Any hero from a fairy tale. The most positive fairy tale characters. List of heroes of Russian folk tales

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 it was primarily used with a magical incantatory purpose (to summon good luck on a hunt, to protect oneself 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 they are described in general outline, are 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 most large group fabulous folk epic is composed 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 magic items... Often a witch, a sorceress. Most often - negative character(lures children and good fellows to 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. After that, the main character comes to him for a duel, first 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, because 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 the priest, because he knows how to sing and play on 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 high pillar distant lands in the thirtieth 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 and 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.

A fairy tale is not only fun for kids. It contains instructive stories that reflect the beliefs of an entire people. The heroes are endowed with rather conventional exaggerated characters, their motives and actions are a reflection of ancient Slavic rituals.

Baba Yaga- the most famous character of Russian folklore. Meanwhile, this is not just a collective image of an ugly old woman with a quarrelsome character and ferocious deeds. Baba Yaga is essentially a guide. The forest in which she lives is a conditional border between the worlds. She needs a leg of bone for the spirits to consider her as their own. A prerequisite for “heating the bathhouse” is a ritual ablution, a joint meal in one form or another - a funeral feast among the Slavs. And the indispensable dwelling - a hut on chicken legs - is just the place of transition to the afterlife. By the way, chicken legs have nothing to do with the hut. "To smoke" means "to fumigate" - to pour smoke over a person's new refuge "without windows, without doors." And in fact, Baba Yaga did not put children in the stove - this is again an image of the initiation of babies among the Slavs, during which the child was placed in the stove to protect him from evil spirits.

Water- an unpleasant-looking water spirit that lives in whirlpools and water mills. His wives are drowned girls, and his servants are fish. The merman will not miss the chance to pull the unlucky diver to the muddy bottom. So that he would not rage, they brought him gifts, especially the spirit of water rejoiced at the appetizing goose. The merman is always ready to defend his home, as soon as the fisherman rashly encroaches on his property.

Firebird- an analogue of the Phoenix reborn from fire and ash. As a rule, she (or her pen) is the goal of the searches and wanderings of the main characters. It is believed that she personifies light and warmth, therefore, it dies every fall, and reappears in the spring. Also found in fairy tales Sirin- half-woman-half-bird. She has a heavenly beauty and an angelic voice, but everyone who hears it is doomed to trouble and suffering.

Dragon- a fire-breathing dragon that can fly. In Slavic folklore, he guards the Kalinov bridge - access to the afterlife, where common man the way is booked. The number of his heads is always a multiple of three (the sacred number of the Slavs), which testifies to his vitality, you cannot defeat him at once.

Goblin- Forest spirit. He is sometimes huge and powerful, sometimes small and ridiculous, sometimes clumsy, sometimes dexterous. They try to avoid him, since the Goblin has a harmful character and can lead him into the forest thicket - then get out of there. You can be saved if you put on your clothes inside out - so he does not recognize his victim. At the same time, they appease him, leaving gifts at the edge, because he is the Master of the forest, without whom human life is impossible.

- a kind keeper of the house. He is born an old man and dies as a baby. He is happy to help in the household, if you do not offend him and feed him with milk, or he can hooligan and hide the necessary things. The complete opposite of it is Kikimora- the evil spirit of the deceased, tormenting the family. However, she does nasty things to those who do not keep their home in order, so it's pretty fair. Another home prankster - Bannik... He is able to scare a person who has come to take a steam bath by throwing hot stones at him or scalding him with boiling water.

Koschei the Immortal- an evil sorcerer who abducts brides. This is the prototype of the powerful priest Koshchei Chernobogovich, the son of Chernobog. He owned the kingdom of Navi (the underworld, the afterlife among the Slavs).

Well, what a fairy tale without Ivan the Fool? It is collective positive image, who is destined for a long way, but he goes through it with valor and at the end gets a princess as his wife. So the Fool is not a curse, but a kind of amulet against the evil eye. Ivan solves the tasks set by life thanks to his own ingenuity and non-standard approach.

