Russian Folk-Tales

by Alexander Afanasyev, Leonard Arthur Magnus (Translator)

Afanasyev became interested in old Russian and Slav traditions and stories in the 1850s ("folklore" as an area of study did not exist at the time). His early scholarly articles, including – ("Wizard and Witch", published in, 1851); ("Pagan legends of Buyan Island", published in of 1858 No. 9) – drew upon the so-called Mythological school that treated legends and tales as a mine of information for the study of more ancient pagan mythology (see his definitive work on the subject ("The Poetic Outlook on Nature by the Slavs", 1865—1869). In such an interpretation, he regarded the fairy tale Vasilisa the Beautiful as depicting the conflict between the sunlight (Vasilisa), the storm (her stepmother), and dark clouds (her stepsisters). A great archivist, his works provide copious information, evidence, documents, and passages of the old chronicles relating to Old Russian culture, history and tradition, as well as other Indo-European languages, folklore and legends, in particular German traditions (he knew to perfection German as well as all Slav languages and ancient ones). THE DUN COW A TALE OF THE DEAD THE BEAR, THE DOG, AND THE CAT EGÓRI THE BRAVE AND THE GIPSY DANÍLO THE UNFORTUNATE THE SORRY DRUNKARD THE WOLF AND THE TAILOR THE TALE OF THE SILVER SAUCER AND THE CRYSTAL APPLE THE FOUNDLING PRINCE THE SUN AND HOW IT WAS MADE BY DIVINE WILL THE LANGUAGE OF THE BIRDS BÁBA YAGÁ AND ZAMORÝSHEK THE MIRACULOUS HEN MARK THE RICH BY COMMAND OF THE PRINCE DANIEL THE THOUGHTLESS WORD THE TSARÍTSA HARPIST THE TALE OF IVÁN TSARÉVICH, THE BIRD OF LIGHT, AND THE GREY WOLF THE PRIEST WITH THE ENVIOUS EYES THE SOLDIER AND DEATH THE MIDNIGHT DANCE VASILÍSA THE FAIR THE ANIMALS IN THE PIT THE POOR WIDOW ILYÁ MÚROMETS AND SVYATOGÓR THE KNIGHT THE SMITH AND THE DEVIL THE PRINCESS WHO WOULD NOT SMILE THE TSARÉVICH AND DYÁD'KA PRINCE EVSTÁFI VASILÍSA POPÓVNA THE DREAM THE SOLDIER AND THE TSAR IN THE FOREST THE TALE OF ALEXANDER OF MACEDON THE BROTHER OF CHRIST ALYÓSHA POPÓVICH GOD'S BLESSING COMPASSES ALL THINGS SHEMYÁK THE JUDGE A STORY OF SAINT NICHOLAS THE POTTER THE WITCH AND THE SISTER OF THE SUN MÁRYA MORYÉVNA THE REALM OF STONE THE STORY OF TSAR ANGÉY AND HOW HE SUFFERED FOR PRIDE THE FEAST OF THE DEAD THE QUARRELSOME WIFE ELIJAH THE PROPHET AND ST. NICHOLAS THE PRINCESS TO BE KISSED AT A CHARGE THE WOOD SPRITE THE REALMS OF COPPER, SILVER AND GOLD CHUFÍL-FÍLYUSHKA DONOTKNOW THE SEA TSAR AND VASILÍSA THE WISE THE ANIMALS' WINTER QUARTERS THE STORY OF THE BRAVE AND DOUGHTY KNIGHT ILYÁ MÚROMETS AND THE NIGHTINGALE ROBBER NIKÍTA THE TANNER THE SINGING-TREE AND THE SPEAKING-BIRD AT THE BEHEST OF THE PIKE THE JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM VAZÚZA AND VÓLGA THE ENCHANTED TSARÉVICH THE SNAKE PRINCESS BEER AND BREAD SORROW IVÁSHKO AND THE WISE WOMAN NEVER-WASH CHRIST AND THE GEESE CHRIST AND FOLK-SONGS THE DEVIL IN THE DOUGH-PAN THE SUN, THE MOON, AND CROW CROWSON THE LEGLESS KNIGHT AND THE BLIND KNIGHT A CURE FOR STORY-TELLING

311 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 25, 2020

About the author

Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Russian: Александр Николаевич Афанасьев) was a Russian folklorist who recorded and published over 600 Russian folktales and fairytales, by far the largest folktale collection by any one man in the world. His first collection was published in eight volumes from 1855-67, earning him the reputation of a Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm.

Born in 1826 in Boguchar, in Voronezh Governate, he grew up in Bobrov, becoming an early reader thanks to the library of his grandfather, a member of the Russian Bible Society. He was educated at the Voronezh gymnasium and from 1844-48 he studied law at the University of Moscow. Despite being a promising student, he did not become a professor, due largely to attacks upon his work by the conservative Minister of National Enlightenment, Count Sergey Uvarov.

Afanasyev worked for thirteen years at the Moscow's Main Archive Directorate under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire, during which time he also amassed a huge library and published numerous articles and reviews. In 1862 he was fired from his position, because of his association with philosopher Alexander Herzen. Jobless for a number of years thereafter, he sold his library in order to support his family, eventually finding work as a secretary at the Moscow City Duma and at the Moscow Congress of Justices of the Peace.

Afanasyev wrote a large theoretical work (three volumes of 700 pages each) – "The Poetic Outlook of Slavs about Nature" (Поэтические воззрения славян на природу) – which came out between 1865 and 1869. In 1870 his Русские детские сказки (Russian Children's Fairy Tales) were published. He died in poverty in 1871, at the age of forty-five.

(source: Wikipedia)