Soviet literature in general and Soviet children's literature in particular have often been labeled by Western and post-Soviet Russian scholars and critics as propaganda. Below the surface, however, Soviet children's literature and culture allowed its creators greater experimental and creative freedom than did the socialist realist culture for adults. This volume explores the importance of children's culture, from literature to comics to theater to film, in the formation of Soviet social identity and in connection with broader Russian culture, history, and society.

About the Author

Marian Balina is Professor Russian at Illinois Wesleyan University. She has co-edited a number of collections, including Politiciing Magic: Russian and Soviet FairyTales (2005), Dictionary of Literary Biography: RussianWriters Since 1980 (2003), and Endquote: Sots-ArtLiterature and Soviet Empire Style (2000).
LarissaRudova is Associate Professor of Russian at Pomona College. She is author of Pasternak's Early Fiction andthe Cultural Vanguard (1994) and Understanding BorisPasternak (1997).

Reviews

"This volume is the first book-length study of Russian children's literature in English, and as such it is particularly welcome."

-- Children's Literature Association Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1, Spring 2009

Book Information
ISBN 9780415888875
Author Marina Balina
Format Paperback
Page Count 408
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 750g