Listening to stories from heroes of Russian folk tales, children from childhood learned to be persistent in spirit, fair, courageous, respecting and recognizing the power of good (after all, it always wins). The Slavs believed that any fairy tale is a lie only for our visible world, but truth for the world of spirits. And no one will argue that it contains a lesson that everyone has yet to learn during his life.
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ETNOMIR, Kaluga region, Borovsky district, Petrovo village

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ETNOMIR - the largest ethnographic park-museum in Russia, a colorful interactive model the real world... Here, on an area of ​​140 hectares, architecture, national cuisine, crafts, traditions and life of almost all countries are presented. Each country has been assigned a kind of "cultural reserve" - ​​an ethno-courtyard.

- complex exposition. It is formed by the building of the world's largest Russian stove and nine huts from different regions of the European part of Russia.

In its planning, the architectural ensemble recreates the structure of ancient Slavic settlements, when residential buildings surrounded the central square.

The main expositions of the Museum are located in huts - these are ovens different structure, forms, designs, and household items of the XIX-XX centuries, and an exhibition of irons, and a collection of traditional Russian patchwork dolls, and various wooden toys ...

Speech - about the bride of the protagonist. Whether he is Ivan Tsarevich or Ivanushka the Fool, he will certainly find Vasilisa the Wise or Vasilisa the Beautiful. The girl is supposed to be saved first, and then to marry - all honor for honor. But the girl is not easy. She can hide in the form of a frog, possess some witchcraft and abilities, be able to speak with animals, the sun, the wind and the moon ... In general, she is clearly a difficult girl. At the same time, there is also some kind of "secret". Judge for yourself: finding information about her is much more difficult than about any other fairytale character. In encyclopedias (both in classical, paper, and in new, online), you can easily find lengthy articles about Ilya Muromets and Dobryna Nikitich, about Koschey the Immortal and about Baba Yaga, about mermaids, goblin and water, but there is almost nothing about Vasilisa ... On the surface lies only a short article in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, which reads:

"Vasilisa the Wise is a character of Russian folk fairy tales... In most of them, Vasilisa the Wise is the daughter of the sea king, endowed with wisdom and the ability to transform. The same female image appears under the name of Marya the Princess, Marya Morevna, Elena the Beautiful. Maxim Gorky called Vasilisa the Wise one of the most perfect images created by folk fantasy. The disadvantaged orphan is different in nature - Vasilisa the Beautiful in Afanasyev's unique text. "

Let's start, perhaps, with Vasilisa Sr. And there was every reason for that. All these characters are very similar, for example, in that nothing is really said about them in fairy tales. Like, a red girl, which the world has never seen - that's all. No detailed description appearance, or any character traits. She's just a woman-function, without which a fairy tale will not work: after all, the hero must conquer the princess, and who she is there is the tenth thing. Let there be Vasilisa.

The name, by the way, hints at a high origin. The name "Vasilisa" can be translated from Greek as "regal". And this royal maiden (sometimes in fairy tales she is called the Tsar Maiden) begins to subject the hero to trials. That is, sometimes it is not she who does it, but some fabulous villain like Koshchei the Immortal or the Serpent Gorynych, who has kidnapped the princess and is holding captive (at best) or is going to devour (at worst).

Sometimes the villain is the father of the potential bride. In a fairy tale where Vasilisa appears as the daughter of the water king, the lord of the sea waters interferes with the hero in order to destroy him, but loses, because the enemy suddenly turns out to be dear to the heart of his daughter, and no witchcraft can overcome him. But here everything is more or less clear: there is some kind of evil force (a dragon, a sorcerer or the girl's evil parents), and the hero must fight the enemy. Actually, this is how he becomes a hero. A princess, princess or princess (it doesn't matter) is a reward for the hero.

However, it also happens that Ivan Tsarevich or Ivan the Fool or some other central fairy-tale character is forced to pass tests not because of dragons or sorcerers - he is tormented by the bride herself. Either the hero needs to jump on horseback to the windows of her room and kiss the beauty on the lips of sugar, then recognize the girl among twelve friends who look exactly like her, then you need to catch the fugitive - or demonstrate an enviable cunning to hide from the princess so that she did not find him. At worst, the hero is invited to solve riddles. But in one form or another, Vasilisa will check him.

It would seem, what is unusual about trials? Experiencing a man is generally in female character: is he good enough to associate his life with him or give birth to his offspring, does he have the strength and intelligence to be a worthy spouse and father? From a biological point of view, everything is absolutely correct. However, there is one small detail. If the unfortunate Ivan does not complete the task, then death awaits him - and this is repeatedly emphasized in dozens of Russian fairy tales.

