Society has a vision of how soldiers should look, but parts of the world haven’t always felt the same way. During World War I, nearly six thousand women served in Russia’s military, making it the only country at the time to allow women to serve in gender-segregated formations. It was common in the early 1900s for women to disguise themselves as men so they would be allowed to serve in the military. These women were from all different backgrounds, and some even used their social influence to enter the army and serve alongside their family members.
In Russia’s Great War, the first all-female units were formed. Women wanted to play a larger role on the frontlines, and a woman from Siberia, Maria Bochkareva, was the one who ultimately secured permission from the Minister of War to organize all-female units in the military. These groups included the 1st Russian Women’s Battalion of Death, the 1st Petrograd Women’s Battalion, and the 2nd Moscow Women’s Battalion of Death. The women’s units were ultimately disbanded in November of 1917.