Authors

Aaron Retish¹;  ¹ Wayne State University, Department of History, United States

Discussion

This paper examines how the courts served as the primary tool to get men to pay alimony under Stalinism. Alimony was supposed to off load costs of supporting mothers and children that the Soviet state could not afford while regulating male behavior.  Alimony claims accounted for over half of all civil suits among individuals, far more than any other type of dispute.  Drawing on family codes and support by judges, female litigants confidently asserted their claim to these entitlements to support themselves and their children. However, men were able to evade payment and  here was widespread criticism that women exploited the system.