The question is why beautiful princess demonstrates bloodlust, which is more likely to face the Serpent Gorynych? Because, in fact, she does not want to get married at all. Moreover, she is the enemy of the hero, believes the famous researcher of Russian folklore Vladimir Propp in his book " Historical roots fairy tale ":

“The task is set as a test for the groom ... But these tasks are interesting for others. They contain a moment of threat:“ If you don’t do it, cut off your head for a fault. ”This threat gives another motivation. In tasks and threats, there is not only a desire to have the best groom for the princess , but also a secret, hidden hope that such a groom will not exist at all.

The words "I think I agree, just complete three tasks in advance" is full of deceit. The groom is sent to his death ... In some cases, this hostility is expressed quite clearly. It manifests itself outwardly when the task has already been completed and when more and more new and more dangerous tasks are being set. "

Why Vasilisa, she is Marya Morevna, she is Elena the Beautiful, is against marriage? Perhaps, in fairy tales, where she constantly intrigues the main character, she simply does not need this marriage. She either rules the country herself - and she does not need a husband as a competitor in power, or she is the daughter of a king who will be overthrown by her potential spouse in order to seize the throne. Quite a logical version.

As the same Propp writes, the plot about the intrigues that the future father-in-law repairs to the hero, together with his daughter or in spite of her, could well have real grounds. According to Propp, the struggle for the throne between the hero and the old tsar is a completely historical phenomenon. The tale here reflects the transfer of power from father-in-law to son-in-law through a woman, through a daughter. And this once again explains why fairy tales say so little about the appearance and character of the bride - this is a character-function: either a prize to a hero, or a means of achieving power. Sad story.

Meanwhile, in the Russian tradition there is a fairy tale that tells about the childhood, adolescence and youth of Vasilisa. It was about her that Gorky mentioned, saying that she does not look like the usual image of a princess whom the hero is trying to conquer. In this tale, Vasilisa is an orphan girl. Not the fact that this is the same character. Nevertheless, this Vasilisa, unlike other fairy namesakes, is an absolutely full-blooded heroine - with a biography, character, and so on.

I will sketch the storyline with a dotted line. The merchant's wife dies, leaving him with a little daughter. The father decides to marry again. The stepmother has her daughters, and all this new company begins to tyrannize Vasilisa, loading her with overwhelming work. In general, it is very similar to the fairy tale about Cinderella. It seems, but not quite, because Cinderella was helped by the fairy godmother, and Vasilisa was helped by a terrible witch from the forest.

It turned out like this. The stepmother and her daughters said that there was no more fire in the house, and sent Vasilisa to the forest to Baba Yaga, of course, hoping that she would not return. The girl obeyed. Her road through the dark forest was terrible - and strange: she met three horsemen, one white, another red, and the third black, and they all rode in the direction of Yaga.

When Vasilisa reached her abode, she was met by a high fence made of stakes, seated with human skulls. The house of Yaga turned out to be no less creepy: for example, instead of servants, the witch had three pairs of hands that appeared out of nowhere and disappeared to no one knows where. But the most terrible creature in this house was Baba Yaga.

The witch, however, accepted Vasilisa favorably and promised that she would give her fire if Vasilisa completed all her tasks. Completing difficult tasks is an indispensable path for a hero. Unlike the fairy tales, which were mentioned above, a woman passes through this one, therefore her tasks are female, there are simply too many of them: to clean the yard, and sweep the hut, wash the linen, cook dinner, and sort out the grains, and that's all. - for one day. Of course, if the tasks are performed poorly, Baba Yaga promised to eat Vasilisa.

Vasilisa washed Yaga's clothes, cleans her house, cooked her food, then learned to separate healthy grains from infected ones, and poppy seeds from dirt. Then Yaga allowed Vasilisa to ask her a few questions. Vasilisa asked about the three mysterious horsemen - white, red and black. The witch replied that it was a clear day, a red sun and a black night, and they were all her faithful servants. That is, Baba Yaga in this tale is an extremely powerful sorceress.

After that she asked Vasilisa what she didn’t ask further, about dead hands, for example, and Vasilisa replied that if you knew a lot, you would soon grow old. Yaga looked at her and, screwing up her eyes, said that the answer was correct: she does not like those who are too curious and eats. And then she asked how Vasilisa manages to answer her questions without mistakes and how she managed to do all the work correctly.

