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Even though she never anticipated this kind of work, Anna Smirnova now earns enough to get by rather well. Other Russian women for marriage are not so fortunate. For example, Smirnova earns twice as much as Dr. Olga Trunova, a well-known hematologist. This inversion of professional norms exists because medicine, education, and other historically low-paying 'women's' professions are not rewarded in market conditions in today's Russia. The situation is even worse for people on pensions. In 1996 the average pension was $39 per month, well below the recognized poverty level of $65 per month. Because Russian women for marriage generally live sixteen years longer than men, women are the great majority of pensioners.
Even though they never characterize themselves as 'feminists,' Russian women for marriage who have accomplished something in business or the professions are very critical of conditions for women in today's Russia. "Women have to be many times smarter than men in order to succeed here," says Ira Popova, a director of an economic policy institute known for its association with Russia's principal democratic forces. Popova maintains that business is conducted in such a way that it is hard for Russian women for marriage to participate. "It's difficult to work in this culture because I can't get drunk or go to the bathhouse with business associates".
However, there are those who would not agree with this estimate of Russian women for marriage being socially at a disadvantage. Tania Moseyeva, a 31 year old doctor at the National Institute of Hematology, expressed a view largely shared by Russian women for marriage. "Every Russian woman has her own priorities. What does she value more, her work at home or her career." A Russian wife must ask her husband about all questions of living: how to save her soul, how to serve God and her husband, and how to nurture the family properly. ( The Domostroy, 1560). There is an old Russian joke still making the rounds. A foreign visitor returns to his country from Russia and tells his friend what he saw. "It is incredible, Russian men have many wives," says the foreigner. "I did not know that," says his friend, "Are you sure?"
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