Feminism is defined as a call for an end to women's subjugation and for women's equality with men in the workplace, the home and society. It is very important to remark that the history of Russian women's movement had gone through all the steps feminist traditions liberal-bourgeois, socialist and radical ones from the oppressive Tsarist times, Revolutionary bloody years, the totalitarian Stalinist period through post-Soviet Perestroika days. Perestroika and Gorbachev's declaration of a new women's policy brought a new turning point to the women's question in Russia, but only indirectly and ambiguously. Under the slogan of protecting maternity, the new policy did not provide women with a channel for taking part in the decision-making process. Therefore Russian women had to deal independently and openly with many previously taboo subjects such as abortion, contraception, prostitution and domestic violence. Launching critiques of official attitudes, they developed highly gender-conscious social, political and cultural movements. The results have in the period since glasnost' surprised outside observers with the explosive potential of Russian women's activism, shown in the Russian Women's Convention held in Moscow in 1991 and 1992 as well as the electoral success in 1993 of the Women's Bloc. Within about a decade, Russian women activists began to organize a wide variety of women's associations including a political bloc, a women-centered business association, mothers' and family clubs, consciousness-raising circles, lesbian groups, and cultural projects. Russian feminism of the 1990s displayed a number of characteristics that set it apart from Western feminist movements. First, perestroika and glasnost played a main role in enabling women activists to take the initiative in exploring women's issues openly in Russia. This new Russian feminist leadership was largely drawn from the elite female intelligentsia such as academics, researchers, journalists and novelists. Second, even after the collapse of the Soviet regime and the establishment of a liberal democracy, the present state nevertheless subordinates women's policies to state purposes and preserves male dominance with its slogan, 'Go back to the home.' The theory of women's natural mission and "go back to the home" serves as the basis for discriminatory policies against women. Third, despite the achievements of the emergent Russian women's movement, it has faces great obstacles deriving from the constraints of the country's history and culture. The Bolshevik legacy, combined with the influence of traditional Russian views of woman as mother and the post-Soviet avoidance of political involvement, have undercut the development of effective women's organizations and networking at the national level, Moreover, many women's organizations in Russia are likely to prefer state-supported socialist-oriented strategies for gender equality in what we can call a unique Russo-feminism. The Western radical feminist approach tends to be restricted to a small group of professional women in Russia; an essentialist theory about women with distinct conservative implications is still shared widely by supporters of women's activism as well as its opponents. Fourth, a myriad of socio-economic problems, including hyperinflation, escalating poverty, ethnic unrest, separatist movements, high crime rates, a health care crisis, and an overwhelming sense of uncertainty are both a stimulus toward women's activism and a serous obstacle to it because of the extent to which they distract attention from women's issues. However, because women have been among the most affected by the deteriorating quality of life in post-soviet Russia, the country cannot hope to achieve significant social improvement without confronting and resolving women's issues in their daily lives. Last, the electoral setback of 1995 did not deter the Russian women's movement. Rather, it diverged into a variety of principles, organizations, activities and political, orientations. Whether it again takes part in political activities as an independent women's party or in alliance with another political party depends on how many rank-and-file women and women's organizations can mobilize around women's issues in the future.