April 17, 2015

How Well Do You Know Russian Fairy Tale Characters?


How Well Do You Know Russian Fairy Tale Characters?

This Friday, April 17, would have been the 120th birthday of Soviet folklorist Vladimir Propp, creator of a classification system for fairy tale plot lines. In his honor, today we present the recurring characters of Russian fairy tales.

Baba Yaga

Possibly the most familiar of the Russian characters, Baba Yaga is clearly a witch. Like the familiar witches of the Western tradition, she is typically an old hag who lives in isolation from the rest of society and is able to fly on a common household implement (in this case, a giant mortar and pestle). She lives in the forest, in a house on chicken legs (or just one leg), often described as being without doors or windows. In fairy tales she is often the villain, but being a magical old woman, sometimes she appears as a benevolent figure, offering the hero some helpful magical object.

Koschey and Other Villains

Koschey the Immortal, the ruler of the underworld, unlike Baba Yaga, is more unambiguously a villain. He has a bad habit of stealing the hero’s bride, and the fairy tale usually isn’t over until he dies. But here’s the catch: Koschey’s death is a physical object that the hero must find. Usually Koschey puts it on the end of a needle, then puts that needle in an egg, the egg in a duck, the duck in a rabbit… The list goes on.

Hero Dobrynya Nikitich with a slain Zmey - and his prize!

Other villains and obstacles include Zmey Gorynych, a multi-headed fire-breathing dragon, also with a bad habit of stealing young women; Chudo-Yudo, a sea-based creature of massive proportions; and the Cat Bayun, a giant man-eating cat that purrs you to sleep. Gotta stay on your toes!

Dangers of the Forest

The ancient Slavic world was filled with spirits. Sometimes they could be helpful, and sometimes, if angered, they could be a more immediate danger than some of the big-league villains. The forest as a whole was tended by the leshy, a shapeshifter who would lead travelers astray if they were mean, or help them find their way out of the forest if they helped him. Bodies of water held the double danger of the vodyanoy, the water spirit, and rusalki, siren-like mermaids. And, of course, the besy, minor evil spirits, were ubiquitous, causing small-scale mayhem and requiring effort to tame.

The slightly-leery leshy

Heroes and Positive Characters

Most male heroes go by Ivan – either Ivan-tsarevitch (Prince Ivan) or Ivan-durak (Ivan the idiot). The name is about as descriptive as naming the character John Doe – Ivan is the Russian everyman. His female counterpart is often Vasilisa, nicknamed “the wise” or “the beautiful.” Another positive character, familiar to Western audiences from Stravinsky’s ballet, is the Firebird, whose golden feathers gleam like a thousand candles and which is often the object of a hero’s quest.

An artistic depiction of the firebird.

Image credit: snob.ru, Wikimedia Commons, veche.razved.ca

Tags: fairy tales
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Driving Down Russia's Spine

Driving Down Russia's Spine

The story of the epic Spine of Russia trip, intertwining fascinating subject profiles with digressions into historical and cultural themes relevant to understanding modern Russia. 
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955