The Situation of Soviet Orphans in Mass Media and Narrative Films of the 1980s

The problem of social protection and charity of children without parental care has almost always been and still remains one of the most pressing and significant. This problem worried not only the social protection authorities, but also representatives of the intelligentsia – writers, journalists, filmmakers. Their opinion on the orphanage’ problem is one of a great interest, because it shows an unexpected, even critical point of view. This study is devoted to the representation of orphans and adopted children’ image in the USSR of the 1980s. Based on articles from periodicals, as well as feature films of the indicated period, an attempt is made to analyze and form a conception of the image of a Soviet orphan or adopted child. The study consists of two chapters. The first one is devoted to the social status of a child left without parental care, namely: the reasons for the appearance of orphanhood, the classification of social status and the methods of social protection of orphans in the USSR. The second chapter of the study presents the results of the analysis of sources, divided thematically into two categories: the press and cinema.