Soviet / American Women’s Summit, 1990 [tapes 1-9]

NOTE: Searchable transcriptions are available for these recordings.  See the pdf documents in the “Download Options” box to the right.  If they do not appear in the list, click the “Show All” link.

audiocassette1384-01

SIDE A: Soviet-American Women’s Summit (May 5, 1990) in Washington, D.C and New York City. An unnamed speaker delivers comments from multiple speakers, some named and some unnamed. The topics addressed by the speakers include artificial protein production in the Soviet Union and the need to address the environmental hazards posed by these factories while also supporting the factory workers; the military budget, foreign intervention, disarmament, and national self-determination in the Soviet Union; a new economic order where countries who cannot pay off debts are offered other avenues for forgiveness because human rights should encompass economic safety; redistribution of resources during conversion and misconceptions of and obstacles to converting from military to peaceful production; the U.S. government’s avoidance of a thorough process of disarmament; nuclear testing ban; and the Chernobyl disaster. Wrapping up this recording, the speaker reads Elvira Novikova’s statement on the formation of this summit by herself along with Cora and Sarah around the idea that women’s rights are human rights. This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording. The recording continues on side B, SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_b. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9. The series begins with this recording.

SIDE B: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit (May 5, 1990). An unnamed speaker delivers comments from multiple speakers, some named and some unnamed. First, an unnamed speaker discusses the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Next, Coretta Scott King delivers a statement about women’s rights and non-violent approaches to movements for peace. King shares her hopes for the 21st century, the legacy of her husband Dr. Martin Luther King, and concrete steps for a nonviolent campaign against poverty, racism, and war. A speaker from the Institute of Philosophy at the USSR Academy of Science talks about the history and necessity of success for the women’s movement. She references the French Revolution, Olympe de Gouges, and the Declaration of Rights of Women and the Female Citizen as the genesis of the women’s rights movement. The speaker also shares the words of Bella Abzug to motivate the delegates to act, especially in the realm of education and culture. Sarah Harder speaks about women’s rights as human rights and the heavy toll that violence takes. Next is a question and comment period, during which speakers discuss language as a means of discrimination in the Soviet Union, linguistics, and the masculinization of words and phrases in Russian and other languages. The recording concludes with a statement on enhancing the message of women’s rights as human rights as well as communicating the links between discrimination against women and militarism, war, and violence.  This recording is side B of an audio cassette tape, the recording begins on side A, SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

audiocassette1384-02

SIDE A: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit (May 5, 1990). The speakers continue to share on women’s rights as human rights, broadly speaking. Specific topics include women’s values, employment opportunities for women, accessibility and inclusivity, centering the rights of Hispanic women, sex work and decriminalization, diversity, political suppression in the Soviet Union, environmental rights, foreign intervention, language, non-violent conflict resolution, disarmament, women in power, and economic sanctions on the Soviet Union. This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording that continues on side B, SCPC file audiocassette1384-02_b. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

SIDE B: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 5, 1990. The session continues on the subject of women’s rights as human rights. Speakers include Kay Camp from Philadelphia as well as people from Washington, Moscow, and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The topics covered include rights for disabled people, collaboration between Soviet and American women, sex work and sexual violence on military bases and universities, anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union, national identity, ethnic discrimination, perestroika, legalization of sex work, economic issues, women lawyers, rights for refugees and undocumented immigrants, healthcare, housing and homelessness, poverty, mortality rates among black children in the U.S., voting participation, and the conversion process from military to civil or peaceful industry. This recording is side B of an audio cassette recording that begins on side A, SCPC file audiocassette1384-02_a. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

audiocassette1384-03

SIDE A: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 5, 1990. Topics covered include poverty, environmental refugees resulting from nuclear disasters and radioactive pollution, the Chernobyl disaster, global vs. national issues, international aid, the rights and demands of women in developing countries, the double burden on women, and women in politics. The narrator indicates that the group participates in song and ceremony but it cannot be heard on the recording. Valentina Matviyenko begins an address on women in politics, which is read into the recording by the same unnamed narrator. This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording that continues on side B, SCPC file audiocassette1384-03_b. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

