The Development of Gender Studies in the Research of the Battle of Stalingrad

Introduction. Historiography devoted to the study of wartime Stalingrad demonstrates the changing object of Stalingrad studies. We can distinguish several successive research narratives and research programmes. Methods and materials. The article is of a reviewing, historiographical nature. The main methodology used in this article is the study methodology for research programmes. Methods of gender studies are also used in the article. Analysis. The traditional natural narrative is devoted to the description of military operations in the city from September 1942 to February 1943. Historians focus on the military units and formations (battalions, regiments, divisions, and armies) involved in the hostilities. The 2000s brought a change in the object of research in the historiography of the Battle of Stalingrad. For the first time, the civilian population of the military Stalingrad became the object of close study. A continuation and deepening of the “civilian population” narrative is the theme of the “children of Stalingrad.” It would seem that after studying Stalingrad’s childhood, it is logical to talk about women. But it is difficult to make the Stalingrad woman an object of scientific research. If the child has already become a “legitimate” object of historical study, the woman is still regarded as a kind of “weak” analogue of the man. The functional roles of a woman (wife and mother) almost always supersede her gender specificity and her experience. Results. One of the tasks of such research should be to analyse the change in a woman’s social role from wife, mother, and keeper of the home to a more independent and important member of society. The special socioeconomic and political position of women in Soviet military society still requires close study. The methodology of gender studies should come to Stalingrad studies.