Skazka
Encyclopedia
Skazka is the English transcription of Сказка, the Russian word literally meaning story, but used to mean fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

. The term skazka can be used in many different forms to determine the type of tale or story being told. A volshebnaya skazka (plural volshebniyi skazki) is considered a “magical tale.” Skazki o zhivotnykh are “tales about animals”, and bytovye skazki are “tales about everyday life.” These variations of skazki give the term skazka more depth, giving it more meaning than just fairy tales.

Similarly to Western European tradition (especially the German one, established by Brothers Grimm
Brothers Grimm
The Brothers Grimm , Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm , were German academics, linguists, cultural researchers, and authors who collected folklore and published several collections of it as Grimm's Fairy Tales, which became very popular...

) seeking to find the essence of a nation's spirit, Russian folklore started to be scholarly collected and systematically studied in the 19 century. Russian folk fairy tales were catalogued (compiled, grouped, numbered and published) then by Alexander Afanasyev
Alexander Afanasyev
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev 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...

 (see below), and his compendium is still referred to by folklore scholars when citing the number of a skazka plot. An exhaustive analysis of the stories describing the stages of their plots and classification of charactrers based on their functions was developed later, in the first half of the 20 century by Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Propp
Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp was a Russian and Soviet formalist scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their simplest irreducible narrative elements.- Biography :...

.

16th Century

The emergence of skazka started in the 16th century. These stories were believed to be true and did not contain myth. This could be because the stories were set in real time.

18th Century

Two types of books containing skazki were created in the 18th century. The bast-books contained woodcut broadsheets, which were created from the inner bark of the linden tree. These stories were the shortened versions of the stories and were affordable for the peasants of Russia. The Gray issues were books that had printed paper that had a grayish tint to them, hence the name Gray issues. These contained the longer versions of the stories. These could be compared to the chap-books of England and the blue-books of France. Until the end of the 18th century, everyone enjoyed folk tales one way or another. After this turn in the century, mostly lower class people read them.

East vs. West

In Western society, both Europe and America, fairy tales seem to be childish, and they appeal to a younger crowd. These stories had actual fairies in some, and other various characters that were kid oriented. They did not take place in the world we live in, but in a far-away magical land of perfection. In Eastern society, these fairy tales were closely related to the time they were written and portrayed society as the author viewed it. Russian tales were told when no younger ones were around, for they were much more horrifying. These would scare young the children that the Western tales were made for. Some titles include Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...

 and The Dead Princess and the Seven Knights.

What is often also true is that Western writings focus on the characters and telling of the story at hand, while having no meaningful message or underlying theme. The Eastern side focuses on the issues of the time and then futuristic aspects, in a “how can this be better” mentality.

Dream for a Better World

Fundamental Utopian Idealism is the backbone of Russian fairy and folk tales. The dream for a better world has been the underlying theme for all of skazka. Russian skazka is based on the “here and now”, rather than the Western idea of “Once upon a time…” Skazka seemed to be an outlet for many Russians to put their utopian ideas down on paper. The social values of the time were reflected within the story. Whether the ideals were right or wrong were reflected later in the end of the story or through the characters actions. The desired idea was often given as something the character did to make life better. Russian tales had certain “realness” to them. The stories don’t end in “happily ever after” as many Western stories end, but they ended in a more matter of fact sort of way. For example, this ending to the tale Morozko, or Old Man Winter, does not end joyously or magically. “Later, the old man's daughter married a neighbor, had children, and lived happily. Her father would visit his grandchildren every now and then, and remind them always to respect Old Man Winter.” This ending gives the ending in a way that leaves the reading saying “okay”, rather than “wow.”

Women

Many people believe that women play no role in folk tales and fairy tales, or that Westerners used the female characters in their writing more than Eastern writers. The prominent gender in most folk tales is men, because the bard
Bard
In medieval Gaelic and British culture a bard was a professional poet, employed by a patron, such as a monarch or nobleman, to commemorate the patron's ancestors and to praise the patron's own activities.Originally a specific class of poet, contrasting with another class known as fili in Ireland...

 or minstrel
Minstrel
A minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...

 was a male occupation up until the 19th century, and that is how most stories were passed. Women also handed down stories orally to their children and grandchildren. Women however, were also seen in some fairy tales as witches. Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...

 is the most famous of Russian fairy tale witches.

Pushkin

Alexander Pushkin was one of the most notable writers of skazka.
When he grew up, he started to write poems, based on these tales and stories. From his pen many masterpieces of world fairy tales were born. The most famous are:
  • 1830 - Сказка о попе и о работнике его Балде; English translation: The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda
    The Tale of the Priest and of his Workman Balda
    The Tale of the Priest and of his Workman Balda is a fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin wrote the tale on September 13, 1830 while staying at Boldino. It is based on a Russian folk tale which Pushkin collected in Mikhailovskoe early on...

  • 1830 - Сказка о медведихе; English translation: The Tale of the She-Bear (unfinished)
  • 1831 - Сказка о царе Салтане; English translation: The Tale of Tsar Saltan
    The Tale of Tsar Saltan
    The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan is an 1831 poem by Aleksandr Pushkin, written after the Russian fairy tale edited by Vladimir Dahl...

  • 1833 - Сказка о рыбаке и рыбке; English translation: The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish
    The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish
    right|thumb|The fairy tale commemorated on a Soviet Union stampThe Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish is a fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin wrote the tale in autumn 1833 and it was first published in the literary magazine Biblioteka dlya chteniya in May 1835...

