The embodiment of the genre formula of the story about schoolchildren who find themselves in the Soviet past in "Olya-lya from the Sixth Squad" by Anna Koksharova
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2026-4-79-86
An overview of contemporary works allows us to state that the theme of moving to the Soviet past is popular both in “general” and in children’s and youth literature. In the article, the relevance and significance of understanding the genre of the novel about schoolchildren who find themselves in the Soviet past are justified, firstly, by the significant volume of literary works written in this genre in the last two decades, secondly, by the attention of modern society to the history and culture of the 20th century, and thirdly, by the issues raised in the texts about schoolchildren who find themselves in the Soviet past (self-determination, understanding of history, both family and country-wide). The analysis of Anna Koksharova's story "Olya-lya from the Sixth Squad" is conducted in comparison with the genre formula and in the context of studying the literature of time travel in general. The main elements of the genre formula about children who travel back in time to the Soviet past include: the basis is a school or vacation story; the suddenness and relative proximity of the time of travel as the starting point of the plot; characters are present in two time layers at different points in the story; the significance of the border locus in the organization of space, and the use of juxtaposition and contrast in creating a cultural and historical image of two eras. It has been established that A. Koksharova's work is a vacation story and includes all the listed elements of the genre formula about children who find themselves in the Soviet past. Like the works of other writers (T. Kryukova, A. Zhvalevsky, E. Pasternak, A. Remez), the story under analysis emphasizes the technological and socio-cultural differences between modern and Soviet society, as well as differences in speech, habits, and social norms. At the same time, it emphasizes the permanence of moral guidelines and values, such as friendship, mutual assistance, and loyalty to family and friends. A. Koksharova's text differs from the genre formula, firstly, by the presence of guide characters who impart knowledge about the Soviet past to modern teenagers, and secondly, by references to other works about time-travelers. The characters in the story associate their experiences with the plot of the film "Kholop" (Serf). They are created with pre-existing ideas about time-traveled characters, so they do not experience horror or fear; they approach the task of returning to their own time pragmatically.
Keywords: schoolchildren who have been transported, the Soviet past, a children's summer camp, Soviet everyday life, the interconnection of times, the post-Soviet crisis of identity, and sociocultural differences
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Issue: 4, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 4
Rubric: RUSSIAN AND FOREIGN LITERATURE
Pages: 79 — 86
Downloads: 41