Changes

When they got to the Soviet Union many women, not surprisingly, faced challenges, but for some, these challenges—or at least a sense that they were suffering for a good cause—were part of the attraction. Even though foreigners had many advantages over Soviet citizens in terms of their access to food and other basic necessities, housing was scarce (especially in Moscow), and what housing there was tended to be small and not necessarily in good repair. Outside of big cities there were bed bugs and primitive facilities. Russian bureaucracy was (and is) infamously difficult to maneuver.

It was evident that most Russians were suffering from shortages of basic necessities, including food, and most foreigners knew about arrests, had heard rumors about violence, and were aware that they were under surveillance. These things became especially evident by the 1930s, but even prior to this time American women who stayed for any length of time commented upon how often innocent people seemed to be unjustly arrested, and people heard about the violence that accompanied the collectivization of agriculture (beginning in 1928), and about the Ukrainian famine, beginning in 1931 and usually seen as resulting directly from Stalin’s policies. After 1935 the paranoia and fear were totally inescapable.