This article is one attempt to analyze contemporary scientific literature on Soviet childhood from an anthropological perspective. It should be noted that the institution of childhood as a scientific field is gaining momentum, but there is already a certain narrative. In the post-Soviet period, the scientific discourse of the history of childhood has expanded considerably. The purpose of this article is to conduct an analytical review of contemporary historical works devoted to the history of Soviet childhood. Results. At the present stage, there is a lack of comprehensive studies with a multifaceted and polybiographical approach, demonstrating assessments of changes in children's life experiences in different places, during different periods of Soviet history. The analysis of contemporary historiography of the raised problem allows us to distinguish three main groups of researches characterizing different aspects of the "Soviet project of childhood" and peculiarities of its realization in practice. The first group includes works that provide a cultural and historical analysis of Soviet childhood, mostly through works on Soviet everyday life. The second group of studies is devoted to the Soviet state policy in the field of childhood and its determinants. The next block demonstrates the socio-cultural institution of Soviet childhood in Kazakhstan. The generalizing tendency of all directions is the attempt to overcome the established myth of "happy Soviet childhood".