Women In Kievan Rus

Women of Kievan Rus

The women of Kievan Rus were in a much different setting and social structure than their western counterparts. With the arrival of Christianity in Kievan Rus can new changes to family relations and positions of women in society and the household. The church divided women into two groups, the “good” and the “evil” women. The determination of who fell into what group was determined on how they compared to the norms of behavior of saints. With women divided into two groups the church focused more on the conduct of “evil” women. The church handed down instructions on the conduct of women. The core of these instructions was based on the submissiveness of women to god and their husbands. They urged women to stay silent