  • 1833 - Сказка о мертвой царевне; English translation: The Tale of the Dead Princess
  • 1834 - Сказка о золотом петушке; English translation: The Tale of the Golden Cockerel
    The Tale of the Golden Cockerel
    The Tale of the Golden Cockerel is the last fairy tale in verse by Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin wrote the tale in 1834 and it was first published in literary magazine Biblioteka dlya chteniya in 1835...



Many others were penned anonymously.

Folk tales

Narodnye russkie skazki
Narodnye russkie skazki
Russian Fairy Tales , is a collection of Russian fairy tales, collected by Alexander Afanasyev and published by him between 1855 and 1863. His work was explicitly modeled after the Brothers Grimm's work, Grimm's Fairy Tales....

, a collection of folk tales compiled by Alexander Afanasyev
Alexander Afanasyev
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev 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...

 contains many examples of skazka, including:
  • The Death of Koschei the Immortal
    The Death of Koschei the Deathless
    The Death of the Immortal Koschei or Marya Morevna is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki and included by Andrew Lang in The Red Fairy Book...

  • Vasilissa the Beautiful
    Vasilissa the Beautiful
    Vasilisa the Beautiful , commonly known as Vasilisa's Doll, is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki....

  • Vasilisa The Priest’s Daughter
    Vasilisa The Priest’s Daughter
    Vasilisa The Priest's Daughter is a Russian fairy tale collected by Aleksandr Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.-Synopsis:...

  • Father Frost
    Father Frost (fairy tale)
    Father Frost is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki. Andrew Lang included it, as "The Story of King Frost", in The Yellow Fairy Book.It is Aarne-Thompson type 480, The Kind and the Unkind Girls...

  • Sister Alenushka, Brother Ivanushka
    Brother and Sister
    Brother and Sister is a well-known European fairy tale which was, among others, written down by the Brothers Grimm in their collection of Children's and Household Tales ...

  • The Frog Princess
    The Frog Princess
    The Frog Princess is a fairy tale that exists in many versions from several countries.Russian variants include the Frog Princess or Tsarevna Frog and also Vasilisa the Wise ; Alexander Afanasyev collected variants in his Narodnye russkie skazki...

  • Vasilii the Unlucky
  • The White Duck
    The White Duck
    The White Duck is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki. Andrew Lang included it in The Yellow Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...

  • The Princess Who Never Smiled
    The Princess Who Never Smiled
    The Princess Who Never Smiled or The Unsmiling Tsarevna is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.-Synopsis:...

  • The Wicked Sisters
    The Wicked Sisters
    The Wicked Sisters is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.Ruth Manning-Sanders included it, as "The Queen's Children", in A Book of Kings and Queens.-Synopsis:...

  • The Secret Ball
  • The Magic Swan Geese
    The Magic Swan Geese
    The Magic Swan Geese or is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 451...

  • The Feather of Finist the Falcon
    The Feather of Finist the Falcon
    The Feather of Finist the Falcon or Finist the Falcon is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne–Thompson type 432, the prince as bird...

  • Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf
    Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf
    Tsarevitch Ivan, the Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird...

  • The Sea King and Vasilisa the Wise
  • The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life
    The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life
    The Bold Knight, the Apples of Youth, and the Water of Life is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.-Synopsis:...

  • Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What
    Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What
    Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.-Synopsis:...

  • The Golden Slipper
    The Golden Slipper
    The Golden Slipper is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 510A, the persecuted heroine.-Synopsis:...

  • The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa
    The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa
    The Firebird and Princess Vasilisa is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 531. Other tales of this type include Ferdinand the Faithful and Ferdinand the Unfaithful, Corvetto, King Fortunatus's Golden Wig, and The Mermaid and...

  • The Wise Little Girl
    The Wise Little Girl
    The Wise Little Girl is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.This type of tale is the most common European tales to deal with witty exchanges.-Synopsis:...

  • The Armless Maiden
    The Armless Maiden
    The Armless Maiden is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.It is Aarne-Thompson type 706, the girl without hands...

  • The Giant Turnip
    The Giant Turnip
    "The Giant Turnip" or "The Enormous Turnip" is a children's fairy tale of Russian or Slavic origin. It was first published in 1863 in the collection Russian Folk Tales, edited and published by Aleksandr Afanas'ev....


Matryoshka dolls

The paintings on many matryoshka doll
Matryoshka doll
A matryoshka doll is a Russian nesting doll which is a set of wooden dolls of decreasing size placed one inside the other. The first Russian nested doll set was carved in 1890 by Vasily Zvyozdochkin from a design by Sergey Malyutin, who was a folk crafts painter at Abramtsevo...

s are inspired by scenes or characters from skazkas.

See also

  • Ivan Bilibin
    Ivan Bilibin
    Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin was a 20th-century illustrator and stage designer who took part in the Mir iskusstva and contributed to the Ballets Russes. Throughout his career, he was inspired by Slavic folklore....

  • Alexander Pushkin
  • Nikolay Medtner
  • Narodnye russkie skazki
    Narodnye russkie skazki
    Russian Fairy Tales , is a collection of Russian fairy tales, collected by Alexander Afanasyev and published by him between 1855 and 1863. His work was explicitly modeled after the Brothers Grimm's work, Grimm's Fairy Tales....


External links

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