The thinking, fantasy and worldview of many generations are formed on the basis of fairy tales. Fairy tales not only entertained us in childhood, but the actions of the heroes of Russian fairy tales taught us to distinguish between good and evil, to be brave and to act justly.

At the same time, the fairy tales reflect the beliefs, views and ideas of the people of different times. In the course of its development, the tale has significantly changed, and its functions have also changed. If initially it was used with a magical incantatory purpose (to summon good luck on a hunt, to protect yourself from enemies or to ensure victory in battle), then over time, having lost its ritual meaning, the fairy tale acquired an aesthetic, educational or entertaining character.

Fairy tale characters have also remained conventional. They are types, not individuals, which means that they are described in general terms, often idealized, exalted, exaggerated. The main images here are always antagonistic: one personifies good, beautiful; the other is evil forces. Hence - their characteristics - actions, deeds, intentions, language. According to their functions, the heroes of Russian fairy tales are conventionally divided into good-lovers, evil-doers and the disadvantaged.

The largest group of fabulous folk epos is made up of magical, fantastic tales. An explanation of many motives and features of fairytale heroes can be found only in comparison with ancient rituals, elements of the socio-religious way of life of the Proto-Slavs and ancient Eurasians. Let's try to analyze some of the most famous characters in Russian fairy tales.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga is a character of Slavic mythology and folklore. Usually an ugly old woman, endowed with magical powers and magical items. Often a witch, a sorceress. Most often - a negative character (lures children and good fellows into his hut on chicken legs to eat), but sometimes acts as an assistant to the hero. According to the expert in the field of folklore Vladimir Propp, three types of Baba Yaga can be distinguished in fairy tales: the giver (gives the main character a fairy horse), the kidnapper of the children and the warrior (fights the main character “not for life, but for death”).

In modern ideas, Baba Yaga is the mistress of the forest and the guardian of the borders of the “other world” (the far-off kingdom). Therefore, she has a bone leg - to stand in the world of the dead. In many fairy tales, Baba Yaga drowns a bathhouse and vaporizes the hero, performing a ritual ablution. Then he feeds him, that is, he performs a kind of funeral feast with him. And you female image Baby Yagi is associated, according to researchers, with matriarchal ideas about the structure of the social world.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Water

In Slavic mythology - the spirit that lives in the water, the master of the waters, the embodiment of the element of water as a negative and dangerous principle. Appears before us in the form of a flabby old man, goggle-eyed, with a fish tail. He has a huge beard and mustache, sometimes - fish features, paws with membranes and a horn on his head. Lives in whirlpools, whirlpools, but especially loves water mills. Therefore, the millers coaxed them in every possible way, and also buried them under a log where there would be a door to the mill, a live black rooster or other security attributes. Often the Water One is associated with the sea king.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Firebird

The fairy bird is usually the target of the search for the hero of the fairy tale. The feathers of the Firebird glow and amaze with their beauty. Lives in the Garden of Eden, in a golden cage. He feeds on golden apples, heals the sick with his singing and restores sight to the blind. At a deep mythological level, it is the personification of fire, light and sun. Therefore, every year in the fall, the Firebird dies, and is reborn in the spring. On the intercultural level, it has an analogue - the Phoenix bird, which is reborn from the ashes.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Dragon

A fire-breathing dragon with several heads, the personification of evil in fairy tales and epics. Usually he lives in the mountains, near the fiery river and guards the "Kalinov Bridge", through which one gets to the kingdom of the dead. The number of heads of the Serpent-Gorynych is usually three (3, 6, 9 or 12). In fairy tales, the fire element is usually associated with the snake. The Serpent-Gorynych kidnaps girls (often princesses) to feast on. Thereafter main characters comes to him for a duel, before killing his cubs-vipers.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Ivan the Fool

A very popular image in mythology, which, when solving problems, is guided by its own, non-standard solutions, often contrary to common sense, but bringing success. The designation "fool" is interpreted in different ways. Some of the researchers consider this to be a talisman against the evil eye. According to another version, Ivan is called a fool, since usually in fairy tales he is the third son who is not entitled to a share of the parental inheritance (hence the ability to think outside the box, find a way out of difficult situations). Etymologically, the image of Ivan the Fool is associated with the image of a priest, because he knows how to sing and play different instruments, and also speaks in riddles. In the finale of fairy tales, Ivan the Fool receives wealth and a princess as his wife.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Cat Baiyun

A huge man-eating cat with a magical voice. On the one hand, he speaks and lulls travelers to sleep with his tales, on the other, his tales can heal. The word "bayun" itself means "talker, raskazchik". In fairy tales, Bayun the Cat sits on a high pillar far away in the thirty kingdom or in a lifeless forest where there are no animals. In one of the tales, he lives with Baba Yaga.

Catching Bayun the Cat is usually a test for the protagonist, who catches him in an iron cap and iron gloves. But the caught Cat Bayun then serves at the royal court, heals the sick with his stories.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Gingerbread man

A fairy-tale character in the form of a spherical wheat bread, which escapes from grandparents, from various animals, but is eaten by a fox in the end. This character clearly personifies the reverent attitude of the Slavic people to bread, and its sacred meaning. Namely, the round shape of the Kolobok, which also rolls, which refers us to the cult of the sun.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Koschey (Kaschey) Immortal

An evil sorcerer, whose death is hidden in several magical animals and objects nested inside each other. “There is an island on the sea, on the ocean, on that island there is an oak, under the oak there is a chest, a hare in a chest, a duck in a hare, an egg in a duck, and Koshchei’s death in an egg.” Often kidnaps the bride of the protagonist. In appearance - a thin (Koschey - from the word "bone") a tall old man or a living skeleton. Sometimes on a talking and flying horse. A powerful sorcerer, which also makes it possible to name the priests as his prototypes.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Goblin

The master spirit of the forest in the mythology of the Slavs. His appearance is different, even the opposite of breeds in different fairy tales - he is small in stature, then a giant, then an anthropomorphic creature, then he has an animal appearance. In any case, his nature is otherworldly. The attitude of people towards him is also ambivalent. On the one hand, they are afraid of him, he can make a person go astray, sometimes he is mischievous, he can punish for improper behavior in his domain. At the same time, it is Leshy who protects the forest, on which a person's life largely depends.

