So you want to read… Russian Fairy Tales
You should, Russian fairy tales are great!
Most collections of Russian fairy tales will come from the work of Alexander Afanasyev, a 19th century Russian ethnographer who collected almost 600 folk and fairy tales from across Russia. Tragically the full collection is rarely available in single editions in English, although all of his tales have been translated individually in smaller collections.
Rather confusingly, the other main collector of Russian fairy tales was also named Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin’s fairy tales were written later, and it was his work which popularised Russian folk stories both in Russia and the rest of the world. Most texts are shared between the two authors.
This means there can be a lot of variance across online versions, so it’s a good idea to start your reading with one site that has a lot of texts rather than trying to mix and match. Great Russian Gifts has a surprisingly in-depth and well-written collection.
Translations, Editions, and other Originals
These collections are largely a matter of personal preference in translation– I favour the Wheeler translations, and have a long weakness for Arthur Ransome’s children’s version, but if you want to be picking up as few books as possible to get a wide read, this Guterman edition is an excellent choice.
An excellent study of Pushkin is available from A. D. P. Briggs. I would also recommend Oinas and Soudakoff’s The Study of Russian Folklore and Propp’s The Russian Folktale. For a more in-depth discussion of Russian folk literature, try Pierre Maranda’s Soviet Structural Follkloristics. Hilda Roderick Ellis Davidson’s A Companion to the Fairy Tale is a more general look at the topic, but has excellent studies of Russian tradition.
The New York Times has published a write-up of Russian Fairy tales, whilst Artrusse provides an excellent look at Russian folk art and culture in several languages including Russian and English.
If you do want to try to look into the Russian language, you could make a good start with these free PDFs, or purchase the books in question here, here and here. This Youtuber also comes highly recommended.
Mercedes Lackey’s Firebird adapts a number of Prince Ivan and the Firebird stories. Other modern novels include Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter, Entwined by Heather Dixon, The Shining Falcon by Josepha Sherman, and Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente.
There are some stunning Soviet-era film adaptations, including Vasilisa the Beautiful (1940), The Frog Princess (1954), Vasilisa the Beautiful (1977), The Magic Swan Geese (1949), Finest the Brave Falcon (1975), and Go There, Don’t Know Where (1966).
prguitarman
2087
vaporwave
stormborns
kianamaiart
yousharknotpass
