Russian 361: Russian and Slavic Folklore

The 114 tales included represent every genre found in the Russian tradition, from the 18th through the 20th centuries and come from all geographic regions of the Russian-speaking world.

Covers the myths and legends of the Russian Empire at its greatest extent as well as other Slavic people and countries. Includes historical, geographical, and biographical background information.

Collection of twenty-nine fairy tales featuring Baba Yaga that draws from the famous collection of Aleksandr Afanas'ev, but also includes some tales from the lesser-known nineteenth-century collection of Ivan Khudiakov, along with images that show how artists have imagined her for over more than two centuries.

Showcasing the genius of Russian literature, art, music, and dance over a century of turmoil, within the dynamic cultural ecosystem that shaped it, The Firebird and the Fox explores the shared traditions, mutual influences and enduring themes that recur in these art forms. The book uses two emblematic characters from Russian culture -- the firebird, symbol of the transcendent power of art in defiance of circumstance and the efforts of censors to contain creativity; and the fox, usually female and representing wit, cleverness and the agency of artists and everyone who triumphs over adversity -- to explore how Russian cultural life changed between 1850 and 1950. Jeffrey Brooks reveals how high culture drew on folk and popular genres, then in turn influenced an expanding commercial culture. Richly illustrated, The Firebird and the Fox assuredly and imaginatively navigates the complex terrain of this eventful century.

This book examines folk music and dance revival movements in Russia, exploring why this folk culture has come to represent Russia, how it has been approached and produced, and why memory and tradition, in these particular forms, have taken on particular significance in different periods. Above all it shows how folk ""tradition"" in Russia is an artificial cultural construct, which is periodically reinvented, and it demonstrates in particular how the "folk revival" has played a key role in strengthening Russian national consciousness in the post-Soviet period.

The Russian Folktale begins with Propp's description of the folktale's aesthetic qualities and the history of the term; the history of folklore studies, first in Western Europe and then in Russia and the USSR; and the place of the folktale in the matrix of folk culture and folk oral creativity. The book presents Propp's key insight into the formulaic structure of Russian wonder tales and it devotes one chapter to each of the main types of Russian folktales: the wonder tale, the "novellistic" or everyday tale, the animal tale, and the cumulative tale. An accessible introduction to the Russian folktale, it will serve readers interested in folklore and fairy-tale studies in addition to Russian history and cultural studies.

Russian Folktales: A Reader is designed for English-speaking students of Russian language and literature. Each of the eight texts, which are graded from simple to more advanced, provides important pieces of original Russian, a glimpse into the culture of Russia through folktales and an understanding of basic and idiomatic grammar. It includes an introduction to the work or genre, vocabulary, and a variety of pedagogical materials to facilitate classroom discussion.

Documents the ways that women’s tales of traditional practices associated with marriage, childbirth and death reflect both upholding and transgression of social norms.

This diverse collection of essays introduces new and stimulating approaches to the ongoing debate as to how Russian artistic modernism engaged with questions of spirituality in the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries. Modernism and the Spiritual in Russian Art: New Perspectives enriches our understanding of the modernist period and breaks new ground in its re-examination of the role of religion and spirituality in the visual arts in late Imperial Russia.

This sourcebook provides the first systematic overview of witchcraft laws and trials in Russia and Ukraine from medieval times to the late nineteenth century. Witchcraft in Russia and Ukraine, 1000–1900 weaves scholarly commentary with never-before-published primary source materials translated from Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. These sources include the earliest references to witchcraft and sorcery, secular and religious laws regarding witchcraft and possession, full trial transcripts, and a wealth of magical spells. The documents present a rich panorama of daily life and reveal the extraordinary power of magical words.

Slavic folklore has great cultural significance and international influence. Written for students and general readers, this book offers a brief but thorough introduction to Slavic folklore. Included are explanations of the different types of Slavic folklore, the role of Slavic folklore in literature and popular culture, and the state of criticism and scholarship on this field of interest. The volume provides numerous examples and cites print and electronic sources for further reading. The people of Eastern Europe have a long and rich cultural history. Central to that history are the folktales, traditions, and customs of the region. Some elements of Slavic folklore, such as vampire legends and Easter eggs, are well known, while others are more obscure. And when the Slavs came to America, they brought much of their folklore to the new world, where it continues to flourish today. This book is a short but thorough introduction to Slavic folklore. Written expressly for students and general readers, it systematically overviews Slavic folklore. It discusses the many different types of folklore and summarizes scholarship and research on the subject. It provides a wide range of texts and examples from the Slavic folk tradition and explores the role of Slavic folklore in literature and popular culture. The volume cites numerous print and electronic sources and closes with a glossary and selected, general bibliography. Literature students will enjoy learning about Slavic tales and customs, while students in social studies classes will learn more about the culture of Eastern Europe.