Perpetual return to Schwambrania: celebrating the 120th anniversary of Lev Kassil

The creative work of Lev Abramovich Kassil has been the focus of the author’s research for over 70 years, spanning from her initial scholarly efforts as a university student in 1957 to 2025. This study concentrates specifi cally on Kassil’s most renowned work – the short novel The Black Book and Schwambrania – and emphasizes not so much its artistic qualities or its uniqueness, but rather its history, textual evolution, and, notably, the reader’s experience – elements that are rarely explored in children’s literature. Central to this analysis is A. A. Sinitsyn’s excellent publication, “Schwambranians from USA (preface to the publication of two intriguing letters)”. These include a letter from a young reader concerning The Land of Schwambrania (the English translation of the book) penned by the now-famous scholar James Robert Russell, as well as Kassil’s response. This publication also narrates the story of friendship between A. A. Sinitsyn and J. R. Russell, two notable Schwambranians. By examining the imaginary country game as a phenomenon of children’s folklore, viewed as a quintessential playful expression of childhood, the author argues that this particular game should be classifi ed primarily as urban children’s folklore. It represents a unique form of improvisational symbolic play rooted in material that enabled to integrate this particular game into scholarly discourse and recognize it as a valuable component of folkloristics. Numerous examples of games are presented convincingly, illustrating the distinctive and irreplaceable nature of the Schwambrania game, skillfully recreated through Kassil’s creative talent.