Friday, March 5, 2021

Celebrating the Country of Russia

Ivan Tsarevich Riding a Grey Wolf
by
Viktor Vasnetsov, 1889

"Cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all of humanity.”Robert Alan Aurthur

This is the fifth in my series, highlighting the rich diversity of folktales, fairy tales, legends, and myths from around the world. I hope it will make it easier for you to find new and unique tales to add to your repertoire, and in the process, learn more about our global neighbors. There are about 120 ethnic groups in Russia, so I encourage you to conduct further research on the specific region and/or culture behind the stories.

At the end of this blog, you will find links to my previous journeys to the continent of Africa, and the countries of India, Germany, and Turkey. While we may not be able to travel safely just yet we can still explore the world with our imaginations! I hope you find something useful and fun to add to your storytelling work or classroom.

STORIES

Alenoushka and Her Brother
http://tinyurl.com/bbxjkgu

Baba Yaga
http://tinyurl.com/brv2dkv

The Enchanted Princess
http://tinyurl.com/ot2pkwg

The Lime Tree – Russia
http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/LimeTree.asp

The Little Daughter of the Snow - Russia
http://tinyurl.com/dyopzsg


The Lute Player
https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/lute-player

Masha and the Bear - Russian
http://russian-crafts.com/tales/masha.html

The Silver Plate and the Transparent Apple
http://tinyurl.com/pcvr8aw

Sivka-Burka
http://tinyurl.com/a4psurf 

Story of the Duck with the Golden Eggs
http://tinyurl.com/ovfdsjq

The Tale of the Golden Cockerel
http://tinyurl.com/glstjkm

The Tale of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird, and the Gray Wolf
https://stpetersburg-guide.com/folk/swolf.shtml

The Tsarevna Frog
http://tinyurl.com/l8vebl 

The Twelve Months – Russia
http://russian-crafts.com/tales/12months.html 

When the Twins Went to War
http://tinyurl.com/y7fmhzxx

STORY COLLECTIONS

Cossack Fairy Tales and Folktales
by Robert Nisbet Bain, 1902 – Bain collected these folktales from Ruthenian, the language of the Cossacks, a language intermediate between Russian and Polish. 

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29672 

Myths and Folk-Tales of the Russians, ‘Western Slavs, and Magyars by Jeremiah Curtin 1903.
https://archive.org/details/mythsfolktalesof00curtrich/page/n5/mode/2up

The Russian Story Book
by Richard Wilson, 1916. Fifteen tales, several featuring the hero Ilya, others with Nikita the Footless, the Cake-Baker and more. 
http://tinyurl.com/awqvoe2

Russian Tales
Many delightful tales from Russia and the Ukraine and details on Russian traditions from Christmas to weddings.
http://russian-crafts.com/tales.html

Russian Sunbirds
While this site is home to Russian lacquer art it also offers a stunning array of Russian folktales, fairytales, songs, literature and poetry.
https://www.sunbirds.com/texts/themes/

Russian Fairy Tales
The site shares twenty-one fairytales. Most offer both a short and long version, for those who want more details.
http://tinyurl.com/6blpls

Russian Folk-tales by William Ralston Shedden Ralston - Just in time for All Hallows’ Eve. Download this book from 1880, full of myths, legends, and folktales of demons, witches, vampires and ghouls if you dare!  
http://tinyurl.com/28t449c  

The Russian Garland
– Seventeen Russian folktales translated from a collection of chapbooks, circa 1916.
https://archive.org/details/russiangarlandbe00steeiala   

The Russian Story Book by Richard Wilson, 1916. Fifteen tales, several featuring the hero Ilya, others with Nikita the Footless, the Cake-Baker and more.
http://tinyurl.com/awqvoe2

Twenty-Three Tales by Leo Tolstoy, 1907. The book is divided into seven parts and includes tales for children, short stories and Russian folktales.
http://tinyurl.com/n96pfe6

Vampire and Ghost Stories from Russia Six stories to make your blood run cold.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/vampire.html

CURRICULUM

Culture Guide: Russia – Grade K-6
http://kennedy.byu.edu/store/samples/russia1el.pdf

Lesson Plan for Masha and the Bear
https://www.rif.org/literacy-central/book/masha-and-bear new

National Geographic - Russia
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/russia/#russia-st-basils.jpg

Russian History and Culture 
This resource is no longer offered at the original link; however, I was able to locate it via the Wayback Machine. You can still access all of the resources here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073249/http://www.bcps.org/offices/oea/pdf/cultural_heritage/Russian-Heritage-Resource-Packet.pdf

CRAFTS 

Activity Village – Envelope Matryoshka Dolls, Faberge Eggs and more.   
https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/russia-crafts

DLTK-Kids - Tigers, and bears, and wolves, oh my! Lots of fun here to keep the little ones entertained. 
https://www.dltk-kids.com/world/russia/

ADDITIONAL CULTURAL RESOURCES

Celebrating the Continent of Africa
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2021/01/celebrating-continent-of-africa.html

Celebrating the Country of Germany
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2021/02/celebrating-country-of-germany.html

Celebrating the Country of India
http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2021/01/celebrate-country-of-india.html

Celebrating the Country of Turkey
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2017/11/celebrating-country-of-turkey.html

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2021 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.