Heroes of Russian fairy tales. Miracle Yudo

Character folk tales and epics, and even proto-Slavic mythology. The positive or negative character of the character is not clearly indicated, as well as his gender - in different eras he was both feminine, masculine, and average. Miracle Yudo is a character so ancient that researchers find it difficult to link him to any phenomenon.

It can be a sea animal, a mythical serpent, a dragon. And in the author's fairy tale "The Little Humpbacked Horse" by Pyotr Ershov (1834), there is the Miracle Yudo Fish-whale - fish-island.

The most popular Russian fairytale hero is Ivanushka the Fool, however, this image does not always personify exclusively positive features... In the fairy tale "Ivan peasant son and Miracle Yudo ”, the image of the Russian Ivan is presented in the most beautiful and unambiguous manner. A hard-working hero fights with a sword and bare hands, cunning and ingenuity with the monsters that have flooded the Russian land. He is kind and handsome, bold and courageous, strong and smart, undoubtedly, this is the most positive image of the Russian fairy tale.

Another Ivan in "The Tale of Vasilisa the Golden Scythe" also saves all the people and his own people from the terrible snake that captured the beauties and his own sister. Ivan Gorokh is a strong and formidable hero, ready to deal with any evil, defend his native land and defend his sister's honor. But in the fairy tale "Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf" more positive character the wolf acts, Ivan Tsarevich was only lucky to meet such a faithful and devoted friend. The same tendency can be observed in the fairy tales "The Little Humpbacked Horse", "By the Pike's Command" and many others.

Russian people for the most part believed that "the humpbacked grave would fix it," therefore, the transformation of the hero from a negative character into a positive one is not typical for Russian fairy tales.

The most positive female characters in Russian fairy tales are Vasilisa the Beautiful and the Wise. The Russian beauty is primarily distinguished by intelligence and kindness, she helps her chosen one to defeat evil with cunning and ingenuity, to get a magic object or directs him to the wise. Oddly enough, but in some fairy tales, even Baba Yaga may be positive, which supplies the traveler with parting words, ancient knowledge and provides material assistance in the form of magical objects: a scarf, a comb, a ball of thread or a mirror.

Positive heroes of foreign fairy tales

The heroes of European fairy tales are fundamentally different from the Russian ones, they are physically weak, intelligence and cunning are not sung in them as in folklore. In the first place are such qualities as kindness, humility, and hard work. Snow White and Cinderella are downtrodden beauties, born for love and luxury, but, by the will of evil people, they are obliged to play the role of maids. They do not make any effort to change their fate, they are submissive to it and are freed from the shackles only by chance. Moreover, the main idea of ​​such tales is the idea that only virtue and diligence are necessary for the triumph of justice, and God or good fairies will generously reward the heroine for all hardships.

Pinocchio is an Italian writer’s tale about the transformation of a stupid, naughty and, at times, cruel wooden doll into a kind and caring boy. Pinocchio or Pinocchio are some of the most positive children's characters.

Warrior heroes in foreign fairy tales are represented quite rarely, one of the few such characters is Cipollino, although this is to a greater extent the image of a revolutionary fighting dictators against the bourgeoisie and slavery. Another one stands apart positive hero- the medieval revolutionary Robin Hood. The collective image of the noble robber-warrior is romanticized and spiritualized. He fights against evil in the face of cruel feudal lords, against lawlessness and injustice.

Eastern fairy tales in their ideas are closer to Russian ones, for example, Aladdin is an analogue of Ivan the Fool or Emelya. Eastern characters, like Russians, are often helped by cunning, dexterity and resourcefulness, the most popular hero is the "Baghdad thief", a criminal who managed to fool more than a dozen moneybags and was never caught. In almost every Arabian tale, there is also a guiding hand - as in the Russian tradition, this is a woman. The clever and cunning wife of Ali Baba, Sakine, Scheherazade, like the Vasilises in Russian fairy tales, personify such ingenuity and ingenuity that is inherent only in women.

They create the mythical reality of folklore: these heroes are an important part of the life of our ancestors. The description of the magical power, which each of the heroes possessed and in which they believed in antiquity, has come down to our time practically unchanged, although now it is not entirely clear to us. Children's fairy-tale characters are familiar to us from an early age, but gradually their images fade from memory. Let's remember some of them.

Male fairy tale characters

Ivan Tsarevich, he is Ivan the Fool, he is Ivan - the peasant's son. The main qualities of this character are nobility and kindness. In any of the fairy tales, Ivan helps and rescues, which ultimately leads to a successful resolution of the situation, and himself - to happiness. teaches the reader to listen to his heart, to his intuition, to maintain honor in any situation and not to lose his presence of mind. Ivan is often accompanied by a faithful horse or Gray wolf... The horse is a symbol of devotion and loyalty, but the Wolf is a symbol of cunning: they help Ivan in all his endeavors. The antipode of Ivan is often Koschey the Immortal - a negative character in Russian folk tales, an evil sorcerer. His death is hidden in several nested objects and animals. In fairy tales, Koschey kidnaps the heroine and hides her at the end of the world in his castle, and Ivan usually saves her. Less often, Koschey acts as a symbol of wisdom and a keeper of knowledge.

