Waiting at the Prison Gate: Women, Identity and the Russian Penal System (International Library of Human Geography)

By: Judith Pallott and Elena Katz

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Synopsis: The Russian Federation has one of the largest prison populations in the world. Women in particular are profoundly affected by the imprisonment of a family member. Families and Punishment in Russia details the experiences of these women – be they wives, mothers, girlfriends, daughters - who, as relatives of Russia's three-quarters of a million prisoners, are the 'invisible victims' of the country's harsh penal policy. A pioneering work that offers a unique lens through which various aspects of life in twenty-first century Russia can be observed: the workings of criminal sub-cultures; societal attitudes to parenthood, marriage and marital fidelity; young women's quests for a husband; nostalgia for the Soviet period; state strategies towards dealing with political opponents; and the social construction of gender roles.