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A hut turns on chicken legs, a wolf speaks, and kindness may matter more than a prince’s power.
In Russian Folk-Tales, Alexander Afanasyev gathers wonder tales rooted in the stories of peasants, soldiers and village storytellers. Ivan Tsarevich sets out on quests where courage alone is not enough. The Grey Wolf offers help, Baba Yaga may harm or help her visitors, and Koschei the Deathless hides his death far from his body.
The collection includes the tales of Marya Morevna, a commanding warrior queen, and the Frog Princess, whom a young prince must marry. Vasilisa the Beautiful faces a cruel stepmother and a witch, guided by her mother’s small doll. Across these stories, clever girls and lucky fools challenge power, while repeated tasks and encounters bring questions of duty and mercy into focus.
What you’ll discover
- Baba Yaga’s forest hut Meet a witch whose strange home turns to face whoever approaches.
- An elusive enemy Discover Koschei the Deathless, a sorcerer whose hidden death makes him hard to defeat.
- Women with strength Encounter Marya Morevna’s command and Vasilisa’s courage in tales of danger and wit.
- Kindness against power Follow fools and princes whose fortunes turn on kindness, luck and unexpected help.
- The storyteller’s rhythm Enjoy repeated patterns of brothers, tasks and roads that carry these tales forward.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who love fairy tales with a sharp edge, for parents and teachers who want stories to read aloud, and for anyone curious about Russian village storytelling.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Help comes to the overlooked
- Vasilísa carries her mother's help
- Iván ignores his faithful helper
- Curiosity opens a forbidden room
- A soldier shares his little
- Heroes have fear and restraint
- Wit gives the poor strength
- Kindness matters more than display
- Kindness and wit shape this world
Who’s who
- Vasilísa the FairA merchant's daughter who keeps her dead mother's doll and wins her way through Bába Yagá's hut by honest work.
- Iván TsarévichA young prince who sets out after the Bird of Light, Márya Moryévna and other prizes, helped by animals along the way.
- Bába YagáThe witch of the hut on chicken legs who flies in a mortar, eats travelers and sets impossible tasks.
- Koshchéy the DeathlessA fearsome captive who, once given water, carries off Márya Moryévna and chases Iván across the land.
- Ilyá MúrometsA peasant's son who sits at home for thirty years and then rides to Kíev as its strongest knight.
- The Grey WolfThe faithful helper who carries Iván, takes the shapes of a princess and a horse, and serves him again and again.
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Russian Folk-Tales
A girl bows to a cow's foot and gets a feast, while Bába Yagá flies in a mortar and Death sits in a nosebag.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Morning is wiser than evening”
In short
What would you do if you were sent to the heath with a cow and a dry crust of bread? In the first tale of Russian Folk-Tales, a girl named Márya bows before her cow's right foot, and at once she is dressed like a princess with a feast set before her.
Russian Folk-Tales at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 30 min5 h 10 min fast, 7 h 45 min slow
- Length
- 92,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Cruel stepmothers drive the first tales forward
Many tales in this book begin with a child pushed aside by a stepmother. In The Dun Cow, a witch who has become queen sends her stepdaughter Márya out to graze a cow. She gives the girl only a dry crust to eat.
When she bows before the cow's right foot, she is dressed in splendid clothes and given all she can eat and drink. The stepmother sends her daughters to spy, but Márya sings two of them to sleep, and the three-eyed girl keeps her third eye open and tells all. The cow is killed, yet its gift is not gone. Márya plants a small piece, and a bush grows with sweet berries and singing birds that help only her.
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Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 7 h 30 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Afanasyev, Alexander. Russian Folk-Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/russian-folk-tales.
Afanasyev, A. (2026). Russian folk-tales. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/russian-folk-tales
Afanasyev, Alexander. Russian Folk-Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/russian-folk-tales.
@book{afanasyev2026russian,
author = {Afanasyev, Alexander},
title = {Russian Folk-Tales},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/russian-folk-tales}
}
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What is Russian Folk-Tales about?
It is a collection of Russian village tales gathered by Afanasyev. They include magic stories of witches, dragons and talking animals, soldier tales, heroic epics, comic tricks, and legends of Christ and the saints among the poor.
Who is Bába Yagá?
Bába Yagá is a witch who lives in a hut on chicken legs, flies in a mortar and eats travelers. She also sets tasks and sometimes helps those who show courage, honesty and respect.
Is Russian Folk-Tales a true story and when was it collected?
The tales are folklore, not history. Afanasyev, who died in 1871, collected them in the nineteenth century from stories told aloud, though many are far older and have no known author.
The author
Alexander Afanasyev
Russian folklorist
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1826–1871) was a Russian folklorist. He was born in Boguchar, in the Russian Empire, and lived and worked in Moscow. He collected and edited Russian folk tales, publishing his collection between 1855 and 1863. He also wrote about Slavic beliefs and mythology. He died in Moscow.
“Morning is wiser than evening”
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