Translation and Transformation: English-Language Children's Literature in (Soviet) Russian Guise

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Inggs
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
English Language ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Socialist Realism ◽  
The Political ◽  
Philosophy Of Action ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
Soviet Russia

This article investigates the perceived image of English-language children's literature in Soviet Russia. Framed by Even-Zohar's polysystem theory and Bourdieu's philosophy of action, the discussion takes into account the ideological constraints of the practice of translation and the manipulation of texts. Several factors involved in creating the perceived character of a body of literature are identified, such as the requirements of socialist realism, publishing practices in the Soviet Union, the tradition of free translation and accessibility in the translation of children's literature. This study explores these factors and, with reference to selected examples, illustrates how the political and sociological climate of translation in the Soviet Union influenced the translation practices and the field of translated children's literature, creating a particular image of English-language children's literature in (Soviet) Russia.

Dissent and Consent under State Socialism

1972 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-44
Author(s):  
David Lane
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Russia ◽  
Diachronic Development ◽  
State Socialist

Professor Bauman's article is certainly a welcome contribution to the analysis of state socialist societies. He succeeds in breaking away from the myopic Kremlinological study of individuals and he also conducts his argument on a comparative sociological plane transcending the Sovietologist's ideographic viewpoint. However, he may be criticised at many points: it is very doubtful whether the state under capitalism is as ‘autonomous’ an institution as Bauman suggests; distinctions should be made between the socialist states of Eastern Europe, for what may be true of Poland and Rumania may not be true of the Soviet Union; international relations, particularly those between the U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe and between East and West, have important effects on the political culture and significantly restrict the possibilities for social change; the diachronic development of the societies under consideration needs to be given more prominence, for what may have been the case in Soviet Russia in 1920 or in Poland in 1948 may not be so for either society in 1971. Here, I shall have to leave on one side such general criticisms to concentrate on a number of specific points in Bauman's argument relating to stratification in Eastern Europe which seem to me to be debatable.

scholarly journals Między utopią socjalizmu a karykaturą Zachodu. Nie-dziecięca interpretacja świata przedstawionego w trylogii o skrzacie Nieumiałku Mikołaja Nosowa

2020 ◽  
pp. 63-88
Author(s):  
Marta Studenna-Skrukwa
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Social ◽  
Adult Reader

This paper attempts an interpretation of Nikolai Nosov’s novels about the adventures of Dunno, which enjoyed a cult status in the Soviet Union. Despite being children’s literature, they are examined in terms of themes that have little to do with young readers. The analysis is historical rather than literary, aiming chiefly to elucidate the cultural context and the social notions from the period of Khrushchev’s thaw. Here, the author undertakes to answer the questions concerning the extent to which the reality created by Nosov served to mould the socialist worldview as early as childhood and, simultaneously, whether it incidentally offered the adult reader an opportunity of intellectual escape into the officially condemned world.

scholarly journals Adrift in Turbulent Seas: The Political and Ideological Struggles of Ivan Kuz'mich Polozkov

1993 ◽  
pp. 40
Author(s):  
Jonathan Harris
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Russia

In the winter of 1989-90 the unintended consequences of Mikhail S. Gorbachev's program of political and economic refonn had become obvious to all but his most optimistic spokesmen. The General Secretary's attempt to create a new ideology of perestroika by grafting "bourgeois" and "social democratic" concepts onto the conventional ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) had divided the party, created immense ideological confusion, and led to the formation of non-Communist and anti-Communist political organizations. The attempt to shift authority from party officials to elected soviets on the union and republican levels had led to the emergence of separatist and nationalist movements in many of the USSR's republics, including the RSFSR. The decentralization of the state's administration of the economy and the encouragement of both private and cooperative economic activity had failed to reverse the deterioration of economic conditions. As anxiety swept through the CPSU, orthodox party leaders called for the establishment of an autonomous Communist Party for the RSFSR to counter Gorbachev's policies and to "save Soviet Russia" from destruction.

scholarly journals Emblematic journeys: Gianni Rodari in the USSR

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Children's Literature ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Children’S Literature ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Education ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Folk Tradition ◽  
Real Responsibility

The article focuses on the success of the works of the Italian children’s writer Gianni Rodari in the Soviet Union. One of the reasons for Gianni Rodari’s success in his native Italy lies in his previous popularity in the Soviet Union, thanks to early translations of his works by Samuil Marshak and his numerous visits to the USSR beginning in the 1950s. A committed communist, Rodari wanted to get a better understanding of the country that he admired so much. However, his political attitude was not narrow-minded; he investigated the Soviet education system and style of upbringing and communicated with his readers – Soviet children. In Cipollino, the author created a universally acknowledged ideal of a good and honorable hero who fights for freedom, plays in earnest, laughs at difficulties and strives to grow up into a responsible citizen. There are two main factors that contributed to the success of Rodari’s works with Soviet readers: first, their material contains an in-depth interpretation of the concept of utopia. Rodari understood utopia not as an abstraction but as a real responsibility of humanity for its better future. Second, in his creative work, the author pays great attention to folk art, which is a theme running through his rhymes, fairy tales, and stories. Folk tradition was a fundamental element both in Italian children’s literature and the Soviet children’s literature promoted by Marshak and other prominent writers for children in the first half of 20th century. These two vectors are perfectly combined in Cipollino, a favourite character with Soviet children, whose adventures are still being translated and staged in theatres outside Italy. The interaction of these vectors explains why the Italian writer is still widely read and loved, his poems are included in school syllabi, and his words are acquiring a new meaning in the 21st century. The article also reveals the reasons for the lasting popularity of Gianni Rodari’s translated works in intersemiotic cultural space of film and cartoons, ballet etc in Russia, Ukraine and other post-Soviet states.

“The Heroine of Post-Stalin Russia,” 1960–67

2020 ◽  
pp. 283-295
Author(s):  
Ann Jefferson
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Soviet Russia

This chapter discusses the new dimension that was added to Nathalie Sarraute's life when she renewed contact with Russia after the political climate in the Soviet Union has eased. It details her visit to Russia as a tourist to visit friends and reconnect links with surviving relatives whom she had not seen for twenty years. It also mentions that Nathalie's brief stay in Russia left her with two very different visions of her native country. The first was of a Soviet Russia bearing few signs of any relaxation despite Joseph Stallin's death, while the other vision was of a traditional and timeless Russia, which was vividly captured in a scene that she described to Claude Mauriac. The chapter concludes with a description of the Russian dimension of Nathalie's life that was once again a world of exiles and émigrés after her last visit to the Soviet Union in 1967.

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