during the two Chechen wars. 

The research, conducted as part of the presenter’s PhD dissertation at GCAS College Dublin, is grounded in both scholarly inquiry and personal experience, as the presenter was born in Chechnya and lived there until 1993, witnessing firsthand the destruction of their family home and the hardships endured during the war. Exploring a self-organized sewing commune in Grozny that emerged amidst the economic collapse following the Soviet Union’s disintegration, this qualitative case study draws on personal narratives and lived realities from these regions. The research highlights how these women’s grassroots initiatives exemplify ‘feminist anarchy’ through self-governance and mutual aid in the absence of state support. It reveals the formation of a ‘care economy’ prioritizing social reproduction and collective well-being, serving as a vital social safety net. This study honors the resilience of Soviet women who survived on the Soviet Union’s ruins without state assistance, emphasizing ‘sisterhood’ and affective solidarity as key survival strategies that expanded women’s roles and agency amid severe socio-economic upheaval.

The research is deeply informed by the presenter’s personal experience of being a teenage member of the self-organized women commune in Grozny that survived without salaries or pensions amidst insurgent battles. The study draws on personal narratives, including interviews conducted with other female participants of the commune.