Female fairy characters

Vasilisa the Beautiful, she is Vasilisa the Wise. The main qualities of the character are wisdom, beauty, loyalty. She is not just a heroine, she is a faithful assistant to Ivan, who must free her from imprisonment with Koshchei, or a stern father, or Serpent Gorynych, or any other villain. Vasilisa does not wait helplessly for being rescued, but helps the hero in every possible way, gives him advice, turns to her friends among people and animals. Vasilisa is a symbol of wisdom and virtue; her reader learns to be sympathetic and patient. Another female character found in Russian fairy tales is Baba Yaga, she is also Yaga Yaginishna. This is perhaps the most ancient character and the most versatile. Yaga usually lives in and is famous for her bad character - it is better to bypass her hut on chicken legs. She bewitches and conjures, but nevertheless often helps, rather than hurts, the heroes. Baba Yaga sometimes acts as a symbol of wisdom and the keeper of ancient knowledge.

Animals - fairy tale characters

The serpent Gorynych is a symbol of the evil principle, representing a dragon with three, six, nine or twelve heads. Often the Serpent kidnaps the heroine and keeps her in captivity, from where Ivan must free her. Gorynych also often acts as a gate guard in underworld or Koshchei's house. Bayun Cat is an insidious character who lulls with his voice. He knows many songs and legends, but often acts on the side of evil. Often it is a pet of Yaga or Koshchei. Of the most neutral heroes of the animal world of Russian fairy tales, one can name the Firebird. She has great healing power. She often becomes the object of desire of kings, kings and Koshchei himself, so the hero often goes in search of her. Catching the Firebird is not so easy, because it blinds with its light and burns.

The characters of Russian fairy tales are diverse, and the fairy tales themselves are fraught with great wisdom ...

Boyan is an epic poet and singer in East Slavic mythology.

Brownie

They say that the brownie still lives in every village hut, but not everyone knows about it. They call him grandfather, master, neighbor, home-lived, demon-monstrous man, but all this he is - the keeper of the hearth, the invisible helper of the owners.
The brownie sees every little thing, tirelessly cares and worries so that everything is in order and ready: he will help the worker, correct his mistake; he is pleased with the offspring of domestic animals and birds; he does not tolerate unnecessary expenses and is angry with them - in a word, the brownie is inclined to work, thrifty and prudent. If he likes housing, then he serves this family, as if he went into bondage to her.
For this loyalty, in other places he is called so: he lived home.
On the other hand, he willingly helps the lazy and careless to run the farm, tortures people to the point that he crushes almost to death at night or throws them out of bed. However, making peace with an angry brownie is not difficult: you just have to put snuff under the stove, to which he is a great hunter, or make any present: a multi-colored rag, a piece of bread ... If the owners of their neighbor love, if they live in harmony with him, then do not at all want to part with him, even moving to new house: they will scrape under the threshold, collect garbage in a scoop - and sprinkle it in a new hut, without noticing how the “owner” is moving with this garbage to a new place of residence. Just remember to bring him a pot of porridge for housewarming and say with all possible respect: “Grandpa brownie, go home. Come live with us! "

A rare person can boast that he has seen a brownie. To do this, you need to put on a horse collar on yourself on Easter night, cover yourself with a harrow, teeth on yourself, and sit between the horses the whole night. If you're lucky, you will see an old man - small, like stumps, all covered with gray hair (even his palms are hairy), gray with antiquity and dust. Sometimes, in order to divert a curious gaze from himself, he will take on the appearance of the owner of the house - well, like a spitting image! In general, the brownie loves to wear the master's clothes, but always manages to put them in place as soon as a person needs things.

Before the plague, fire and war, brownies leave the village and howl in the pastures. If there is a big unexpected disaster, grandfather notifies of its approach, ordering the dogs to dig holes in the yard and howl throughout the village ...

Kikimora

Kikimora, shishimora - in East Slavic mythology, an evil spirit at home, a small woman - invisible (sometimes considered the wife of a brownie). At night he worries small children, confuses yarn (she herself loves to spin or weave lace - the sounds of K.'s spinning in the house portend trouble): the owners may survive from the house; hostile to men. May harm pets, particularly chickens. The main attributes (connection with yarn, damp places, darkness) Kikimora is similar to Mokusha, an evil spirit that continues the image of the Slavic goddess Mokosha. The name "Kikimora" is a complicated word. the second part of which is the ancient name female character mars, moras.

Kikimora is a character best known mainly in the Russian North. Appears in the form of a small hunched ugly old woman, dressed in rags, sloppy and eccentric. Its appearance in a house or in outbuildings (in a threshing floor, in a barn or a bathhouse) was considered an unkind omen. It was believed that she settled in houses. built on an “unclean” place (on the border or where the suicide was buried). There is a story that Kikimora started up in the newly built house, which none of the tenants saw, but a voice was constantly heard demanding that the household members who had sat down to dinner should be removed from the table: she threw pillows at the naughty ones and frightened them at night until then. until the whole family survived from home (Vyatka province).

