“Life for Nothing (Lbovshchina)” is a historical adventure novel by Arkady Petrovich Gaidar, the events of which take place during the revolutionary uprisings of 1905–1908.

The novel was first serialized from January 10 to March 3, 1926, in the Perm newspaper “Zvezda.” The chapters of the story were published immediately after their creation. Ariadna Pavlovna Bazhova-Gaidar, the wife of Timur Arkadyevich, the writer’s son, donated a lifetime edition of the book to the museum. This edition was printed in Perm in 1926.

The book is bound in a modern hardcover, covered with burgundy leatherette. On the front flyleaf there is a donation inscription, “To the Central City Children’s Library named after A.P. Gaidar. From Alikina Nadezhda Alekseevna. Perm. August 2010.” Nadezhda Alekseevna was an honored cultural worker of the Russian Federation, historian-archivist, regional expert, and public figure of the Kama region.

Arkady Gaidar planned to revise the novel later. He wanted to combine it with his other work “The Forest Brothers (Davydovshchina), ” which was dedicated to the events of the same period. “One day, after all, I will make an interesting book out of ‘The Forest Brothers’ and ‘Lbovshchina’, ” he wrote in his diary in 1932. However, these plans were never realized.