EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

For many women in Russia, as abroad, the first half of summer l998 brought warmth and long awaited vacations, and more. It was a time for summing up results, for conferences, symposiums and open discussions on both the national and international levels. At the end of May in Dubrovnik (Croatia), at the initiative of the Women's Infotek -- one of the most influential women's organizations in the region -- there was a seminar on "The Militarization of Europe and the Possibilities for the Women's Movement," which brought together some 20 representatives from eastern and central and western Europe and the USA. At the center of discussion and arousing heated arguments were the problems of building peace after conflict, the possibilities for people's diplomacy and pacifism, and also the cost and consequences of NATO's eastward expansion.

In Moscow there was the National Conference on the Situation of Women, and a series of gender expertise discussions of Russian legislation, and several seminars and conferences wound up their work. For the first time, at the international conference on "Human Rights and the Mass Media," the "woman's theme" resounded clearly through presentations at a special section meeting.

The Center for Women's Global Leadership held its annual seminar in New Jersey and at the concluding open session at the United Nations information center in New York, it was good to see Svetlana Shakirova from the Feminist League of Kazakhstan. Besides reviewing the latest events and developments, we agreed to devote one of our "journals within a journal" to Kazakhstan where our magazine is passed from hand to hand and is discussed. I also met with We/Myi readers in Armenia where the first seminar was held on "Gender Research and Journalism" organized by the Association of University Women and the Armenian branch of UNDP. The summer schools on women and gender studies, in Poland (Cracow) and in Ukraine (Foros) and in Russia (Taganrog), completed their work In Petrozavodsk an interregional seminar is in preparation, and now as I write, an international women's forum on the Baikal is underway in Irkutsk. We will report on these meetings in the next issue, a major theme of which will be women's participation in a policy of peace, conflict avoidance, and the formation of a new type of foreign policy. For many of us these past months were full of quite other experiences. The school year ended, some of our children are going from grade school to junior high, and from there to high school, others of our sons and daughters are deciding where to apply for university or college. Whatever our educational system and our national traditions and everyday practices, parents worry and get excited about their children in the same ways, and probably in all countries mothers worry a little more than fathers do. We decided to write about this and to begin what we hope will be a long conversation on a very old and nonetheless acute theme -- the raising of boys. Of course this process involves not only mamas, but papas and grandparents, brothers and sisters and other relatives, as well as friends, neighbors and teachers. But right now we are focusing more on mothers and sons and how their relationships are seen by women in Russia and the USA. There will be more in future issues of We/Myi. We hope the other sections of our magazine, on health, psychology, etc., will attract and hold your interest. Your comments are always appreciated -- they help us in preparing new issues.

Happy summering. Nadezhda Azhgikhina