To the 160th anniversary of the birth of Rudyard Kipling Rudyard Kipling had a controversial reputation in Soviet times: official literary criticism called him “the bard of British imperialism,” while ordinary readers adored his “The Jungle Book” and other fairy tales, which, thanks to animated adaptations, literally became popular among the people. Today, 160 years after the birth of the creator of Mowgli and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, perhaps it is time to take a fresh look at his work.