The Soviets pushed heavily for an eradication of illiteracy in the 20's and 30's, and while the effects of the government's education is arguable, literacy was over 80% by 1939. In order to complement this education, there was a fair share of children's literature made, in order to teach reading and writing. Children's stories would include fantasy or even translated folktales, but under Stalin children's books took a more propaganda like tone, extolling the virtues of communism and patriotism. For adults, one big genre was science fiction, perhaps inspired by the rapid industrialization the Union went through, or the exciting frontier of space. Historical fiction also had its place, talking about the history of Russia, along with socialist realism, which depicted communist ideals. There was also censorship, which cut down on negative depictions of the Soviet state. One famous work was How the Steel Was Tempered, a partial autobiography that fell into the category of Socialist Realism, depicting idealized socialist ideals (don't get confused by the word realism, it was rather romanticized).