Russian Book for Children in Czechoslovakia in 1917—1939: Publishing and Criticism

Abstract

Taking into consideration the numerous difficulties faced by the publishers of children’s books in emigration, its study seems to be almost impossible. However, in 1920-ies in Czechoslovakia there are created institutions, enabling recording and distribution of new Russian children’s books. The article describes the activities of leading and smaller publishers of Russian Abroad in the context of general cultural and educational processes in the environment of the Russian Diaspora in Czechoslovakia in the period of 1917—1939: release of new editions, recording and distribution of books for children in Russian. Special attention is paid to the interaction of publishers with the educational organizations, to the choice of authors of books. There are noted the genre-thematic features of the publications (textbooks, non-fiction, classics for training of the reading skills in Russian language, fairy tales). There is examined the position of children’s literature in overall literary process of Russian emigration of 1920-ies, its assessment by literary criticism, educators and publishers, and, in particular, the leading role of the critics department of the Prague pedagogical magazine “Russian school abroad” in the formation of status of children’s literature of Russian Abroad.