Vasilisa replied that her mother's blessing helped her, and then the witch pushed her out of the door: "I don't need the blessed here." But in addition, she gave the girl fire - she removed the skull from the fence, whose eye sockets were blazing with flame. And when Vasilisa returned home, the skull burned her tormentors.

An eerie fairy tale. And its essence is that Vasilisa the Beautiful, fulfilling the tasks of Baba Yaga, learned a lot from her. For example, while washing Yaga's clothes, Vasilisa literally saw what the old woman was made of, writes the famous researcher of fairy tales Clarissa Estes in her book "Running with Wolves":

"In the symbolism of the archetype, the clothes correspond to the person, the first impression that we make on others. The person is something like camouflage, which allows us to show others only what we ourselves want, and no more. But ... a person is not only a mask behind which you can hide, but a presence that overshadows the familiar personality.

In this sense, a person or mask is a sign of rank, dignity, character and power. It is an external sign, an external manifestation of mastery. Washing Yaga's clothes, the initiate will see with his own eyes how the seams of the person look, how the dress is cut. "

And so - in everything. Vasilisa sees how and what Yaga eats, how he makes the world revolve around him, and day, sun and night - walk in his servants. And the terrible skull, blazing with fire, which the witch hands over to the girl, in this case, is a symbol of the special witchcraft knowledge that she received while being Yaga's novice.

By the way, the sorceress might have continued her studies if Vasilisa had not been a blessed daughter. But it didn't work out. And Vasilisa, armed with strength and secret knowledge, went back to the world. In this case, it is clear where Vasilisa got the magical skills that are often mentioned in other fairy tales. It is also understandable why she can be both good and evil.

She is still a blessed child, but Baba Yaga's school is also not going anywhere. Therefore, Vasilisa ceased to be a meek orphan: her enemies died, and she herself married the prince and sat on the throne ...

The artist Roman Papsuev created a series of drawings in which he rethought the images of the heroes of fairy tales Ancient Rus... In the author's interpretation, such heroes as Ilya Muromets, Vasilisa the Beautiful, Kashchei the Immortal and many others. others may well look like characters from the fantasy world.

Ilya Muromets. I started, of course, with him. By the way, on his belt hangs a bottle of dead water, heal wounds. And with a shield, he can easily destroy enemies. I drew this picture from my head, just based on the types from childhood, but later, after checking with the sources, I came to the conclusion that I had completely fallen into the image.

The author of the project will in no way distort the history of the great heritage of our ancestors. He's only trying to make his vision famous heroes... “I do not invent characters, they are all in mythology, I only interpret their descriptions in my own way, I try to find common features in these descriptions and at the same time try to maintain a single style to make it look like the game world.

Most of all, I am glad that some people who have looked at my pictures begin to re-read fairy tales-epics, learn a lot for themselves and understand why Vasilisa the Beautiful has a doll in her bag, why Water on a catfish, why Ilya Muromets has a sword in her hands, not a mace, etc. This return to the origins through my humble project pleases me most of all as an author. " - explains Roman.

Dobrynya. What is known about him (in brackets - how I played it). A relative of the prince (armor must be rich), the second most popular bogatyr after Ilya (smaller in size, but still cool), a serpent fighter (a magic shield covered with fiery dragon skin, shooting fire), a seven-tailed whip with which he whipped a horse so that he trampled the snakes, and so on. It is difficult to depict diplomatic abilities, education and knowledge in the picture, but I put a scroll in a tube on his belt, like he reads at his leisure. Right there he has living water, it complements the set of Ilya, who, let me remind you, has dead water on his belt. Well, and the motive of the sun, like Ilya's - they serve one prince.

Popovich. Well, obviously he has to be a witch hunter, right?

Sudden turn slightly to the side, towards Finist.

The turn of the girls has come. I'll start with Vasilisa the Beautiful (not to be confused with Vasilisa the Wise, aka the Frog Princess). A battle mage, even there is nothing to think about, one skull that incinerates enemies (mentioned in the tale), which is worth it. And of course, the doll is in the bag, everything is as it should be. A small remark: perhaps it is not so clearly visible, but her kokoshnik is steel, part of a half-helmet.