SIDE B: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 5, 1990. Valentina Matviyenko’s statement about the factors that hinder women’s political participation continues. These factors include legal, social, economic, and cultural barriers. The next speaker, a member of the Democratic Party in the United States, shares how women can become more engaged in politics. Then Galina Vokhmentseva proposes two blocks of joint action to promote women’s rights, one focused on education and the other on politics. The Soviet co-chair then opens the discussion. Nina Belyaeva asks the previous speakers whether they consider women politically active without occupying elected positions and how to nurture these women’s activities. An American speaker responds to Matviyenko’s inquiry on the double burden of women. A Russian speaker talks about promoting politicization in children at an early age. A woman from Minnesota suggests recruiting leaders of women’s organizations for visits to the Soviet Union instead of from the male-dominated field of academia. Nan from New York talks about women’s representation in the U.S. Congress. The Soviet co-chair speaks about the struggle to get women to realize and fight for their own interests. This recording is side B of an audio cassette recording that begins on side A, SCPC file audiocassette1384-03_a. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

audiocassette1384-04

SIDE A: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 6, 1990. First, Kay Camp from Philadelphia answers an earlier question about growing numbers of women in politics, referencing her failed run for Congress to illustrate the need for laws to limit campaign financing. A speaker from Leningrad adds to Belyaeva’s comments on engaging women in politics, suggesting that it will take time for political awareness to develop and that social justice movements for peace and the environment already include more women than men. An American speaker addresses national apathy and supports the efforts to educate women and promote participation in politics and other areas of social influence. A Russian speaker draws attention to the threat of global ecological disaster, promoting the protection of the earth through global monitoring and preservation. Next, a speaker from the Soviet Union shifts focus to the qualitative factors of women’s involvement in parliament, suggesting that women’s activities in non-governmental organizations are a reaction to their lack of influence in government positions. Then an American speaker uses a poem to argue that women leverage their ability to birth children in the anti-war movement. The Soviet co-chair closes the plenary forum and calls on the last speaker. This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording.  There is no recording on Side B of this cassette. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

audiocassette1384-05

SIDE A:  Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 6, 1990. First, a Russian speaker discusses the need for men to share in household duties. Then come introductions for Betsy Newman (chairperson of the League of Women Voters), Mairgen Ballova (Uzbek cinematographer and deputy chairperson of the Association of Women Cinematographers), Galina Vokhmentseva (coordinator of the Memorial Society), Larissa Skoretophskia (physician with the Moscow Academy of Medical Sciences and member of International World Physicians Against Nuclear War), and Galina Ingrustuavah (member of the Soviet Women’s Committee. A Soviet speaker describes the political landscape of non-governmental organizations in the Soviet Union, focusing on the reality that fewer women are involved in higher-level positions. An American speaker talks about women’s colleges in the United States and the need to train women for positions with influence over key ecology and disarmament decisions. An unnamed speaker talks about the anti-nuclear movement in the Soviet Union, mentioning Andrei Sakharov, Olzhas Suleimenov, the Memorial Society, and the anti-nuclear movement in Nevada. The moderator asks for specific proposals and Linda Weber advocates for women in historical developments, citing Christian history as the basis for this belief. A speaker demands equal representation of women in decision-making bodies, advocating for women’s education and political participation at local, national, and international levels. Another speaker suggests drawing connections between local issues that concern women to global issues to increase women’s political engagement. This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording that continues on side B, SCPC file audiocassette1384-05_b. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

