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حكايات شعبية روسية : فاسيليسا ست الحسن
Fortunately for Vassilisa, the doll in her pocket performed faithfully the tasks Vassilisa could never have done alone.
21 pages, ebook
First published June 1, 1976
1 person is currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Ivan Bilibin
79 books16 followersIvan Yakovlevich Bilibin (Russian: Ива́н Я́ковлевич Били́бин) was a 20th-century Russian illustrator and stage designer who took part in the Mir iskusstva movement and contributed to the Ballets Russes. He co-founded the Union of Russian Painters, and from 1937 was a member of the Artists' Union of the USSR.
Born in 1876 in St. Petersburg, in 1898 Bilibin studied at the Anton Ažbe Art School in Munich, where he was heavily influenced by Art Nouveau and the German satirical journal Simplicissimus, and then under Ilya Repin in St. Petersburg. After graduating in May 1901 he went to Munich, where he completed his training with the painter Anton Ažbe. In 1902-1904 Bilibin travelled in the Russian North, where he became fascinated with old wooden architecture and Russian folklore. He published his findings in the monograph Folk Arts of the Russian North in 1904.
Bilibin gained renown in 1899, when he released his illustrations of Russian fairy tales. His satirical cartoon work, during the Russian Revolution of 1905, was controversial, due to his depiction of the Tsar as a donkey. After the October Revolution in 1917, Bilibin left Russia for a number of years, settling and working in Egypt. He returned to Soviet Russia in 1936, and died of starvation during the Siege of Leningrad in 1942.
(source: Wikipedia)
Born in 1876 in St. Petersburg, in 1898 Bilibin studied at the Anton Ažbe Art School in Munich, where he was heavily influenced by Art Nouveau and the German satirical journal Simplicissimus, and then under Ilya Repin in St. Petersburg. After graduating in May 1901 he went to Munich, where he completed his training with the painter Anton Ažbe. In 1902-1904 Bilibin travelled in the Russian North, where he became fascinated with old wooden architecture and Russian folklore. He published his findings in the monograph Folk Arts of the Russian North in 1904.
Bilibin gained renown in 1899, when he released his illustrations of Russian fairy tales. His satirical cartoon work, during the Russian Revolution of 1905, was controversial, due to his depiction of the Tsar as a donkey. After the October Revolution in 1917, Bilibin left Russia for a number of years, settling and working in Egypt. He returned to Soviet Russia in 1936, and died of starvation during the Siege of Leningrad in 1942.
(source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 22, 2019
Magical, marvellous, stunning illustrations.
But not for the little ones - Baba Yaga and her skulls would have scared the Bejesus out of me when I was little - as did the Banshee in Disney's film 'Darby O'Gill and the Little People'!
But not for the little ones - Baba Yaga and her skulls would have scared the Bejesus out of me when I was little - as did the Banshee in Disney's film 'Darby O'Gill and the Little People'!
February 14, 2020
When Vassilisa's cruel stepmother and stepsisters send her into the forest to seek a light from the terrible witch Baba Yaga, the brave young girl must rely upon her magical doll - given to her by her mother - for help. Successfully completing the impossible tasks set for her, Vassilisa is sent home by Baba Yaga, who informs her: "People like you have no business to be here at all." After the terrible punishment meted out to her step-family by the witch's light, Vassilisa's cloth-making soon brings her to the attention of the Tsar...
Part of a collection of tales retold by poet and folklorist Alexandr Pushkin, Vassilisa the Beautiful is another fairy-tale featuring the incredible Baba Yaga, a seminal figure in Russian folk culture. The description of her eerie hut, with its gruesome gate of human bones, lit by skull-lanterns, is not easily forgotten. But for all her terrifying appearance, Baba Yaga is an ambivalent character, who almost never harms the pure and virtuous...
This retelling, published in the former Soviet Union in the 1970s, includes Ivan Bilibin's fantastic folk-motif artwork. His depiction of Baba Yaga's three riders - the white horseman to usher in the "Bright Day", the red one to herald the "Radiant Sun," and the black one to bring the "Dark Night" - are particularly powerful. I love to collect and compare various retellings of the same tale, and there is no question that Ivan Bilibin's illustrations are among my favorites. Another rendition of this tale that the reader might want to examine is Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave , retold by Marianna Mayer, and illustrated by the marvelous Kinuko Craft. Both are excellent, in their way.
Part of a collection of tales retold by poet and folklorist Alexandr Pushkin, Vassilisa the Beautiful is another fairy-tale featuring the incredible Baba Yaga, a seminal figure in Russian folk culture. The description of her eerie hut, with its gruesome gate of human bones, lit by skull-lanterns, is not easily forgotten. But for all her terrifying appearance, Baba Yaga is an ambivalent character, who almost never harms the pure and virtuous...
This retelling, published in the former Soviet Union in the 1970s, includes Ivan Bilibin's fantastic folk-motif artwork. His depiction of Baba Yaga's three riders - the white horseman to usher in the "Bright Day", the red one to herald the "Radiant Sun," and the black one to bring the "Dark Night" - are particularly powerful. I love to collect and compare various retellings of the same tale, and there is no question that Ivan Bilibin's illustrations are among my favorites. Another rendition of this tale that the reader might want to examine is Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave , retold by Marianna Mayer, and illustrated by the marvelous Kinuko Craft. Both are excellent, in their way.
August 14, 2018
Again, everything about this was beautiful. The story is inspiring, and reminds me a little of Cinderella.
January 7, 2018
First book of 2018! I quite enjoyed it and was a quick and charming read reminiscent of Cinderella but with enough flair, charm, and dark wit to keep me intrigued throughout the whole time. This makes me excited to finally read Vassa In The Night. XD
June 11, 2025
The better Cinderella version. Glorious illustrations too.
January 27, 2022
This is a supposedly Cinderella story, but there is a lot of differences. In fact there are more differences and similarities. The only similarities are that Cinderella has the wicked stepmother and two stepsisters; and that in the end she marries the czar. Other than that there are so many storylines that have nothing to do with the original Cinderella tale
March 25, 2014
فاسيليسا هي سندريلا و لكن من دون فردة الحذاء... لا أدري أيهما أسبق على الأخرى؛ فاسيليسا أم سندريلا!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews