This Biographical Dictionary describes the lives, works and aspirations of more than 150 women and men who were active in, or part of, women’s movements and feminisms in Central, Eastern and South Eastern Europe. Thus, it challenges the widely held belief that there was no historical feminism in this part of Europe. These innovative and often moving biographical portraits not only show that feminists existed here, but also that they were widespread and diverse, and included Romanian princesses, Serbian philosophers and peasants, Latvian and Slovakian novelists, Albanian teachers, Hungarian Christian social workers and activists of the Catholic women’s movement, Austrian factory workers, Bulgarian feminist scientists and socialist feminists, Russian radicals, philanthropists, militant suffragists and Bolshevik activists, prominent writers and philosophers of the Ottoman era, as well as Turkish republican leftist political activists and nationalists, internationally recognized Greek feminist leaders, Estonian pharmacologists and science historians, Slovenian ‘literary feminists,’ Czech avant-garde painters, Ukrainian feminist scholars, Polish and Czech Senate Members, and many more. Their stories together constitute a rich tapestry of feminist activity and redress a serious imbalance in the historiography of women’s movements and feminisms.

The volume, a result of a collective research project, examines collaborations among interwar Balkan and East Central European feminist and women’s associations, as well as their engagement with intergovernmental alliances and diplomatic forums. It includes thematic case studies on the Little Entente of Women, the Unity of Slavic Women, the Balkan Women’s Conferences, and women’s participation in the mainstream Balkan Conferences. The book explores the relationship between feminist cooperation, national politics, and diplomacy in the region, the activities of the Little Entente of Women in promoting a shared political and feminist agenda, alongside other women’s and socialist collaborations. Additionally, it analyzes the reception and impact of these feminist actions in different national contexts and traces the activities of leading feminist figures across the region. The volume highlights the intricate interplay between nationalism, feminism, pacifism, and internationalism, covering key themes such as women’s citizenship, suffrage, labor rights, and the influence of socialism on feminist movements.