Prostitution In 19th Century Russia

19th Century Russian Prostitutes: Sinners or Victims? In pre-revolution Tsarist Russia women were seen as completely subordinate to men, and prostitutes felt this injustice more than anyone else. Prostitution ran rampant across the nation and those stuck in the profession were drowning in legal and social plight with no voice with which to speak up for themselves. Sonya in Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment exemplifies how prostitutes were affected by their profession while showing a new side to prostitution: the side of the prostitute as a victim. In the 18th and 19th centuries many Russian parents relied on the young women in their families for income, and this often led to prostitution when other professions were not sufficient …show more content…
This worried Catherine the Great so she signed the Charter of City Piety which stated “all public women were supposed to undergo medical examination, and … specified the areas … where they would perform their activities” in an effort to regulate prostitution and prevent the spread of venereal diseases (“3 Centuries” 1). By 1843, all prostitutes were required to register with the government (Young 1). Under Tsar Pavel I prostitutes were given special yellow dresses as uniforms and yellow became the proverbial color of the profession; therefore, medical certificates given to registered prostitutes became known as yellow tickets or cards (“3 Centuries” 1). However, this was not well accepted by all prostitutes. Odinochki, or non-brothel women, avoided registration as long as possible to avoid the stigma and restrictions (Young 1). As registered prostitutes were held to specific, strict medical standards medical examinations were conducted regularly, often in public places such as police stations, until 1909 when they were stopped to avoid humiliation (“3 Centuries” 1). Once a woman was registered as a prostitute there was no going back socially as yellow cards legally replaced all other identification cards. As a result of social stigma registration under a yellow card made it difficult for prostitutes to find decent living situations or other …show more content…
However, upon Sonia’s characterization her virtuous nature becomes clear. Similarly, the possibility she registered herself so as to “brand herself (permanently) as a sinner” because she disapproves so greatly of her actions but sees no other way comes to fruition (Young 3). While Sonia illustrates the average life of an odinochki, she differs from most prostitutes in three critical ways: innocence, faith, and motivation (Young 2). Sonya is the quintessential personification of innocence and purity, as exemplified at Marmeladov’s memorial dinner (Dostoyevsky 335). Similarly, Sonya’s unshakable faith is seen through her many silent professions of faith throughout Crime and Punishment as her faith grows stronger despite her avoidance of mass. Finally, unlike many prostitutes at the time Sonya was not motivated by an interest in providing for or bettering herself but rather saving her family (Young 2). As a result, Marmeladov believes Sonya is not condemned by her actions but rather forgiven because of her self sacrifice (Blake 225). However, no matter their motivation, Sonia never sees her actions as justifiable and finds constant humiliation from her position and goes to extensive lengths to ensure her family does not feel the same shame she endures (Blake 258). Similarly, Sonya does