Bannik

Bannik, bajnik, baennik, baenushko, etc., Belarusian. laznik - Russians and Belarusians have a spirit - an inhabitant of a bath. Lives behind a heater or under a shelf. Sometimes it is invisible (according to some beliefs, it has an invisible hat) or is shown as a man with long hair, a naked old man covered with mud and leaves from brooms, a dog, a cat, a white hare, etc. There is a belief that BANNIK first appears in a bathhouse after the woman in labor has been there. It is believed that BANNIK washes in a bath and he should leave water, soap and a broom, otherwise he will sprinkle boiling water, throw hot stones, let out a frenzy. Entering the bathhouse, it was customary to say: "Baptized on the shelf, unbaptized from the shelf" (Smolensk province).

Anchutka

Anchutka is one of the most ancient names for devil, demon. Anchutkas are bath and field. Like any evil spirits, they instantly respond to the mention of their name. Better to keep quiet about them, otherwise this deafened, bespalous will be right there. The unpicked is anchutka because one day the wolf chased after him and bit off his heel.

Bath anchuts are shaggy, bald, scare people with groans, darken their minds. But they are very good at changing their appearance - as, indeed, the rest of the undead. Field sprouts are very tiny and more peaceful. They live in every plant and are called according to their habitat: potatoes, hemp, hemp, fescue, wheaten, hornbills, etc.

However, they say that the water also has its own anchutka - the assistant to the water or bog. He is unusually ferocious and disgusting. If a swimmer suddenly has a spasm, he should know that it was a water anchut who grabbed him by the leg and wants to drag him to the bottom. That is why, since ancient times, every swimmer has been advised to have a pin with him: after all devilry scared to death of iron.

Goblin

Leshy, lesovik, leshak, forest, lesun, forester - the spirit of the forest in Slavic mythology. The goblin dwells in every forest, he especially loves spruce trees. Dressed like a man - a red sash, the left side of the caftan is usually wrapped around the right, and not vice versa, as everyone wears. The shoes are mixed up: the right bast is put on the left foot, the left one is on the right. The devil's eyes are green and burn like coals.
No matter how carefully he conceals his unclean origin, he fails to do this: if you look at him through the horse's right ear, the goblin casts a bluish color, because his blood is blue. His eyebrows and eyelashes are not visible, he is corn-eared (no right ear), the hair on his head is combed to the left.

The goblin can become a stump and a hummock, turn into an animal and a bird, he turns into a bear and a black grouse, a hare, or anyone, even a plant, because he is not only the spirit of the forest, but also his essence: he is overgrown with moss, sniffs like the forest is making noise, it is not only shown with spruce, but also spreads like moss-grass. Goblin differs from other spirits in special properties inherent in him alone: ​​if he walks through the forest, then his growth is equal to the tallest trees. But at the same time, going out for walks, fun and jokes on the forest edges, he walks there with a small blade of grass, below the grass, freely hiding under any berry leaf. But, in fact, he rarely goes out into the meadows, strictly observing the rights of a neighbor, called a field worker, or field. The goblin does not go to villages, so as not to quarrel with brownies and bpenniks - especially in those villages where very black roosters sing, "two-eyed" dogs (with spots above the eyes in the form of second eyes) and three-haired cats live near the huts.

But in the forest, the goblin is a full and unlimited owner: all animals and birds are in his jurisdiction and obey him unrequitedly. Hares are especially subordinate to him. They are in full serfdom, according to at least, he even has the power to play them at cards to a neighboring devil. Squirrel herds are not exempt from the same dependence, and if, moving in countless hordes and forgetting all fear of man, they run into big cities, and jump on roofs, break off into chimneys and even jump through windows, then the matter is clear: it means , the goblin were led by a whole artel gambling and the defeated side drove the loss into the possession of the lucky rival.

Kikimora marsh

Kikimora - Evil, swamp spirit in Slavic mythology. Close girlfriend goblin - marsh kikimora. Lives in a swamp. Likes to dress up in moss furs and weaves forest and marsh plants into her hair. But he rarely shows himself to people, for he prefers to be invisible and only shouts from the swamp in a loud voice. A small woman roars small children, drags gape travelers into a quagmire, where she can torture them to death.

Mermaid

In Slavic mythology, mermaids are a kind of mischievous evil spirits. They were drowned women, girls who died near a reservoir, or people bathing at an inopportune time. Mermaids were sometimes identified with "Mavki" - from the Old Slavonic "nav", dead) - children who died without baptism or strangled by their mothers.

The eyes of such mermaids burn with green fire. By their nature, they are nasty and evil creatures, they grab the swimmers by the legs, pull them under the water, or lure them from the shore, wrap their arms around them and drown them. It was believed that the laughter of a mermaid can cause death (this makes them look like Irish banshees).

Some beliefs called mermaids the lowest spirits of nature (for example, kind “caretakers”), having nothing to do with drowned people and willingly saving drowning people.

Marshes

Swamp (swamp, shovel) is a drowned maiden living in a swamp. Her black hair is spread over her naked shoulders and is tucked away with sedge and forget-me-nots. Disheveled and unclean, pale-faced with green eyes, always naked and ready to lure people to her only in order to tickle them to death without any special guilt and drown them in a quagmire. Swamps can send devastating storms, torrential rains, destructive hail to the fields; to steal threads, canvases and canvases from women who have fallen asleep without prayer.

Brodnitsa

Maidens - Beauties with long hair, guardians of the fords. They live with beavers in quiet backwaters, fix and guard fords, paved with brushwood. Before the enemy's offensive, the roaming women imperceptibly destroy the ford, directing the enemy into a swamp or whirlpool.

Famously one-eyed

The spirit of evil, failure, a symbol of grief. There is no certainty about Likh's appearance - this is either a one-eyed giant, or a tall, thin woman with one eye in the middle of her forehead. Famously often compared to cyclops, although apart from one eye and tall stature, they have nothing in common.

