by Galina Petriashvili The events of November 2003 here in Georgia-the popular protests that resulted in the ouster of Georgia's president-have been called a revolution of roses, because of the flowers that were grabbed up from flower-beds at the height of the drama. I wrote "Rose" with a capital "R," and a name was born-a name that refers collectively to the women who stood on that square. I am not at all trying to say that they-our Roses-made that revolution.

Respected Editors, I represent The Center for Gender Studies at the Non-Governmental Western University in Baku, Azerbaidzhan. The center was founded in June 2000 as a non-commercial public association. The center has students and teachers, specialists in this field, and representatives of non-governmental women's organizations. The international magazine, "The Women's Dialogue" published by you is of great interest to us.

An Interview with Lidia Blokhina Recently there has been lively discussion in Russia about a new document - The Gender Strategy of the Russian Federation, prepared by a group of specialists under the leadership of our First Vice Premier, Galina Karelova. Our own journalist colleagues have taken an active part at recent seminars in Briansk and Barnaul.

by Tatyana Fedyaeva Marina could not even admit to herself that she wanted to be married, never mind telling her friends that, and far less her parents. With them she talked about science and the possible future for biology, which the whole family loved, discussed good articles printed in good periodicals, attended every performance put on by Moscow theaters on tour in Siberia.

by Maksim Kostenko The materials for this presentation were gathered in the course of research conducted for a project entitled “A Study of Men and the Practical Organization of Crisis Centers for Men in Provincial Areas of Modern Russia,” which received financial support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The first problem is that the adult male today plays his part primarily in the professional world, at work, and also in providing for his family.

by Svetlana Ponomareva The popular children's song verse "Dad can be anything except Mom" is just as true as it always was. This was proven to a correspondent researching the new social phenomenon of single fathers. Even in families in which fathers can manage the family duties, they can't replace the mother for the children.

TO ALL THE FATHERS OF ALTAI TERRITORY We, the attendees of a territorial Convention of Fathers Holding Leadership Positions in Social Associations, Creative Teams, and Clubs, have elected to release the following statement: Since contemporary market conditions keep fathers fully occupied in providing materially for their families, the father’s nurturative function has been weakened, by and large, in the modern family.

This issue continues our conversation about family. This time we write about families of a new sort – egalitarian ones based on the principles of partnership and equal rights. Ten years ago specialists had already determined that this kind of “nucleus of society” best corresponds to today’s stage of social development.

By Emily Merz Without defining it as therapy, in my teenage years I focused on art. As an art major in college I became aware of my growing need for art as a means of staying balanced emotionally. Most of my art projects focused on my family, and more specifically on my brothers who were adopted internationally from Paraguay and Russia, and domestically from Puerto Rico.

By Natalya Rimashevskay Academician, Russian Academy of Sciences With the development of the information society, the importance of the population as the bearer of intellectual potential is growing by multiples in post-industrial countries. The nation’s intellect becomes the real engine and determining factor of progress. Globalization, enveloping the whole planet, shows that there is no substitution for intellectual potential as the distinctive resource of a society.

By T.N. Shtein and T. Iu. Klimeshova EDITOR’S SUMMARY In the 1990’s, the early post-Soviet years, the leadership of Sarama region decided to focus attention and resources on the problems of homeless children, invalid children, reproductive health, infant mortality, and providing services to families and children.

Dear Editors, Thanks a lot for publishing materials on the problem of violence against women, and especially for the invaluable addresses of crisis centers and support services. This is genuine practical assistance. We made copies of the articles conceptually defining violence and telling women what their rights are, and what are the rules of behavior when violence has occurred. We posted this material in our library on the exhibit board.

by Oksana Ivanina Svetlyi, Kaliningrad Region America! There is probably no one who has not, even if only for an instant, dreamed of going to America—a land so far away that it is almost unreal to us. A land that we know from its sparkling Hollywood smiles, improbably tall skyscrapers, countless melodramas, adventure yarns, and comedies, the universally impressive Oscar awards ceremony, and, of course, the tales told by our own favorite stand-up comedian, Mikhail Zadornov.

by Tatyana Fedyaeva The greatest danger is the one that is not immediately noticed and, like radiation, does its damage unbeknownst to anyone. And the longer society is exposed to the unseen threat, the more unpredictable and severe the results are likely to be. But not all is hopeless.

Over the past ten years, due to unfavorable socio-economic conditions and the crisis in society, the homelessness and neglect of children has reached catastrophic proportions. The estimates run from 150,000 to five million (N.A. Shakhina). According to data from the research team of Academician N.M. Rimashevskaya, Russia has about 2.8 million homeless and neglected children. In effect, these children are social outcasts, deprived of both childhood and a future.