Russian Children's Literature

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Alexandra Smith (University of Edinburgh)

Ed. by Neil Cornwell, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 2.2.1.00: Slavic and Russian Writing and Culture: Old, Medieval and Tsarist, 700-1917.
Vol. editors: Neil Cornwell (University of Bristol), Roman Koropeckyj (University of California, Los Angeles), Andrei Rogatchevski (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway)

Domains

Literature Topic

Dates

Date of occurrence c.1100

Places

Russia (Location)

Genres and Modes

Children's Literature

Resources

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Recommended Reading

Russian children’s literature has a rich tradition rooted in the medieval culture and religious education promoted by Russian priests and monks. For example

The Primary Chronicle

compiled in Kiev in 1113 describes efforts by Prince Vladimir in 988 to create a particular type of educational literature suitable for children. In the Middle Ages several centres promoted education and literacy in Russia, including the first school for girls based at the Andreev monastery in Kiev (opened in 1026) and the Polotsk school for girls (opened in 1143). The first printed book for children was published by Ivan Fedorov in Lviv: it included the Russian alphabet, stories relating the origin of Russian culture, and several prayers and poems for children. One of the most popular books for children,…

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3897 words

Citation: Smith, Alexandra. "Russian Children's Literature". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 March 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=16293, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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