Il motivo dell’«usad’ba» in rovina nel racconto di Arkadij Gajdar «Na Grafskich Razvalinach» («Tra le rovine del palazzo del conte»)

This article is devoted to the Soviet writer Arkadij Gajdar (1904-1941) and his early work Na grafskikh razvalinakh (In the Count’s Ruins). This long story is an example of children’s literature of the 1920s and belongs to the adventure story genre. However, it is not just a collection of stereotypes, but accurately reflects the society of the time. Gajdar touches on various typical times of the era: the period filled with contrasts generated by the New Economic Policy (NEP), the spread of delinquency, the orphans of the Civil War, the courage and the thirst for justice of the future generation. Prominent among others is the motif of the ruined country estate, which in the context of the tale replaces in the child’s imagination the spooky castle of the Western narrative and which simultaneously becomes a symbol of the death of the past and the social transformation taking place in that historical period.