A saying has come down to our time: "Do not wake Dashing while it is quiet." In the literal and allegorical sense, Likho meant trouble - it became attached to a person, sat on his neck (in some legends, the unfortunate man tried to drown Likho, throwing himself into the water, and drowning himself) and prevented him from living.

However, it was possible to get rid of Leech - to deceive, drive away by willpower, or, as it is occasionally mentioned, to transfer it to another person along with some gift. According to very dark prejudices, Dashing could come and devour you.

Ghoul

Ghouls are lower spirits, demonological creatures. The "Word about Idols" speaks of the ancient worship of ghouls by the Slavs. In popular belief, these are evil, harmful spirits. Ghouls (like vampires) suck blood from humans and animals. They were identified with the dead, emerging from the graves at night, watching over and killing people and livestock. author of the encyclopedia Alexandrova Anastasia
According to popular beliefs, ghouls were people who died "an unnatural death" - forcibly murdered, drunken drunkards, suicides, etc., as well as sorcerers. It was believed that the earth does not accept such dead and therefore they are forced to wander around the world and harm the living. Such deceased were buried outside the cemetery and away from their homes. Such a grave was considered a dangerous and unclean place, it should be bypassed, and if you had to pass by, you should have thrown an object at it: a chip, a stick, a stone, or just a handful of earth. In order for the ghoul not to come out of the grave, he had to be "pacified" - to dig up the corpse from the grave and pierce it with an aspen stake.
And so that the deceased, who did not live out "his age", did not turn into a ghoul, his knee tendons were cut off so that he could not walk. Sometimes coals were sprinkled on the grave of the alleged ghoul or a pot of burning coals was placed.
Semik was considered a special day of obedience of the dead among the Eastern Slavs. On this day, all untimely deceased relatives were also commemorated: unbaptized children, girls who died before marriage. In addition, in Semik, special measures were taken against the buried dead, who, according to legend, could harm a person. Aspen stakes or sharp metal objects were driven into their graves.
In Semik, burials were arranged for those who, for one reason or another, remained unburied. A common grave was dug for them and buried with a prayer service and a funeral service. It was believed that otherwise pledged dead people could take revenge on the living, sending them various disasters: drought, storm, thunderstorm or crop failure.

Baba - Yaga

Baba-Yaga (Yaga-Yaginishna, Yagibikha, Yagishna) - oldest character Slavic mythology.

Baba Yaga is a more dangerous creature, possessing much more power than some kind of witch. Most often, she lives in a dense forest, which has long instilled fear in people, since it was perceived as a border between the world of the dead and the living. It is not for nothing that her hut is surrounded by a palisade of human bones and skulls, and in many fairy tales Baba Yaga feeds on human flesh, and she herself is called a “leg of bone”.
Just like Koschey the Immortal (bone - bone), she belongs to two worlds at once: the world of the living and the world of the dead... Hence its almost limitless possibilities.
V fairy tales it operates in three incarnations. The yaga-bogatyrsha possesses a sword-kladenets and fights on equal terms with the heroes. The kidnapper yaga steals children, sometimes throwing them, already dead, on the roof home, but most often taking them to their hut on chicken legs, or into an open field, or underground. From this outlandish hut, children, and adults as well, escape by outwitting Yagibishnu. And, finally, the Yaga-donor warmly greets the hero or heroine, treats deliciously, soars in the bathhouse, gives useful advice, presents a horse or rich gifts, for example, a magic ball leading to a wonderful goal, etc.
This old sorceress does not walk, but drives around the world in an iron mortar (that is, a scooter chariot), and when she walks, she forces the mortar to run faster, hitting it with an iron club or pestle. And so that, for reasons known to her, no traces could be seen, they swept after her special, attached to the mortar with a broom and a broom. Frogs, black cats serve her, including the Cat Bayun, crows and snakes: all creatures in which both threat and wisdom coexist

Koschey the Immortal (Kaschey)

One of the well-known Old Slavonic negative characters, usually represented as a thin, skeletal old man with a repulsive appearance. Aggressive, vindictive, greedy and stingy. It is difficult to say whether he was a personification of the external enemies of the Slavs, an evil spirit, a powerful wizard or a unique kind of undead.

It is indisputable that Koschey possessed very strong magic, avoided people and was often engaged in a favorite affair for all the villains in the world - he abducted girls.

Dragon

Serpent Gorynych - in Russian epics and fairy tales, a representative of the evil principle, a dragon with 3, 6, 9 or 12 heads. Connected with fire and water, flies across the sky, but at the same time correlates with the bottom - with a river, a hole, a cave, where he has hidden wealth, a kidnapped princess

Indrik is a beast

Indrik the beast - in Russian legends “the father of all animals”, the character of the Pigeon Book. Indrik is a distorted name of the god Indra (the variants “inorog”, “inrok” may cause an association with a unicorn, but at the same time INDRIK is described with two rather than one horn). The properties of other fantastic images of the medieval book tradition were attributed to INDRIK - the king of waters, opponents of the snake and the crocodile - “onudra” (otter) and ichneumon, the fabulous fish “endrop”.

According to Russian folklore, Indrik is an underground beast, “walks through the underground, like the sun in the skies”; he is endowed with the features of the master of the water element, sources and wells. I. acts as the enemy of the serpent.

Alkonost

Alkonost is a wonderful bird, an inhabitant of Iria - a Slavic paradise.