Vasilisa the Wise (The Frog Princess). It turned out to be not so simple with her. There are as many as three common versions of the tale (in one of them she is generally called Elena the Beautiful), so I decided to try to collect everything that is known about her in one image. So, the sorceress. He conjures with the help of his own strength, and with the help of nurses (grandmothers, nurses, etc.). I decided that the nannies in my version would be plump flying fairies. The magic of nursing mothers individually is not that strong, but if they start doing something together, just hold on.

I did not find confirmation in fairy tales that Vasilisa is the daughter of Koshchei the Immortal (although there is such a version, and it is quite logical), so I did not begin to make obvious necromantic paraphernalia. But the Wise, as it seems to me, could play with dark magic, she has such a character ... I completely forgot to mention - an arrowhead hangs on her chest in the form of a pendant. The same one.

Princess Nesmeyana. First I wanted to make my face open, then I decided to immediately show the visor mask. Kokoshnik is part of the helmet. Observant viewers will pay attention to the wineskin and horn on her belt. Why? Because because of forever bad mood constantly applied to alcohol. By the way, when she laughs (and she laughs very rarely), it means that she has a seizure and she becomes a berserker - a very scary ability.

Marya Morevna. Everything is clear here. The only remark is that since the fairy tale indicates that she is a steppe warrior, I slightly added Asian elements.

Barbara beauty. Mound Raider. Strictly speaking, this is a cinematic character, in the mythology of the Barbara beauty, it seems, there was no. But, firstly, everyone probably knows Rowe's film, and secondly, her name was too noble, I could not pass by. I think it's clear who the reference was. A few comments: the hatchets are attached to the scabbard on the hips, amulets-amulets dangle from the belts, the kokoshnik, as always, is metal. When there are many opponents, she attacks, spinning like a top, and mows down enemies (ha-ha). The braid itself may well be made of leather, like a whip, that is, it is not the hair pulled back, but part of the helmet.

Baba Yaga. V. 1.0.

Koschey. It feeds on the souls of the victims. He also drew this one, based on stamps from his head, then carefully studied the sources and came to the conclusion that I would change Koshchei's head. So later there will be Koshchey Mark 2. :)

Nightingale the robber. Part one. Upper. We'll have to explain something. In fairy tales, the Nightingale sits on nine oak trees, sits high, looks far away, whistles like a nightingale, screams like an animal. I thought for a long time how to beat it all ("sitting on nine oak trees" was the biggest problem - a giant, or what? Or small oak trees?), In the end I came to the conclusion that the Nightingale will be a monster-rider. He will ride an oak tree. His scream whistle is a sonic weapon. A whistle is an aimed blow, a shout is a wide-range wave. He will also have a magic staff to control the oak. And notice the acorn necklace around his neck. It is not without reason, it is a solution to the problem with nine oak trees. Yes, many have strange associations with his mouth, I advise you to go to the mirror and try to make "chicken sponges" - be surprised. :)

Nightingale the robber. Part two. Riding an oak tree. In general, he lives on a tree, this is his storage and fortress. Chests (trophies) and shields are hung on the branches, which move if the Nightingale is threatened. Also, the oak has chains with hooks with which it pulls the victim to itself in order to eat it.

The oak moves both like a spider and like a centipede, that is, it supports the trunk with large branches, and finely touches the roots. Moves slowly, but if it gets there, the hero will be fucked. Now about the problem of nine oak trees. Acorns are magic. When the Nightingale throws one acorn on the ground, an oak-minion rapidly grows from there, ground support, so to speak. I drew one of them on the left. They are faster and more aggressive than the fortress oak. They run up to the hero and beat him up. There are eight acorns on the necklace plus a fortress oak, nine in total. Oaks themselves are pretty weird trees, but when nine oak trees, plus the Nightingale with his sonic weapon, move on the hero, the hero should be uncomfortable.

Yes, and the scale here is a little arbitrary (otherwise it would not fit), but roughly be guided by the skulls on the branch, these are the skulls of adults. That is, the Nightingale is slightly larger an ordinary person... Yes, and in the picture he just screams like an animal.

Tugarin Serpent. This is probably the last picture where I use complex frames - they take too much time, the characters are more important, so further the frames will be very arbitrary.

