Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1826–1871) was a folklorist and ethnographer who collected nearly 600 East Slavic and Russian fairy tales between 1855 and 1867. His collection is considered one of the largest folklore collections worldwide and earned him a reputation as the Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm. This tale, known as “The Fiend” or “The Vampire”, […]

Yesterday I gave you a folk-tale by Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev as translated by William Ralston Shedden-Ralston and collected in his A Choice Collection of Muscovite Folk-lore (1887). Here’s another one, called “The Water King and Vasilissa the Wise”. Incidentally, it’s the only one illustrated in the version I have. Once upon a time there lived […]

Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (1826–1871) was a folklorist and ethnographer who collected nearly 600 East Slavic and Russian fairy tales between 1855 and 1867. His collection is considered one of the largest folklore collections worldwide and earned him a reputation as the Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm. This tale, known as “The Fiend” or “The […]