Her face is feminine, her body is that of a bird, and her voice is sweet, like love itself. Having heard Alkonost singing with delight, he can forget everything in the world, but there is no evil from her to people, unlike her friend the bird Sirin. Alkonost lays eggs "at the edge of the sea", but does not incubate them, but plunges them into the depths of the sea. At this time, the weather is calm for seven days - until the chicks hatch.

Iriy, irie, vyri, vyre is a mythical country located on a warm sea in the west or south-west of the earth, where birds and snakes spend the winter.

Gamayun

Bird Gamayun is the messenger of the Slavic gods, their herald. She sings divine hymns to people and proclaims the future to those who agree to listen to the secret.

In the old "Book, the verb Cosmography", the map depicts a round plain of the earth, washed on all sides by a river-ocean. On the eastern side is marked “Makariysky Island, the first under the very east of the sun, near the blessed paradise; because it is so denounced that the birds of paradise Gamayun and Phoenix fly into this island and wear out a wonderful fragrance. " When Gamayun flies, a deadly storm emanates from the east of the sun.

Gamayun knows everything about the origin of earth and sky, gods and heroes, people and monsters, animals and birds. According to ancient belief, the cry of the Gamayun bird portends happiness.

A. Remizov. Gamayun
One hunter tracked down an outlandish bird with the head of a beautiful maiden on the shore of the lake. She sat on a branch and held in her claws a scroll with inscriptions. It read: "You will go through the whole world with untruth, but you will not go back!"

The hunter crept closer and had already pulled the bowstring, when the bird-maiden turned her head and said:

How dare you, miserable mortal, raise a weapon at me, the prophetic bird Gamayun!

She looked the hunter in the eyes, and he immediately fell asleep. And he dreamed in a dream that he had saved two sisters - Truth and Truth - from an angry boar. When asked what he wants as a reward, the hunter replied:

I want to see the whole world. Edge to edge.

It's impossible, said Truth. - The light is immense. In foreign lands you will sooner or later be killed or enslaved. Your wish is unfulfillable.

It's possible, ”her sister objected. - But for this you must become my slave. And henceforth live a lie: lie, deceive, bend the soul.

The hunter agreed. Many years later. Having seen the whole world, he returned to his native land. But no one recognized him or recognized him: it turns out that his entire village fell into the open earth, and a deep lake appeared in this place.

The hunter walked along the shores of this lake for a long time, grieving over his losses. And suddenly I noticed on a branch the very same scroll with ancient letters. It read: "You will go through the whole world with untruth, but you will not go back!"

This is how the prophecy of the things of the bird Gamayun came true.

Sirin

Sirin is one of the birds of paradise, even its very name is consonant with the name of paradise: Iriy.
However, these are by no means bright Alkonost and Gamayun.

Sirin is a dark bird, a dark force, a messenger of the ruler of the underworld. From the head to the waist, Sirin is a woman of incomparable beauty; from the waist, she is a bird. Whoever listens to her voice forgets about everything in the world, but is soon doomed to troubles and misfortunes, or even dies, and there is no strength to force him not to listen to Sirin's voice. And this voice is true bliss!

Firebird

Firebird - in Slavic mythology, a fiery bird the size of a peacock. Her feathers shine with a blue light, and her armpits with crimson. author of the encyclopedia Alexandrova Anastasia
You can easily get burned on its plumage. The dropped feather retains the plumage properties of the Bird's Fever for a long time. It glows and gives warmth. And when the feather goes out, it turns into gold. The Firebird guards the fern flower.

Svyatogor

Sirin

Snow Maiden - the heroine of Russian folk tales, does not like everything that is connected with warmth, fire, but she is a sincere, sincere girl.

The Snow Queen- from the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen. The Snow Queen is cold as ice, impregnable as an iceberg ...

Sleeping Beauty - the princess is a beauty who fell into a long sleep andslept for a hundred years

From what lands grandfather came to us - no one will remember. With any business he was on "you". And he did a lot not for himself, for working people he tried. Especially for those who loved to hold advice with their heads. Grandfather will come across such a person himself - he will definitely mark him. The master himself had one more amazing property - he knew how to convey his name to a working instrument. Evgeny Permyak told us about the wonderful grandfather Samo in his fairy tale "About Grandfather Samo".

The Steadfast Tin Soldier,

Piggy bank,

Nightingale - these fairy-tale characters with the letter C were revealed to the world by the famous Danish writer G.H. Andersen.

Nightingale the Robber

Fairy Tale Heroes

Tobaccos are a jackal constant companion of the tiger Sherkhanfrom the collection of stories "The Jungle Book"

Cockroach - threatened to swallow everyone and not pardon anyone

Tihey Molchanovich

Tikhogrom is a dwarf from the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm, a small agile man with a large head and long arms.

Three fat men -

Pumpkin (godfather)

Toropyzhka

Tortilla - a turtle, a dweller of a pond, a lady of the heart, who gave Buratino the golden key (the tale-tale of A.N. Tolstoy "The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino")

Tugarin Serpent

Fairy-tale characters with the letter U

Ukonda is one of the seven underground kings

Umka is a white bear cub, good-natured and funny

Urgando is one of the ancient Timekeepers of the Underworld

Warra - Leader of the Flying Monkeys

Urfin Juice

Fairy-tale characters with the letter F

Fasolinka - the son of the rag-picker Fasoli and friend of Cipollino from the tale by D. Rodari "The Adventures of Cipollino"

Fedor (b abushka) - a big lover of dishes

Fairies are frequent guests of fairy tales and author's and folk

Finist - clear falcon

Fock - dock jack of all trades,inventorfrom the fairy tale of the same name by Evgeny Permyak

