Alevtina Fedulova
Russian politician and women's activist (1940–2026)
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Alevtina Vasilyevna Fedulova (Russian: Алевтина Васильевна Федулова, 14 April 1940 – 5 February 2026) was a Russian political activist and leader of the Soviet Women's Committee (later the Union of Women of Russia).
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14 April 1940
Alevtina Fedulova | |
|---|---|
Алевтина Федулова | |
Fedulova in 1993 | |
| Deputy Chairman of the State Duma | |
| In office 11 January 1994 – 17 December 1995 | |
| Chairman | Ivan Rybkin |
| Member of the 28th CPSU Central Committee | |
| In office 1990–1991 | |
| Secretary of the Komsomol Central Committee — Chairman of the Young Pioneers Central Council | |
| In office 20 December 1971 – 18 May 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Tamara Kutsenko |
| Succeeded by | Lyudmila Shvetsova |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alevtina Vasilyevna Timakova 14 April 1940 Elektrostal, Moscow Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
| Died | 5 February 2026 (aged 85) |
| Party | Women of Russia (1993–1998) |
Other political affiliations |
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Early life
Fedulova was born on 14 April 1940 in Elektrostal, to an illiterate mother and a blacksmith father, who died when she was young. An excellent student, Fedulova wished to become a teacher as a child, but went to a local technical school linked to a local factory. Under pressure, Fedulova's mother paid the tuition to allow her to finish at the school, enabling her to take entrance exams in Moscow for a teacher training institute there.[1]
Fedulova married at age 20, while still studying at the institute, in 1960. Her husband was conscripted to military service around the time their son was born.[1] Upon graduation, she became a teacher of biology and chemistry.[1] She remained as a high school teacher for ten years.[2]
Political career
In 1963, Fedulova joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, about which she expressed some ambivalence.[1]
Fedulova later became head of the Pioneers[1] and was the executive secretary of the Soviet Peace Committee.[3] In 1987, she left her position to work for the Soviet Women's Committee full-time, and was elected vice-president of the organisation that same year.[4] From 1981 until 1986, she was a member of the CPSU's Auditing Commission, and was promoted to the Central Committee in 1990.[1]
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Fedulova's position of power within the CPSU made many feminists sceptical.[5][6] However, as leader of the Women of Russia bloc in 1993,[7] but not affiliated with any political party in particular, she became a member of the Duma.[1] This resulted in 8% of the Duma belonging to the Women of Russia bloc, allowing them to form their own official faction within the Russian government.[8]