"In the countryside, grandmothers

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often still assume a part of the burden of rearing their grandchildren. In the the workforce. and Western iverage earned 65 percent of ve have to be quality in eduins. , women have in industries.

¡ering. changed decialysts pointed len face. Some 1 in unhealthy ir million did otal for men), y women can work in special me clear that e profit princiheir jobs first. t hired and the are cut back, ost. • cutbacks in en. In Noveminemployed in "an larina aff The bridal pair can obtain a "marriage book" when they set the date. This entitles them to make purchases in special stores, where they can buy a sort of trousseau and wedding clothes.

Often marriages do not last long. The divorce rate in the old USSR was 3.4 per thousand inhabitants, as compared with a marriage rate of 9.3 per thousand. In most cases, divorce proceedings are initiated by women, frequently because of their husbands' alcoholism. A "ruined sex life" is also often cited as a reason.

Problems of everyday life fall disproportionately on women Virtually no sex education is provided in the schools. Today, however, everything is up for discussion, and the need for sex education is being openly raised. The AIDS problem, now openly recognized in the exUSSR, is an argument for sex education. At the same time, pornography and prostitution are surfacing.

Divorced women do not face serious material losses, although a single woman with two or more children is regarded as a social problem. They have their own jobs and incomes. Childcare is an exceptionally difficult problem, as is general family support.

In fomilion that atre, than instit women who assume the predominant share of the housework. They do 70 percent of the shopping, 80 percent of the cooking, 64 percent of dishwashing, 90 percent of the laundry, and 87 percent of the ironing. (These figures are from the 1960s. Since then, the situation may have improved slightly.)

In the big cities, in particular, especially in Moscow, 20 percent to 25 percent of families are crammed into shared-housing arrangements. Today, the per capita living space is 15.2 square meters (in the United States it is 40 sq.m.).

Large dwellings may accommodate two, three or often even more families. Young couples often live with their parents, so that five or six people are sharing two rooms, and cooking and washing facilities harratn ha ahrand arith serra rela donand nn nichlin soponu un puvue utions."

In 1986, the Twenty Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union decided that by the year 2000 every family should have an apartment or house of their own. Home building was to be officially promoted, since having your own home "makes for strong and big families."

In the countryside, grandmothers often still assume a part of the burden of rearing their grandchildren. In the cities, families depend on public institutions.

Motherhood laws in the ex-USSR have made it easier for mothers to care for their children in the first stage of their lives (the fathers are not mentioned in these laws). To care for infants, mothers were granted a year's part-paid leave, which could be extended for another half year. They were -amanda s 1 AA n basis during working hours.

In the stores, shoppers have to go through three lines-one to choose the merchandise, one to pay for it, and one to pick up their purchases. Shopping for a familinfthrasenhan an haweand a half

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the workforce e and catering,