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Vodyanoi, water divinity, whose favorite haunt is the mill pond. |
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Kikimora, domestic divinity. |
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Domovoi, familiar genie of the house. |
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Rusalka, Russian mermaid. |
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Solovei Razboinik, monstrous Nightingale The Robber, who controls the highway between Chernigov and Kiev. Killed by Russian epic hero Ilya Muromets. |
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Bogatyr, a hero of the epic folk songs, called byliny (Kievan Period, 10th-11th centuries) fighting the dragon. |
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The most prominent heroes of the Kievan byliny - Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets and Alyosha Popovich (the priest's son). |
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Baba Yaga, the Russian witch, who lives at the edge of the forest in a hut on chicken feet, she rides in a mortar. She likes eating children, but sometimes may pity the hero and help him. |
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Baba Yaga's house, it moves, can turn around, run and even dance. Watch this episode from a Russian movie "Morozko" and see it for yourself. |
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Emelya-durak caught a magic pike, who is going to fulfil any of Emelia's wishes. |
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Flying is often encountered in Russian folk tales. It may be a flying hunchback horse, carrying a hero, flying magic carpet, or a flying ship. |
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Female characters in Russian Fairy tales are not only beautiful, but also wise. In some tales there will be Elena (or Vasilisa) Prekrasnaia (The beautiful), but in some Premudraia (The wise). |
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Ivan Tsarevich caught a Firebird (episode from a fairy tale Ivan Tsarevich, The Firebird and the Gray Wolf). |
| Russian folk music |  |
You may listen to Russian folk songs performed by the Middlebury Russian Choir. Listen to the last three ones.
Most popular Russian dances are Khorovod (slow), Barynia and Komarinskaya (fast)