December 21, 2021

Snow Fright


Snow Fright
Surely she lost her immortality?! RIA Novosti Telegram

Snegurochka, or the Snowmaiden granddaughter of Father Frost, is an essential figure of the Russian holiday season. In Kostroma, this year’s Snowmaiden seems to be more of a snow job.

On December 13, online outlet Kostroma Today reported that the city’s sparkling Snowmaiden structure, once called the “bride of Darth Vader,” has returned for the second year in a row.

The Snowmaiden is thought to have roots in pagan lore, and was first popularized by the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky, in his nineteenth-century play “Spring Fairytale.” In the tale, the Snowmaiden is the beautiful and lonely daughter of Frost and Spring who relinquishes immortality for the ability to love. She evaporates from the sun’s rays when she finally falls in love and leaves her forest shelter.

The Kostroma decoration is of a sort commonly found in Russia and Eastern Europe during the winter season, made of metal structure and laced with strings of lights. You often see find reindeer, Christmas trees, bears, balls, and jingle bells, but sometimes you’ll also stumble across a figure so horrifying that you’d rather run in the opposite direction.

“Remove this monstrosity already - it scares everyone off with its eerie appearance,” one resident of Kostroma wrote. "Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky has already turned over in his grave a thousand times from such a disgrace of a city. When I pass, I cross myself against sin a little farther away."

Some Kostroma residents are fans of the strange lady, but others are distraught, finding her more horrifying than before. Although this is the second year the Snowmaiden structure made an appearance, it was only removed the first time at the end of May!

Do not look into her eyes, some advise… this Snegurochka sure isn’t as pure as the driven snow.

 

You Might Also Like

Of Soviet Santas & Snegurochkas
  • January 01, 2000

Of Soviet Santas & Snegurochkas

This time of year, many Russians pine for the calmer, friendlier New Year's celebrations of decades past, and struggle to preserve family holiday traditions
Bringing in the New Year
  • November 01, 2004

Bringing in the New Year

From her village in the Bryansk region, Laura Williams offers a distinctly rural picture of the New Year's holidays in Russia.
Kostroma
  • August 16, 2016

Kostroma

Irina Yemets takes us north on the Golden Ring to visit the colorful town of Kostroma, hometown of the Romanovs and Snegurochka.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Fearful Majesty

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
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.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
How Russia Got That Way

How Russia Got That Way

A fast-paced crash course in Russian history, from Norsemen to Navalny, that explores the ways the Kremlin uses history to achieve its ends.
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.
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 

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