A study into the influence of children's periodicals on the attitudes and political awareness of young readers in the USSR from 1956-1982

In the USSR, it was commonplace for the average Soviet family to subscribe to multiple state-sanctioned publications. Among the many on offer were particular magazines targeted towards children or youths. Along with all other approved press, these children's magazines were subject to the rigours of Socialist Realism and the strict censorship of the authorities. The conveyance and advancement of Communist philosophy was the primary concern of the publishers; children were not seen as children, rather they were considered as future guardians of Communism. The overarching discourse of the Soviet children's periodical press is one of deference to the party and its ideals and an outright rejection of any doubts as to its legitimacy.

This PhD project seeks to assess and analyse the children's periodical press as an agent of socialisation. Two children's magazines will be considered: Murzilka and Pioner, the party-sanctioned publications of the Oktiabriata and Young Pioneer movements, but attention will also be paid to other publications of the time, including Koster. The proposed research will look specifically at the period 1956-1982, encompassing the Thaw and Stagnation periods under Khrushchev and Brezhnev respectively, and charting a vacillating approach to the character education of children.

Little has been written on the role of the children's periodical press in the Soviet Union. This research will not only address this gap in existing knowledge on the socialising role of children's literature on young readers, but will also allow further deconstruction of the Soviet legacy and its shaping of the Russian present.

The proposed research will consider the two major publications holistically, focusing on the following questions: How were the magazines constructed? Who decided the content? How effective were the publications in shaping the attitudes of young communists? Was the socialisation of the reader a success? Did the readers grow up to be 'New Soviet' men and women?

First, the textual and graphic content of each magazine will be analysed and coded. Reference will be made to the party's implementation of Socialist Realism and the doctrines therein, as well as the socio-political panorama, in order to contextualise the magazine's content and form. The research will question how far the doctrines of Socialist Realism determined the content of the magazines, how stringent character education was realised through stories, poetry and illustrations and in turn, how these led to the politicisation and socialisation of the reader and the negotiation of Soviet identity. The effect of the contemporaneous socio-political issues and events on the content of the magazines will be examined in order to help understand how children were viewed by society and conversely how society was viewed by children.

Secondly, the research will explore the construction of the magazines. Through analysis of editorial archives, the project will seek to understand how each issue came to be; whether the content was commissioned or suggested by the writer, whether any restrictions were implicit or explicit, whether any revisions were required before the piece was deemed suitable for publication and the nature of the relationship between contributor and editor. In so doing, any artistic constraints on contributors will be uncovered and the extent to which they were personally enforced by the editorial staff analysed.

Finally, the research will seek to assess the reception of the magazines amongst the target readership. Interviews will be conducted with former readers in order to uncover their past attitude to the magazines. These oral histories will help construct a picture of how children viewed the magazines and the magazines' role in the readers' character education and social attitudes and whether this was achieved implicitly or explicitly.