Lesovik. Owner of the forest. I will share the forest spirits, this one is the most important. He, in principle, is kind, but stern and fair, if anything, he can punish harshly.

Visually I decided to start from zooanthropomorphic descriptions, with elements of phytoanthropomorphism, for each forest spirit I will choose the main animal and I will dance from this

Goblin. I tried to embody in this handsome man the main thing that is known about the goblin in the generally accepted (and most importantly, evil) sense. Leshy's character, to put it mildly, is not very pleasant. One eye is normal (left), the right one is usually larger than the left and "dead", motionless. The beard and hair are gray. They often write about a cone-shaped head, in my interpretation - because of the hair gathered in a bun. He wraps his clothes to the left and wears them inside out (it turned out to be not so easy to show in a pencil that this is the wrong side). Arms and legs are covered with hair. In some versions of the legends it is belted, in others it is necessarily not. On the belt hang trophies and essential things: the skulls of defeated, lost and impolite travelers, a horn to get drunk, and bast shoes, because my Leshem just likes bast shoes, he collects them. In legends, the classic Leshy also has some kind of fixation on bast shoes. But considering that he is often described as ungulates, the question is - how did he wear them? The logical answer is that he did not wear them on his feet, he just carried them with him as souvenirs.

Bolotnik. A disgusting creature living in the swamps, pretending to be a hummock, eating everyone in a row. Throws "swamp lights" from the bracelet to paralyze the victim. Poisonous.

P. S. I also want to add a decoy, like an angler fish. The decoy is long, telescopic, in fact a symbiote, that is, a separate creature, lures and hypnotizes travelers, leads them right into the bog to the Bolotnik.

Spirits of the forest. Part 1. It was impractical to draw a separate picture for each small spirit of the forest, so I decided to divide them into groups. All these guys are Lesovik's retinue. I tried to do it according to the descriptions that I could find, but it was not without arbitrariness.

Vodyanik, for example, is, as it were, one of the names of the Water One. But I decided that small ponds, streams and small rivers should also have their own spirits, so I separated the name "Vodyanik" into a separate group of small spirits. All the spirits of the forest are quite neutral to themselves, but if they are pissed off, they can attack.

The most aggressive of this group is Mokhovik; according to legend, he could eat children, if that.

The berry, for all its external harmlessness, can also cause damage (with poisoned berries).

Rustic - in one character he combined Rustic and Kornevik - stupid, awkward, but rather strong, can entangle with roots and drink juices from the victim with them.

Spirits of the forest. Part 2. Mushroom picker, Leafman, Herbalist, Kustin. I call this picture "The russula is late for the meeting." Finishing the theme of forest spirits and Lesovik's retinue, let's quickly go over the characters and abilities.

The mushroom picker is not a very kind character (in mythology, mushrooms are generally not very fond of, there is a lot about genitals and excrement), not very strong, but very tenacious and touchy (he believes that people stipulate him). Can infect offenders with rapidly growing fungi. His dream is to conquer the whole world.

The herbalist is a hippie. In case of danger, he can think of the offender's head and even kill if he gets very angry.

Leaflet (combined with Steblevik, so as not to produce essences) - the most harmless of all, usually acts as a support group for Derevyanik and Kustin, gives them additional forces and protection.

Kustin (Kushanik) is the younger brother of Derevyanik, they are very similar in character and usually work in pairs. Kustin knows how to remotely braid the offender with branches, paralyzing him.

Water on catfish. For this picture, I will simply list the main characteristics with explanations why this is so, and we will talk about the details of the Waterman's character in the next picture. I’ll say right away: I tried to incorporate everything that the Internet knows about Vodyanoy, at the same time offering some of my own solutions. Please forget the song of the Water One from The Flying Ship right away. So let's go.

It is known that Vodyanoy is a fat old man with a big belly (done), he is often seen in a red shirt (I have a chain mail made of scarlet gold), he has a thick beard and a green mustache (here I cheated and made him a SOMOV mustache, part of his beard - also catfish probes, hence the greenish color). Among the northern peoples of Russia, the Water One is often represented with a club. In general, the Water One is a serious evil, and he has a very nasty character (quote: "The embodiment of the element of water as a negative and dangerous principle"). And the main quote for the picture, from which, in fact, the image itself was born. “He is credited with catfish as his favorite fish, which he drives around and which delivers drowned people to him. For this, the catfish is popularly called the "devil's horse". " Then I came up with the idea to make a mount boss. Since the Water One is sometimes still seen on land, I made the catfish not quite a catfish. In fact, there is a whole mix of animals (everyone quite lives on the territory of Russia, by the way), whoever defines them all, that pie.

