Finding God in the Childhood and Adolescent Prose of V. P. Krapivin

The article presents an analysis of the aspect of spiritual realism in Vladislav Krapivin's children's prose, examines the main scientific publications highlighting Christian motifs in the works of V. P. Krapivin and the features of describing religious culture and church life in fiction works for children. The article describes the spiritual formation of the "Krapivin's boy," his consistent progress from the first acquaintance with religious attributes (sometimes accidental) to conscious confirmation, rapprochement with God through sincere faith and prayer, demonstrating that the spiritual evolution of Krapivin's protagonist reflects the writer's own spiritual quest and experiences. By virtue of his moral purity, the image of Krapivin's protagonist is compared with the image of the Boy Jesus, an angel; Christian values are organically embedded in the moral basis and the "code of honor" of the "Krapivin's boy." The presence of cult Christian images, direct and hidden references to the gospel texts testifies to the preservation of the spiritual traditions of Russian children's and adolescent literature in V. P. Krapivin's prose. V. P. Krapivin's prose is characterized by the deep spiritual questions posed to the heroes, their search for truth, while the heroes' actions are evaluated from the standpoint of Christian morality. According to the writer's conceptual plan, the miracle inherent in the fantastic works of V. P. Krapivin often appears as a Divine miracle.