Foxtrot - Chief of Police from "The Adventures of Funtik Pig"

Freken Bock is a housekeeper with a great culinary talent for baking buns ("The Kid and Carlson Who Lives on the Roof" by Astrid Lindgren)

Funtik

Fairy-tale characters with the letter X

Khavroshechka is a girl who does not know maternal love, in worries-works her life passed

Hart from "The Fiery God of the Marrans" and "Yellow Mist" by A. Volkov

Khitrovan Petrovich - from the tale "The Long-Life Master" by Evgeny Permyak

Hottabych is an old man who knows how to work miracles

The mistress of the Copper Mountain is a regal and important person. She has her own kingdom, special, precious

Hvasta (sayats)

Chromonog from "The Adventures of Cipollino" by D. Rodari

Piggy

Fairy-tale characters with the letter C

The frog princess - by the will of fate became the wife of Ivan Tsarevich, the youngest son of the Tsar

The Tsar Bird (aka the Firebird)

Tsar Saltan is the hero of A.S. Pushkin "The Tale of Tsar Saltan, about his glorious and mighty hero, Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and the beautiful Swan Princess"

Tsakhes - withThe son of a poor peasant woman, Frau Lisa, is an absurd freak, who until two and a half years did not learn to speak and walk well, Tsakhes frightened those around him with his appearance (the hero of the fairy tale by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann "Little Tsakhes nicknamed Zinnober")

Caesar - from A. Volkov's fairy tales "The Fiery God of the Marrans" and "Yellow Mist"

Fairy-tale characters with the letter H

The sorcerer is an ordinary sorcerer

Cheburashka is an animal belonging to an incomprehensible family of animals

Bird cherry - a doctor from the tale by D. Rodari "The Adventures of Cipollino"

Bilberry - godfather from the tale of D. Rodari "The Adventures of Cipollino"

Damn (from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "The Devil with Three Golden Hair").

Cipollino is a brave onion boy fromstory-tales by Gianni Rodari "The Adventures of Cipollino"

Cipollone - Cipollino's father from D. Rodari's fairy tale "The Adventures of Cipollino"

Chihoons from Heinrich Sapgir's fairy tale "Winkers and Chihuns" love to listen to poetry

Wonder bird(from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Miracle Bird")

Miracle - Yudo

Churidilo from the tale of Henry Sapgir is chubby as the moon; it has forty pens and forty legs, and even forty blue eyes

Fairy-tale characters with the letter W

Humpty Dumpty - fairytale character who sat on the wall and collapsed in his sleep

Shapoklyak is an old woman whoorganizes unkind pranks on harmless residents of the city

Sherkhan - tiger, character from "The Jungle Book" ("Mowgli") English writer Rudyard Kipling, Mowgli's main antagonist

The Hatter from "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll

Chocolate - bhippopotamusfrom "The Adventures of Funtik Pig"

Hairpin -artistliving in fairy tales about Dunno by the author Nikolai Nosov

Syringe -doctor

Shpuntik -master,

Shtuchkin - director living in fairy tales about Dunno by the author Nikolai Nosov

Screwdriver -inventor,living in fairy tales about Dunno by the author Nikolai Nosov

Shushera-rat from the tale-tale "The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Pinocchio"

Fairy-tale characters with the letter U

The Nutcracker - at first he was an ugly doll, but at the end of the tale he became a very important person ...

The pike is a bit of a weird character, she has magical powers, and can give this power to others

Fairy-tale characters with the letter E

Eliza is the heroine of H.K. Andersen "Wild Swans"

Ellie -the girl is meek, quiet, but knows how to stand up for herselffrom A. Volkov's fairy tale "The Wizard of the Emerald City"

Elvina - Former Queen of the Underworld

Elgaro - miner

Eliana - one of the last kings of the Underworld

Elf, elves -

Echo of the forest - no one saw it, but everyone heard

Fairy-tale characters with the letter U

Yuma - princess of Marran, wife of Prince Torm,fairytale heroine from A. Volkov's book "The Fiery God of the Marrans" (series of fairy tales "The Wizard of the Emerald City")

Yuxi (in Russian means first) is an older gosling, he was the first to hatch from an egg, and soon demanded that everyone listen to him from Selma Lagerlef's fairy tale "The Wonderful Journey of Niels with Wild Geese"

Southern Ktototam is a beast that nature “forgot” to create, but it was invented by a wonderful writer, a real miracle worker Boris Zakhoder

Fairy-tale characters with the letter I

Apple tree - a fabulous tree from the Russian folk tale "Geese-Swans"

Jacob - the boy who traded with his mother in the marketplace

Fabulous countries ...

Buyan - a magical fairy-tale island found in Russian fairy tales and beliefs. This island is considered the navel of the earth, it is located in the middle of the sea-ocean and there are many magical objects on it: a baked bull, crushed garlic in its side, and a chiseled knife; it is home to mythological characters, Christian saints, evil diseases - feverish women; the magic stone alatyr, which heals any wounds and diseases ...The fabulous Buyan also became widely known thanks to Pushkin: magic things are stored on the Buyan island that help fabulous heroes, and a magic oak (World tree) grows. Many popular conspiracies and incantations began with the words: "On the sea on Okiyan, on an island on Buyan, lies the white-combustible stone Alatyr." The sacred stone alatyr in Slavic mythology designated the center of the world.

The real Buyan is the German island of Rügen in the Baltic. In ancient times, a West Slavic tribe of Ruyan lived on the island, and in their honor the island was called Ruyan. Arkona, the main pagan sanctuary of the Baltic Slavs, was located on the island. In the following centuries, in Slavic folklore, the name was transformed into Buyan.