I paid special attention to the harness, harness and saddle, I had to fantasize, of course, but there are no combat pack catfish in nature, so I apologize, if anything. This is not the last picture of Vodyanoy: here he is too small and details are not visible, so I will make it separately, as the Nightingale did.

Water and Vodyanitsa. Sorry that there are a lot of letters, but it is necessary. I present to your attention family photo, because of which he spent a sleepless night at work, so covered. Let's start with Vodyanitsa, because new character... There is very little information about Vodyanitsy (where the emphasis should be placed, I prefer to put on and), there is very little information, it is known that she is NOT a mermaid, she is dressed in a torn sundress, she has a big chest, she is a mischievous woman, but in general she does not offend anyone much, that is . quite myself positive character... I drew her at forty (headdress married women) to emphasize marital status. And this character also has a key feature that really hooked me. "The Vodyanitsa is a drowned woman among the baptized, and therefore does not belong to the undead." Do you understand, yes? The baptized drowned woman is the wife of the Water One, who is actually undead. There is a huge scope for imagination, of course. And this is what I fantasized.

As I wrote earlier, Vodyanoy has an extremely nasty character. He seems to be neutral, but with a greater bias towards evil. He constantly needs to be appeased, otherwise he does dirty tricks, and drowns, and waves his club. However, he can provide a catch and save, if anything, - and in my version all his good deeds are directly related to Vodyanitsa. Since his wife is essentially kind, but young, mischievous and quarrelsome, she twists the old man as she wants. And often forces hubby to do good deeds, although this is contrary to his unclean nature. And vice versa, when they quarrel, the Merman goes on a hike and rages even more, letting off steam. Vodyanitsa herself is not particularly visible to people, and in my interpretation she is not even a separate character, but simply an addition to the image of the Water One. She buffs (increases the strength) of the Waterman when she yells at him.

Sister Alyonushka, brother Ivanushka Another sweet couple. I understand that I shock many with this picture, but before judging, I ask - re-read the tale. However, I will briefly explain everything to you. In the tale (in many of its iterations) there are several key points that are the same for all options. So the facts:
1. Ivanushka became a kid.
2.Alyonushka was drowned.
3. Practically in all variants there is a "fierce snake", which sucked Alyonushka's heart (and there was also a "heavy stone" on the neck, "white fish ate eyes", "yellow sands on the chest lay down", "silk grass on the hands", dust, decay, hopelessness, that's all).
4. There is a witch-witch who arranged all this confusion with drowning.
5. They took Alyonushka out of the river, “dipped it, rinsed it in clean water, they wrapped it up with a white linen, and it became even better than it was. "
6. In all versions of the tale, where Ivanushka turned into a goat, he remained so. Well, you understand what I mean, right?

I was not too lazy and still compiled my "dictionary of runes". They, of course, are fictional, they took as a basis the Scandinavian and those scribbles that I dug up in the pre-Christian writing of the Slavs. Moreover, I invented the meanings of the runes myself, not really looking back at the real ones. My version, my runes, whatever I want, I turn it over. There will be an additional game for the audience - to read what the characters have on their clothes.

A fairy tale plays a significant role in a person's life. This is what he hears one of the first after birth; she accompanies him in the next stages of growing up. Fairy tales are loved not only by children, but also by adults. Their deep philosophical meaning makes it possible to look at ordinary things in a different way; understand the principles of good and evil; learn to believe in a miracle and not forget about your own role.

Moral values ​​are transmitted through characteristic characters, each of which has its own folk prototype.

Hare

Runaway hare, gray hare, oblique - as soon as the animal is not called in Russian folk tales. He is endowed with a cowardly, but at the same time friendly character. The fabulous hare has cunning, agility and resourcefulness. A striking example is the fairy tale "The Fox and the Hare", where a small animal from a cowardly animal turns into a savvy hero who managed to deceive even an evil wolf and help his friends.

