“I still do not know why the editor did not warn me the sniper was a girl”
Red Army artists sketching female comrades during the Great Patriotic War, 1941–45
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24020054 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marilyn Campeau (0009-0000-9427-574X, Université de Moncton, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 68 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 155-178 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-03 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Canadian Slavonic Papers (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0008-5006 • E-ISSN: 2375-2475 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00085006.2026.2675194 |
| OpenAlex | W7172435647 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 16 |
This article examines depictions of Soviet servicewomen in Red Army artists’ drawings made on the Soviet–German front during the Great Patriotic War. Adjusting the vision created by military reports and postwar testimonies, which focus on tensions resulting from the arrival of women in the ranks of the Soviet army from 1941, these sources show that artists admired female comrades and actively integrated them into the war narrative. Representations of servicewomen in frontline drawings partially aligned with, but also departed from, the ways state propaganda usually presented them, as artists included depictions of Red Army women in everyday life contexts. Dealing with the femininity of their female subjects, artists stressed their unique features without presenting them as anomalies among their male counterparts. With an analysis that goes beyond the visual elements included in the frame, this article shows how frontline art offers insight into everyday gender contacts on the front, tracing how some of these women came to symbolize the promise of victory and a postwar return to normalcy.
Clothing · Government (linguistics) · Photography · Postal service · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · World Wars: History, Literature, and Impact
| Highly cited | No |
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