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Soviet Union [USSR] Women in the Armed Forces
Under the Soviet Constitution, women have the same legal
obligation as men for the defense of the Soviet Union and have been
called on to discharge it. A women's battalion existed at the time
of the Bolshevik Revolution and during the Civil War. Approximately
800,000 women served in both combat and noncombat roles during
World War II. According to the 1967 Law on Universal Military
Service, women with medical or other special training must register
for the draft, but they have not been inducted. Women between
nineteen and forty may volunteer for active duty. In wartime women
would be drafted for "auxiliary or special duty." The 1967 law does
not specify whether they would be used in combat. In the late
1980s, an estimated 10,000 to 30,000 women were serving in the
armed forces in medical, communications, and administrative support
positions. Women were not admitted to military education
institutions, and few became officers. Many Western observers
believe that the armed forces will have to rely more on women in
the future as the number of available Slavic men declines.
Data as of May 1989
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