"Kvakin" question in the story of A. Gaidar "Timur and his Squad"
The article contains a study of a character of a boy named Mikhail Kvakin, the leader of the gang hooligans, described in the novel by A. P. Gaidar “Timur and his Squad”. Neither during the Soviet epoch, nor in the post-Soviet era, the novel itself had been considered as a self-sufficient piece of literature possessing an outstanding artistic quality. The novel was a success and became popular only in the context of the Timur movement which radically influenced the focus of research dedicated to this book. This article attempts to analyse the iconic image of the story “based solely on the text” without opposing his character to Timur. Mikhail Kvakin’s character is analysed from the point of view of subcultural communications, dacha behavioural models, specific vocabulary, various actions and personality features.