This work investigates the critical role of women in the social and political upheavals of the Russian Revolution. Jane McDermid, a scholar specializing in Russian history and gender studies, utilizes archival research and primary source accounts to challenge traditional, male-centric narratives of the 1917 revolutionary period. The book argues that women were not merely peripheral participants but active agents who shaped the ideological and practical outcomes of the era.

Historians recognize this text as a significant contribution to the social history of the Russian Revolution, specifically for its focus on gender dynamics. Scholars frequently note the academic rigor of the research and its success in filling a long-standing gap in the historiography of the period.