Thread: Russian folklore/fairy-tale creatures

Meet the most popular characters in Russian/Slavic mythology. The materials are taken from Wikipedia.

Baba-Yaga/Баба-Яга

(a drawing by Viktor Vasnetsov)


(as envisaged by Bilibin)


(Vasilisa the Beautiful at the hut of Baba-Yaga, by Bilibin)

Baba Yaga (also: Baba Jaga) is a witch-like character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant mortar or broomstick, kidnaps (and presumably eats) small children, and lives in a house which stands on chicken legs. In most Slavic folk tales she is portrayed as an antagonist; however, some characters in other mythological folk stories have been known to seek her out for her wisdom, and she has been known on occasion to offer guidance to lost souls, although this is seen as rare.

Koschei the Immortal or Koschei the Deathless/Кощей Бессмертный

(by Vasnetsov)

In Russian folklore, Koschei is an evil person of ugly senile appearance, menacing principally young women. The spelling in Russian and other Slavic languages suggests that his name may be derived from the word "kost'" - bone, thus suggesting a skeleton-like appearance.

Koschei cannot be killed by conventional means targeting his body. His soul is hidden separate from his body inside a needle, which is in an egg, which is in a duck, which is in a hare, which is in an iron chest (sometimes the chest is crystal and/or gold), which is buried under a green oak tree, which is on the island of Buyan, in the ocean. As long as his soul is safe, he cannot die. If the chest is dug up and opened, the hare will bolt away. If it is killed, the duck will emerge and try to fly off. Anyone possessing the egg has Koschei in their power. He begins to weaken, becomes sick and immediately loses the use of his magic. If the egg is tossed about, he likewise is flung around against his will. If the egg or needle is broken (in some tales this must be done by specifically breaking it against Koschei's forehead), Koschei will die.

Vodyanoy/Водяной

(from the "Flying Ship/Летучий корабль" cartoon)

from http://img1.liveinternet.ru/images/a...7_vodyanoy.gif


from http://myfhology.narod.ru/monsters/vodyanik.jpg

In Slavic mythology, vodyanoy is a male water spirit. Vodník in Czech fairy tales is the same creature as the Wassermann or nix of German fairy tales.
He is said to appear as a naked old man with a greenish beard and long hair, with his body covered in algae and muck, usually covered in black fish scales. He has webbed paws instead of hands, a fish's tail, eyes that burn like red-hot coals. He usually rides along his river on a half-sunk log, making loud splashes. Local drownings are said to be the work of the vodyanoy (or rusalkas).
When angered, the vodyanoy breaks dams, washed down water mills, drowns people and animals. (Consequently, fishermen, millers, and also bee-keepers make sacrifices to appease him.) He would drag down people to his underwater dwelling to serve him as slaves.

Rusalka/Русалка

(Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom, by Repin)


(by Bilibin)


(by Makovsky)

In Slavic mythology, a rusalka (plural: rusalki) was a female ghost, water nymph, succubus or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway.

According to most traditions, the rusalki were fish-women, who lived at the bottom of rivers. In the middle of the night, they would walk out to the bank and dance in meadows. If they saw handsome men, they would fascinate them with songs and dancing, mesmerise them, then lead the person away to the river floor to live with them. The stories about rusalki have parallels with those of Hylas and the Nymphs, the Germanic Nix, the Irish Banshee, the Scottish Bean Nighe and the Romanian Iele. See Slavic fairies for similar creatures.

Баба-яга Боже мой! Какое ужасное (хотя интересное) существо!!!

Кто-нибудь написал о Лисе-Патрикеевне?
Она такая хитрая и забавная лисичка! Я бы хотела узнать почему её назвали Патрикеевной?

"Патрикеевна" is just a patronimic name from "Патрикей" (this name is almost not in use nowadays). No idea why a fox is commonly referred to as "Лиса Патрикеевна" (also, a bear is called "Михайло Потапыч" or "Михайло Иваныч").

Typically, a fox is considered as a "[over]smart ass", while a bear is a strong, friendly, and simple guy.

I love this thread!! Thank you so much for posting it. I am curious about old pagan traditions and customs in Russia. I have heard that there has been a return to this in some circles, is that true? America also has a growing number of people returning to pre-Christian religions. I find these old ways fascinating.

Originally Posted by Lampada

По щучьему велению
По щучьему веленью

Емеля сидит на печи:

OMG, "По щучьему велению" ("By will of the pike-fish") has to be one of the strangest сказки I've ever read. I mean, it almost seems like a subversive parody of fairytales, because it seems to have no moral lesson whatsoever! Emelya starts out a complete lazybones who snores on the лежанка (the big warm shelf/ledge on top of the oven) while his two older brothers (who are nice guys and don't mistreat Emelya in any way) go out and work... and at the end of the story, he's still a lazybones and hasn't learned a thing -- only now he's the Tsar, and married to the former Tsar's beautiful daughter.

And all this is because once, by pure dumb luck, Emelya happened to catch a talking щука (pike) who's got more magic powers than Dumbledore and Voldemort combined but seems to possess all the moral and ethical insights of -- well, a fish. So, unlike Pushkin's золотая рыбка, this fish isn't a didactic allegorical figure who offers добрым молодцам a cautionary урок about hubris and greed! No, she just keeps granting wish after wish, giving Emelya whatever the f*ck he asks for.

So, Emelya almost runs over some innocent villagers with his fish-provided magical sleigh, and when they (not unreasonably) try to pull him off the sleigh and give him a richly deserved butt-kicking, he wishes for some magical oaken cudgels that fly around by themselves, beating everyone into a half-coma while Emelya gleefully rides homeward in the sleigh. In other words, he's not only lazy, but is kind of an asshole... and he never gets his "comeuppance", doesn't end up as a sadder-but-wiser Emelya -- he gets the princess, gets the wealth, gets the kingdom, gets a magical facelift/makeover so he'll look more handsome, gets the magical weapons, etc. -- and yet he's still lazy!

I also heard that there were isolated places in Russia that were ignored completely by the USSR because it was so difficult to reach them.. so those people were left to themselves and lived "subsistence" lifestyle in Siberia...

I've heard the same stories.

Когда-то давно нам рекламировали "изометрическую" гимнастику. Шутили, что именно благодаря ей (упираясь ногами и руками в стенки печи) Емеля стал таким сильным.

Чудесная сводка

Удачно сделанный

Originally Posted by Valda

Чудесная сводка

Удачно сделанный

To sound more natural:

Чудесная подборка.
Удачно сделано.

Also your signature should be:

Пожалуйста, исправляйте мою грамматику.