La ricezione della letteratura russa per l’infanzia in Italia (1900-2017)

Abstract

The article investigates the history of reception of Russian children’s literature in Italy from 1900 until 2017. It includes a large corpus of volumes that represents a starting point for further research in this field. The analysis of the books, including their paratextual elements – such as book covers and frontispieces – gives the chance to put forward some considerations: first, Russian children’s literature has continuously been translated in Italy throughout the XX and the beginning of XXI century, though it has been less relevant than other foreign children’s literatures; indeed, a significant number of important Russian authors and works is still missing on the Italian bookshelves. Second, the two genres that have been mostly translated into Italian are: the fairy tales and the texts of classics – such as Pushkin, Chekhov or Tolstoy. Third, the Bibliography has shown that, despite the tight connection and the influence of Soviet Union on Italy during the post-war period until 1990s, no relevant ideological marks have been left on the selection of the texts to be translated