Fairy tales and true stories : : the history of Russian literature for children and young people (1574-2010) / / by Ben Hellman.

• Superior document: Russian history and culture, volume 13
• Author: Hellman, Ben, 1949-
• Place / Publishing House: Boston ;, Leiden : : Brill,, 2013.
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Series: Russian history and culture (Leiden, Netherlands) ; v. 13.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (600 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Russian literature for children and young people has a history that goes back over 400 years, starting in the late sixteenth century with the earliest alphabet primers and passing through many different phases over the centuries that followed. It has its own success stories and tragedies, talented writers and mediocrities, bestsellers and long-forgotten prize winners. After their seizure of power in 1917, the Bolsheviks set about creating a new culture for a new man and a starting point was children's literature. 70 years of Soviet control and censorship were succeeded in the 1990's by a re-birth of Russian children's literature. This book charts the whole of this story, setting Russian authors and their books in the context of translated literature, critical debates and official cultural policy.

Table of Contents

The beginning (1574-1770) -- From Enlightenment to Sentimentalism (1770-1825) -- Romanticism (1825-1860) -- Realism (1860-1890) -- Modernism (1890-1917) -- All the colours of the rainbow (1918-1932) -- A new society-a new literature (1932-1940) -- "Under the wise leadership of the party and the fatherly care of comrade Stalin" (1941-1953) -- Thaw in the world of children (1954-1968) -- Years of stagnation (1969-1985) -- Perestroika reaches children's literature (1986-1991) -- The new Russian children's literature (1991-2010).