Ballet was introduced in Russia with other dance forms as part of Peter the Great's Westernization program in the early 1700s. The first ballet school was established in 1734, the first company began in the 1740’s at the Imperial School of Ballet. Dancers and choreographers from both France and Italy dominated the world of ballet in that time period, but by the 1800’s Russian and its ballet seemed to take over the world of dance companies. Ballet critics all around Europe agreed that the Russian dance had a largely positive influence on European ballet (GOP for the Library of Congress, …show more content…
Although sex before marriage and single raising children alone were always common among the poor and working class, marriage continues to be a large part of both sociological and religious aspects. Traditionally marriage in Russia was in large an ‘economic contract’ between the two families of the bride and groom. The wedding was paid for by the household of the husband and in trade the bride’s mother would give a substantial piece of dowry for her daughters hand (Shrimkin,2016). Both patrilocal and matrilocal marriage were practiced, however, patrilocal was preferred. In a matrilocal marriage, parents without children could adopt a “son-in-law” under a contract that stated that he would support them for the remainder of their lives and give them grandchildren and relatives. For example, families in Kemerovo would grant housing rights to a grandmother, real or adopted, who will be protected by them and would in return take care of the house and the children at times (Shrimkin,