The idea of International Women’s Day arose in the early 1900s. The first Women's Day was celebrated following the decision of the Socialist Party of America on February 28, 1909. American women celebrated it on the last Sunday of February until 1913.
In 1910, at a meeting of the Socialist International in Copenhagen, Denmark, it was proposed to establish International Women's Day to celebrate the movement for women's rights and help to establish universal suffrage. The proposal received unanimous support from a conference with more than 100 women from 17 countries, but no specific date was set for the day.
Women's Day in tsarist Russia was established on March 2, 1913, in St. Petersburg at a meeting on equality between men and women.
In the USSR, the holiday was accompanied by glorifying the image of a Soviet woman - worker, mother and communist. In 1963, the USSR hosted the World Congress of Women, and in 1965, March 8 became an official day off. The USSR became the first, and for a long time remained the only European country where March 8 was celebrated at the state level. The Soviet Union played an important role in popularizing the holiday around the world.
Since the dawn of human civilization, the world has seen many women who influenced the course of history. Have a look at Sputnik’s photo gallery to learn more about them.
