Barbara Alpern Engel is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Colorado, USA. She is the author of numerous books, including Russia in World History (2015; with Janet Martin), Women in Russia: 1700-2000 (2004) and Breaking the Ties that Bound: The Politics of Marital Strife in Late Imperial Russia (2011). She is also the editor of the four-volume Encyclopedia of Women in World History (2008).

• List of IllustrationsIntroduction: Considering Marriage, Household and Home1. For Better, For Worse, 1700-17612. Village Practices3. Continuity and Change, 1761-18614. Imperfect Freedom, 1861-18815. Recreating the Home, 1881-19146. Wars and Revolutions, 1914-19217. The ‘Withering Away’ and Resurrection of the Family, 1921-19408. War and Recovery, 1940-19539. Ideals Meet Realities, 1953-199110. Marriage Crisis Comes Home, 1991-2015BibliographyIndex

Engel shows not only how authorities and gender norms shaped the intimate lives of Russians in different economic, political, and social contexts, but also how individual people and families navigated constraints and opportunities. The book’s focus on women, marriages, families, and households demonstrates the centrality of gender history to understanding modern Russian history more broadly ... this book is invaluable to students and scholars alike.