Essential Russian Mythology

by Pyotr Simonov

Enter the mysterious world of Russian myth and legenda world alive with spirits, of wolves that talk, of super-human heroes, magical spells, and strange encounters. Ranging from oral traditions of the first Slavs, who practiced earth-centered spirituality, to medieval stories centered in Orthodox Christian beliefs, this collection includes tales of wood nymphs and female spirits along with the story of Prince Vladimir, victor over ancient pagan gods.

Genres: Mythology, Russia, Nonfiction

184 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Claire Gilligan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting and fun! A bit bizarre at times, especially the tales that started off like familiar folk tales told by many peoples, but took a completely different direction from what I was expecting! Entirely worth reading, despite the fact that I never would have finished it were I not consistently doing one chapter per night.

[Ulas Ergin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in the English Books section of Remzi Kitabevi at Kanyon. The book contains several short stories about Russian Folklore.The stories are short,simple as if intended for kids.One interesting story was how Russians adopted Christianity during Prince Vladimir period[includes a visit to Constantinople:)]

[Doctor J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars may be a little low, but I think four would be too high. As entitled, this is a book of Russian mythology. I was looking forward to it, but now I have decided I might be too old for mythology. I just don’t like magic . . . it seems like a lazy way of solving problems.

Unlike many of the myths and fables I am familiar with, there rarely seemed to be a point behind these myths. I rarely perceived any useful knowledge that would have provided a listener (assuming these were mostly passed on orally) with patterns for solving problems or insights into proper moral behaviors.

I do feel I now have a little better understanding of the Russian soul (for lack of a better term). I was struck by the apparent importance of the city of Kiev, which is now in the country of Ukraine. There were several interesting phrases that apparently are Russian.

I wish there was more interpretation. There was an introduction and rare footnotes, but this was mostly stories. As someone trying to learn a little off the Russian language, and with a beginner’s ability to sound out Cyrillic letters, I would appreciated seeing some of the names and phrases on Russian.

To summarize, this book is mostly what it claims to be, a book of Russian myths. However, it provided no evidence that these are "stories that change the world" . It read easily, and I did read it through. I just wish there was a little more to it.

[Mawgojzeta · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine, but I guess I am not as interested in many of the Russian folklore as I hoped. So, while I personally can see nothing wrong with the quality, I know I will not re-read.