SIDE B: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 6, 1990.  An unnamed speaker reads comments from multiple speakers at the summit. The comments cover the following topics: conducting political campaigns for women, enacting a complete nuclear test ban, working through ideological differences, violence against women, and the history of the women’s movement, among others. This recording is side B of an audio cassette recording that begins on side A, SCPC file audiocassette1384-05_a. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

audiocassette1384-06

SIDE A:  Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 6, 1990.  Cora Weiss moderates the plenary session. The plenary topic is disarmament, development, ecology, and equality. The first segment is on equality and development and the speakers are civil rights activist Dorothy Height and economics professor Nadia Shishkan. The second segment is on the environment and the speakers are campaign manager Eleanor LeCain and co-chair of the Children of Chernobyl Committee Svetlana Evtushenko. The final section is on disarmament and the speakers are arms race and alternative defense expert Randall Forsberg and space and international law expert Elena Komenetskia. Height’s speech focuses on the importance of equality and the interdependence of equality with development, disarmament, and ecological health. She also stresses the need to listen to and empower women who face marginalization and institutional bias. Nadia Shishkan’s speech, which is translated into English, touches on the theme of the double burden imposed upon women, highlighting the unpaid labor of housework and parenting. LeCain begins the section on environmental issues. She focuses on the growing indications of extreme climate change, highlighting the increase of uninhabitable land as a result of nuclear arms production. She attributes the source of environmental disasters to capital-intensive production, reliance upon non-renewable resources, and excessive toxic waste production. Citing Hazel Henderson, LeCain calls for a new economic worldview that is holistic and ecological as well as a 50% cut to military spending. Evtushenko speaks and is translated into English. She talks about the interconnectedness of women’s rights and ecology, as exhibited by the ecological disaster at Chernobyl. Evtushenko asks the audience to demand nuclear disarmament and the closure of nuclear production facilities. She also recommends that Bush and Gorbachev address the particular problem that women near nuclear production sites face with the health of their children. Elena Komenetskia’s speech is translated into English. She supports the 50% reduction in arms agreement between Bush and Gorbachev but also highlights the problematic negotiations around offensive arms, which will undermine the majority of the Soviet Union’s defense while leaving the U.S. Navy and Air Force untouched. This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording that continues on side B, SCPC file audiocassette1384-06_b. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

SIDE B: Continuation of the plenary session of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 6, 1990 moderated by Cora Weiss. Elena Komenetskia concludes her speech which is followed by Randall Forsberg’s speech and then a question and comment period. Komenetskia speaks on disarmament, military treaties, strategic armament, and space technology. Forsberg discusses the Cold War and the arms race, calling for urgent demilitarization and warning against the excessive military spending of industrialized countries. She warns that if we don’t implement nonviolent conflict management, then the military-industrial complex will continue growing and exporting weapons to less developed countries. The question and comment section begins. Named speakers during this period include Bridget Milligan, Mary Ellen Tisdale, Dorothy Height, Elena Ershova, Alice Emmanuel, and Holly Sklar. The topics covered are the relationship between security and comfort in American culture; the role of the media in environmental preservation; the nuclear test ban; women’s participation in space exploration, international communication, and the justice system; the difference between equality and equity; conversion and demilitarization; jobs for those affected by the conversion from military to peaceful industries; the war on communism and the war on drugs; and reflections on Randall Forsberg’s speech. This recording is side B of an audio cassette recording that begins on side A, SCPC file audiocassette1384-06_a. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

audiocassette1384-07

SIDE A:  Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 6, 1990.  Telegram drafts from participants are read aloud for feedback. After hearing participant feedback, Cora Weiss provides general announcements and an overview of the summit’s final outputs. A small group discussion on development inequality begins and Mary Ellen Tisdale from Minnesota introduces Kate Rostiashvili and Carmen Cavero. Rostiashvili begins by stressing the need to address ethnic conflicts in the Soviet Union and recommending nonviolent measures. Rostiashvili also recommends the end of economic sanctions and arms sales by the United States. Participants in the small group include Mary Ann Bell from Virginia, Mary Purcell from Pennsylvania, Olga Voronina from Moscow, and Lois Allen from Oregon. The speakers discuss the best way to frame women’s issues; children’s toys and peace; the police shooting of nonviolent protestors at Kent State University; equality of representation and participation of women in the process of development; equal access to education for women in developing countries; sexual and domestic violence; development as a process between developed and developing countries as opposed to wealthier nations imposing their vision on other countries; the process of conversion and women’s employment in peaceful industries; and the debt crisis and its disproportionate impact on developing countries. This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording.  There is no recording on Side B of this cassette.  This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

