Аннотация
The article analyzes the history of the formation and development of the Soviet children’s literature’s biographical canon. This study traces the roots of Soviet biographical tradition to its origins in revolutionary eulogies, which were respectively rooted in the ancient traditions of life writing and Christian hagiographies of the saints. Many Bolshevik Party Leaders, like Vladimir Lenin and Sergei Kirov, had multiple books written about their childhood times; Stalin, however, stood as a unique exception: despite the flourishing of political biographies for children in the 1930s, Stalin’s early life was kept out of public cultural discourse. This paper investigates the reasons for creating a biographical canon within children’s literature, arguing that Stalin was the only exception to the rule. The article addresses the pedagogical approach that dominated these life-writing narratives, discusses the style of political biographies written for children, and analyses the creation of a new heroic pantheon for the upcoming Soviet generation.
