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In:The Moving Canon(s) of Slavic Children’s Literature
Edited by Mateusz Swietlicki, Dorota Michułka and Zofia Zasacka
[Children’s Literature, Culture, and Cognition 20] 2026
► pp. 140–157

Chapter 7
Transformative vision and abiding traditionalism

Gender in the canon of Soviet children’s literature

This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
Abstract
Contrary to the Soviet government’s intention to create a gender-neutral children’s literature in Stalin’s USSR, children’s poetry and short stories of the time reveal a widespread culture of ‘gender hostility’ and prejudice. Rather than redefining and reformulating traditional gender roles, children’s literature supported the state’s demand for strong men and favored boys while sidelining girls. Poems and stories by popular children’s authors such as Agniia Barto, Valentin Kataev, Arkadii Gaidar, and Sergei Mikhalkov reflect the gender norms and behaviors that were instilled in young readers and show how these norms inevitably hindered an inclusive gender-role socialization through literature.
Article outline
  • Mastering the gendered space: “We don’t bring girls to the North Pole”
  • Agniia Barto: “I’m going up in a zeppelin, / What is that, by the way?”
  • The politics of advocacy: Arkadii Gaidar
  • Conclusion: The politics of assent
  • Notes
  • References
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