Like their sisters in France, they are much more conservative than the men, and oppose much more stubbornly the Russian influence.
On the other hand, like women in general, when they do begin to change, they change more rapidly.

This is seen especially in the matter of costume.

The men adopt the Russian costume very gradually; the women adopt it at once.

As soon as a single woman gets a gaudy Russian dress, every other woman in the village feels envious and impatient till she has done likewise.

I remember once visiting a Mordva village when this critical point had been reached, and a very characteristic incident occurred.