audiocassette1384-08

SIDE A:  Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 6, 1990.  The small group discussion on development inequality continues. The speakers include Olga Bessolova, Mary Ellen Tisdale, and Carmen O’Conner. The topics discussed include establishing a permanent advisory committee to continue the proposals from the Summit; the need for commodities from the United States in the Soviet Union; ecologically and morally responsible business practices; women in business and entrepreneurial education; joint ventures between women in the Soviet Union and the United States; exploitation of natural resources in the Soviet Union; the Soviet Union’s economic isolation; social development alongside economic development; patriarchy; terminology of “third world” vs. “first world;” and Quaker Sister Cities initiatives that support the exchange of craft workers. There is a brief closing statement. This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording that continues on side B, SCPC file audiocassette1384-08_b. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

SIDE B: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 7, 1990.  The final outputs from the summit are presented for review. First, the final document is read. This document includes four goals, which are a nuclear test ban, demilitarization, conversion, and an end to environmental destruction. Next, the floor is opened up for responses from the audience. These responses cover women in developing countries, the Chernobyl disaster, nuclear testing, disarmament, mainstream media coverage, contacting elected officials, and, generally, continuing the dialogue through visits to each other’s countries and additional conferences. Svetlana Evtushenko responds to a question about aid for children affected by Chernobyl. This recording is side B of an audio cassette recording that begins on side A, SCPC file audiocassette1384-08_a. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

audiocassette1384-09

SIDE A: Continuation of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 7, 1990.  The recording begins mid-sentence.  An unidentified woman speaks about a document that has been created that will be distributed to attendees for approval.  This meeting is to come to a consensus on the final draft of the document.  The group plans to discuss the document for the next half hour.  Cora Weiss is called upon to present the draft document.  She describes it as the result of many of the conference’s meetings with input by all of the women attending.  It reflects the thoughts and ideas of everyone involved.  The Preamble of the document ends with “seven keys to a decent life and a sustainable world.”  Weiss says it is a vehicle to move to the next stage: a world free of war, with a sustainable environment and equality.  She extends thanks to those who helped produce the copies being handed out to the attendees.  She stresses that the document is a working document and people should feel free to add their own ideas to it.  Many women speak about their suggestions for edits or additions to the document.  Some, such as Valentina Matvienko are Russian speakers who speak through a translator, others speak English.  Issues raised about the document include: the ongoing development of the proposals in the document that should be worked by both the Soviet women and the American women separately in their home countries; ongoing meetings between the two groups and more ideas for peace; renaming it “message to presidents,” because the ideas in the document were originally prompted by the question “what would you say to Presidents Gorbachev and Bush?”; the creation of a standing “Soviet American Women’s Commission to monitor, research and act on critical issues”; a possible amendment to the nuclear test ban demand; re-wording in the paragraph about third-world debt; and many others.  Organizers assure everyone that a revised document will be distributed to everyone.  This recording is side A of an audio cassette recording that continues on side B, SCPC file audiocassette1384-09_b. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.

SIDE B: Conclusion of the Soviet-American Women’s Summit on May 7, 1990.  The women of the summit continue to review and comment upon the draft of their public statement that they intend to present to US President Bush and Soviet Union President Gorbachev.  All of the attendees are given a chance to comment and make suggestions.  They discuss specific points they wish to correct or change.  This recording is side B of an audio cassette tape, the recording begins on side A, SCPC file audiocassette1384-09_a. This recording is one cassette in a series of 9.  The series begins with SCPC file audiocassette1384-01_a.