THE ELEMENTS OF SKAZKI: A Primer in Russian Fairytales The Intro: Abandon your thoughts of “once upon a time.” Russian skazki, or fairytales, get started on a much more practical note: Zhyli byli, or “they lived, they were.”
The Location: These tales often take place in the forest, v les, in the “land of the living dead” (the thrice-nine tsardom). The River of Fire separates the thrice-nice kingdom from the thrice-ten kingdom, the “land of the truly dead.”
The Heroines: There are male heroes—peasants and princes—in Russian skazki, but The Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls looks at the young women, the dyevuskhi, who populate folklore. Many of the gals are clever—like the seven-year-old (who would actually be called a dyevotchka, a little girl) who helps her father solve the tsar’s riddles or the dyevushka who manages to flee the bear, or medved, who’s been keeping her captive.
The Problems: Orphans are sent away by their wicked stepmothers—right into the lairs of witches (see “The Villain” below). Rich men can’t control their greed and try to outwit their poor brothers. A young woman must fight for her true love—even if he’s already married to a powerful tsarina. And countless girls must use magical tokens or sheer ingenuity to escape every variety of imprisonment.
The Villain: One of the biggest bad guys of Russian skazki is not a guy at all, but an old woman named Baba Yaga. She’s a ravenous witch who looks like a frail babushka but who possesses tremendous strength and power. Baba Yaga’s hut, located in the thrice-nine tsardom, sits on chicken legs and is surrounded by a fence of human bones. At night, she flies through the air on a mortar and uses her pestle to steer her. Her weakness? Everytime she’s asked a question, she ages. Often, little orphaned dyevushki are sent to her hut, where Baba Yaga makes them perform difficult and tedious domestic chores. That is, unless she decides to cook them in her big brick oven and eat them for dinner.
The Conclusion: Many Western fairytales, particularly those peddled by a certain cartoon mouse, end with the promise of a “happily ever after.” The Russian skazki make no far-reaching promises. The protagonist may win—she may even marry a tsar and become tsaritsa—but she is not guaranteed a lifetime of happily ever after. —AB FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: VASILISA THE BEAUTIFUL AND BABA YAGA. ILLUSTRATIONS BY IVAN I. BILIBIN IN ALEXANDER AFANASYEV’S RUSSIAN FAIRY TALES, 1900.