In nature, hares do have careful habits that help them avoid the teeth of predators. Our ancestors knew this feature of the animal.

Fox

Sly, dodgy, smart, insidious, vindictive ... What traits do not endow a fox in fairy tales. She deceives animals, seeks benefits everywhere, is not afraid of people. The fox is friends with the strong, but only for his own benefit.

Cunning is embodied in the image of an animal. A dishonest, thieving, but at the same time clever person can be considered a popular prototype. The fox is feared, despised and respected at the same time. This is evidenced by the appeal to her in fairy tales as Lisa Patrikeevna, Fox-Sister.

Wolf

The wolf in Russian fairy tales embodies anger. He preys on weaker animals; does not always act cunningly. The shortsightedness of the wolf is used by other characters. In the fairy tale "Sister Fox and the Gray Wolf" a red-headed cheat deceived a formidable predator, and in "Three Little Pigs"

harmless pigs were able to lead him around his finger.

Our ancestors also associated the wolf with death. Indeed, in nature, this predator is considered a kind of forest orderly, who hunt weak and sick animals. And the human prototype of the wolf can be considered one who is too evil, greedy and vengeful.

Bear

The fairy bear is the master of the forest. He is strong, rude, clumsy and not entirely smart. It is believed that the common people wanted to portray landowners in the form of a bear. Therefore, in fairy tales, this animal is often deceived by weaker animals with which ordinary people are associated.

At the same time, in fairy tales you can find another image of a bear: kind, calm, honest and freedom-loving. Suffice it to recall how the bear helped the lost girl Masha in the work of the same name.

Peasant (peasant)

The image of a man in fairy tales has different meanings. In some works, he acts as the personification of the working people: he is somewhat simple-minded, works all the time, does not put up with the injustice of wealthy owners. On the other hand, such traits as wisdom and cunning were embodied in the peasant. He is hardworking, not rich, but much more cunning and resourceful than landowners and generals.

Baba Yaga

A hut on chicken legs, a black cat, a mortar and a broom are the main attributes of any fabulous Baba Yaga. This old woman is both evil (which only her threats are worth) and kind (helps in difficult situations). She is wise, strong-willed, purposeful. May be an advisor, or may be a threat.

The image of Baba Yaga in Russian fairy tales is one of the most controversial and controversial. She personifies matriarchal traits. Our ancestors Baba Yaga was closely related to the clan.

Koschei the Deathless

In fairy tales, his image can be seen in three guises: a sorcerer with special power, the king of the underworld and an old man who can be the husband of the Snake or a friend of Baba Yaga. Possesses unusual abilities: turns heroes into animals and birds. It can only be defeated through certain rituals (with the help of a magic horse, club, burning). Despite his name, he is not at all immortal, because his death is at the tip of a needle (or, alternatively, in an egg), which are safely hidden.

The folk prototype of Koshchei is a domineering, evil, cunning and vile person, endowed with magical properties.

Ivan the Fool

Despite the ambiguous name, Ivan is not at all the personification of stupidity, even if he is called a fool in the work. In fairy tales, he is the youngest of the sons, who often does nothing, is lazy, but achieves a lot in life, thanks to cunning and good luck. This positive hero, embodying the features of what people want to have. A kind of dream, where without much effort, by chance, everything succeeds: to become rich, and to marry a princess. Our ancestors, in the form of Ivan the Fool, wanted to show a successful person.

Ivan Tsarevich

Unlike Ivan the Fool, who gets everything simply and without effort, Ivan Tsarevich must overcome many obstacles to achieve his goal, showing his strength, intelligence and skills. He becomes a prince not only by the fact of birth, which he does not even know about, but by merits. Like Ivan the Fool, he is most often the youngest of the brothers, only of royal blood.

Kikimora

Kikimora in fairy tales can act in the form of an ugly creature of indefinite age (this is a girl, an old woman, and even a man). He is the personification of evil spirits. She tries to hide from people, but lives near residential buildings or in a swamp. Her task is to spoil and scare.

The mythological meaning of kikimora among our ancestors is a person who passed away in an unrighteous way. Therefore, his soul does not find rest.

Water

The merman is the master of the water. This is a half-man-half fish. Lives near mills, in a pool and a hole. Scares people and drags them to the bottom; breaks mills and drowns livestock. But the water one can be deceived, defeated by cunning.