Pioneer Fiction vs. High Literature for Children

Abstract

The article of Svetlana Maslinskaya entitled «Pioneer fiction vs. High literature for children». The Pioneer fiction as a new literary phenomenon appeared in Russian children’s literature in 1922–1926. Its most important element was the representation of adventure aimed at young pioneers, children of age 9–14. Pioneer fiction inherited typical plot and characters from earlier children’s adventure stories (e.g. by Lidia Charskaya). It became a serious rival for pre-revolutionary children’s literature in the book market of NEP period. Literary works associated with this genre were published in a special book series for young pioneers. While the old texts provided the outer-framework for the narrative, the Soviet authors tried to fill old genre form with new ideological content. Initially, these experiments were viewed positively by representatives of the new SUMMARY 210 211 Soviet educational studies; however, beginning in 1925, this literature was severely criticized and therefore never reprinted again.