And the fabulous "white-combustible stone Alatyr" is the chalk rock "Royal throne", towering over the sea. According to tradition, a pretender to the Ruyan throne had to climb one night along the cliffs to the very top (which, apparently, was difficult and scary).

Lukomorye - distant fairyland ...The fabulous Lukomorye was borrowed by Pushkin from the folklore of the Eastern Slavs. This is a reserved northern kingdom on the edge of the world, where people hibernate and wake up with the first rays of the spring sun. There is the World Tree ("Lukomorye has a green oak"), along which, if you go up, you can get to heaven, if down - to the underworld.

The real Lukomorye, in spite of the children's song with the words "There is no Lukomorye on the map, so there is no way to a fairy tale", is depicted on many old Western European maps: this is the territory adjacent to the eastern bank of the Ob Bay, in the area of ​​the modern Tomsk region.

In general, "curvature" in the Old Slavonic language means "bend of the sea coast", and in the ancient Russian chronicles this toponym is mentioned not in the Far North, but in the region of the Azov and Black Seas and the lower reaches of the Dnieper. The chronicle Lukomorye is one of the habitats of the Polovtsians, who were sometimes called “Lukomorians”. For example, in conjunction with these areas, Lukomorye is mentioned in the "Lay of Igor's Host." In "Zadonshchina" in Lukomorye, the remnants of Mamai's army retreat after defeat in the Battle of Kulikovo.

Far Far Away kingdom - “another, distant, alien, magical” land (country).

The expression "Far away kingdom, thirtieth state" is very often found in Russian folk tales as a synonym for the expression "very far away." The origin of the expression is due to the fact that in ancient Russia the word "land" was, in particular, a territory subordinated to one ruler (for example, Rostov-Suzdal land - a territory subordinate to the princes who lived in the cities of Rostov and Suzdal). Thus, a hero who goes “far away” must, in his wanderings, cross an appropriate number of fairly large territories and state borders between them.

The natural background for the action of Russian myths was the habitual habitat (field, forest). As a contrast, it was envisaged "Another", alien, strange land: the Far-away Kingdom, the Thirtieth State ... Initially, these were steppes, deserts, and also often forests and impenetrable swamps and other fabulous obstacles (for example, rivers with fire), etc.

The very origin of the term is as follows: in the old days they counted in threes, from here far away (three times nine) - twenty-seven, thirty - thirty.

Land of oz - O circled on all sides by mountains and desert, the land of Oz could well exist in reality. Some argue that Frank Baum allegorically represented the United States in his book, but there is an opinion that the real land of Oz is in China, and the laurels of the Emerald City are tipped for Sydney, Chicago and Dubai. In any case, when going to look for Oz, be careful, because the first film based on this work is included in the list of "damned", due to many accidents on the set. In addition, many productions of the work were also overshadowed by the troubles that happened to the actors, and most often those who played the role of the evil sorceress Gingema.

Wonderland - P the solace through the rabbit hole in our times seems more fantastic than space flights, although the last century seemed less real. The magical land where they live Cheshire Cat and the March Hare, it is quite possible to find, if you take a walk in the vicinity of Oxford, where Lewis Carroll once studied. And those who want to get to know the heroes of the book better should go to the small town of Ripon in North Yorkshire. It is the decoration of the local cathedral served as a source of inspiration for Lewis when creating images.

Neverland - With According to legend, only children can enter the island, and adults are not allowed to enter here. Although, possessing pure childish thoughts, it is quite possible to follow Peter Pan's route over the tops of trees and through caves and end up in a country where Captain Hook, fairies, mermaids and pirates live. James Barry is said to have written his book impressed by a trip to Australia, but many also argue that Madagascar is the real prototype of the island "No and Will Not".

Narnia - the kingdom of Narnia, where animals can talk and magic works, appeared thanks to Clive Lewis, who described it in a series of seven children's fantasy books. There is no unequivocal opinion where Lewis drew inspiration to describe the amazing landscapes. Although many are inclined to believe that the dense forests, jagged castles and high mountains mentioned in the book can be found in Northern Ireland in County Long. However, the creators of the films about Narnia found the scenery for filming their chronicles only in distant Australia. And the third film of the cycle, scheduled for release in December 2010, is filmed in New Zealand, on the White Island, located in the Bay of Plenty.

Middle earth - P perhaps it is difficult to find a non-existent country with more detailed map and a more complete documented history. There is even more “historical evidence” written by John Tolkien about Middle-earth than some real-world countries. Thanks to the author of the film trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" Peter Jackson, in the minds of tourists Middle-earth is firmly connected with New Zealand and served as a massive influx of tourists to these distant lands. If you don't want to go that far, you can find places closer: Argentina, Scotland, Romania and Finland are also related to the great work.

Wonderful forest - The hundred-acre forest, which, with the light hand of Boris Zakhoder, became "wonderful", is actually located in England, in the county of East Sussex and is called Ashdown. In any case, this is exactly what Alan Milne's son, Christopher, says in his autobiography. Some of the places described in the book can indeed be found in the forest, which, thanks to Winnie the Pooh, has long gained tourist popularity. Alas, it will not be possible to see the toys that served as prototypes for the heroes of the fairy tale in England. Back in 1947, they were taken to the United States for an exhibition and are now kept in the New York Public Library. True, the question of returning exhibits to their homeland haunts the British and was even raised in 1998 in the British Parliament. But in Oxfordshire, you can take part in the annual championship in the game of "trivia", which appeared thanks to the book.