Editing Soviet Union (section)

=== Women and fertility ===
[[File:RIAN archive 16735 Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Valentina Tereshkova]], the first woman in space, visiting the [[Lvov]] confectionery, Ukrainian SSR, 1967]]
Under Lenin, the state made explicit commitments to promote the equality of men and women. Many early Russian feminists and ordinary Russian working women actively participated in the Revolution, and many more were affected by the events of that period and the new policies. Beginning in October 1918, Lenin's government liberalized divorce and abortion laws, decriminalized homosexuality (re-criminalized in 1932), permitted cohabitation, and ushered in a host of reforms.<ref>Wendy Z. Goldman, ''Women, the State and Revolution: Soviet Family Policy and Social Life, 1917–1936''. Cambridge: [[Cambridge University Press]], 1993</ref> However, without [[birth control]], the new system produced many broken marriages, as well as countless out-of-wedlock children.<ref>Richard Stites, ''The Women's Liberation Movement in Russia: Feminism, Nihilism, and Bolshevism, 1860–1930'' (1978)</ref> The epidemic of divorces and extramarital affairs created social hardships when Soviet leaders wanted people to concentrate their efforts on growing the economy. Giving women control over their fertility also led to a precipitous decline in the birth rate, perceived as a threat to their country's military power. By 1936, Stalin reversed most of the liberal laws, ushering in a [[Natalism|pronatalist]] era that lasted for decades.<ref>Rebecca Balmas Neary, "Mothering Socialist Society: The Wife-Activists' Movement and the Soviet Culture of Daily Life, 1934–1941", ''[[Russian Review]]'' (58) 3, July 1999: 396–412</ref>

By 1917, Russia became the first [[great power]] to grant women the right to vote.<ref>{{cite web |last=Figes |first=Orlando |title=From Tsar to U.S.S.R.: Russia's Chaotic Year of Revolution. |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/09-10/russian-revolution-history-lenin/ |website=National Geographic |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |access-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322092654/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2017/09-10/russian-revolution-history-lenin/ |archive-date=22 March 2019 |url-status=dead |date=25 October 2017}}</ref> After heavy casualties in World Wars I and II, women outnumbered men in the Soviet Union by a 4:3 ratio.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gao |first=George |title=Why the Former USSR Has Far Fewer Men than Women |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/08/14/why-the-former-ussr-has-far-fewer-men-than-women/ |website=[[Pew Research Center]] |date=14 August 2015 |access-date=28 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328231028/https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/08/14/why-the-former-ussr-has-far-fewer-men-than-women/ |archive-date=28 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> This contributed to the larger role women played in Soviet society compared to other great powers at the time.