Russian Folk-Tales

"Russian Folk-Tales" by A. N. Afanas'ev is a collection of traditional Russian folk stories compiled during the mid-19th century. The tales gather a variety of narratives that reflect the cultural essence of Russian folklore, illustrating themes of good vs. evil, magic, and morality through the lives of both extraordinary and ordinary characters. The opening portion of the collection introduces the context of these folk-tales, detailing the collection process by early folklorists who transcribed stories from the oral traditions of the Russian peasantry. The introduction emphasizes the rich legacy of storytelling in Russia, contrasting the simple yet profound nature of these tales with those of other cultures like German fairy tales. Several stories, like “The Dun Cow” and “The Tale of the Dead,” are presented in brief snippets, showcasing characters such as a princess, her stepmother, and a clever peasant who revives the dead. Through these enchanting yet raw narratives, readers are invited into a world where reality mingles with the supernatural, echoing life’s unpredictability and moral lessons from the perspective of Russian culture. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev was a Russian Slavist and ethnographer best known for publishing nearly 600 East Slavic and Russian fairy and folk tales, one of the largest collections of folklore in the world. This collection was not restricted to Great Russia, but included folk tales from what are now Ukraine and Belarus as well. The first edition of his collection was published in eight volumes from 1855 to 1867, earning him the reputation of being the Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm.