Posted by Marzie's Reads December 01, 2017

Russian Folklore Sources

Morozko (Father Frost), Ivan Bilibin, 1932

In recent years a number of writers I love have written novels featuring Russian folk figures. From Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series (Baba Yaga variants, volhvs, and Chernobog) to Catherynne Valente's Deathless (Maria Morevna and Koschei the Deathless) to Katherine Arden's Winternight trilogy (Morozko, Vasilisa the Brave), authors are creating their own spin on classic Russian folktales, expanding on the interplay between natural magic and the Church, the Soviet state, taking on stereotypical gender roles imposed on clever women, and mingling modern magic with the old. This post offers the reader some good sources of Russian folklore, most of which are available on Kindle. We'll start with the scholarly sources and then finish up with some children's books.

I've been reading Russian folk and fairy tales since I was five. I still have my first book of Russian Folk Tales:

Russian Folk Tales (Folk Tales of the People's of the U.S.S.R.)

by Mavrina, T.A. (Illustrator), Kuznetsov, K.V (Illustrator)

This edition of Folk Tales was published by the Foreign Languages Publishing House in 1955 and amazingly made it into my hands in the midst of the Cold War era. It has delicate paper and hundreds of woodcut and lithograph illustrations.

Scholarly Sources

Baba Yaga: The Wild Witch of the East in Russian Fairy Tales by Sibelan Forrester

This is the most comprehensive book, not just on Baba Yaga stories but also on Baba Yaga imagery. Here we see the full spectrum of Baba Yagas in Slavic culture, from ugly wicked witch (the classic child-eater, etc) to wise woman (the source of solutions to impossible questions like you don't know what and you don't know where). This is a wonderful book and meticulously researched resource.

Russian Folk Belief by Linda J. Ivanits

While perhaps not the most eloquent in writing style, this book is an excellent resource for those looking for further information and sources on Russian nature spirits (rusalkas, leshii, vodyanoi) and house spirits like domovoi. This book also looks at the interface between Russian folk beliefs and early Christianity in Russian culture.

Fairy Tales of the Russians and Other Slavs

by Ace G. Pilkington, Olga A. Pilkington

This highly regarded edition is touted as the most complete volume on Russian fairy tales, including four never before translated versions of stories from the Afanasyev collection. Professor Pilkington uses this book in his class on Russian folk literature.

Russian Folk-Tales

by Alexander Nikolaevich Afanasyev

The original compendium of Russian folktales is the classic Afanasyev edition with hundreds of folk stories. There are many beautiful editions out there but they are all largely the same book and while lacking the glamorous cover of a competitor Kindle edition, the volume at the left has both a searchable table of contents (long listing at the front, compressed listing at the end of the book in lieu of an index) and at the current price of $1.26 simply can't be beat.

Children's Books

N.B. There are so many children's books now on Russian folklore that I'm choosing to focus on figures similar to those in the Katherine Arden Winternight trilogy.

Jack Frost. Russian Folk Tale Morozko: Illustrated Children's Book

by Svetlana Bagdasaryan, Emilia Mikaelian

The classic FAther Frost/Morozko story, similar to the Grimm Märchen's Mother Holle, wherein two half-sisters, one good-natured, the other bad-natured, come to differing fortunes when asked to serve a magical figure.

Vasilisa the Beautiful and Baba Yaga

by Alexander Afanasyev, Ivan Bilibin

One of the most famous of Russian fairy tales in the classic edition, illustrated by Ivan Bilibin, one of Russia's most beloved illustrators. An iconic story of a mother's love providing the ultimate protection against evil. (Harry Potter, anyone?)