Viesczy
Viesczy (VEETS-chee) Variation: Stryz, Vieszcy, Vieszy, Vjescey, Vji-esce A vampiric REVENANT from Russia, the viesczy is born either with a caul, with teeth, or as…
Category: Russian Folklore
Vourdalak
Vourdalak (VOUR-da-lacs) Russian vampiric lore tells of the vourdalak, a particularly evil vampire that resembles a beautiful woman and preys exclusively upon men. It can…
Vpir
Vpir (VA-peer) Variations: Upir A vampiric spirit from Russian lore, the vpir possesses the corpse of a sorcerer or witch and animates it for its…
Foma Berennikov
Foma Berennikov is in Russian folklore, a hero who said he had killed 12 mighty heroes but in actuality had killed 12 gadflies. His boasting…
Firebird, The
The Firebird is in Russian folklore, a magical bird with golden wings and crystal eyes. The Firebird appears in many Russian folktales. One of the…
Bylina
bylina (pl.: bylini) (true story) In medieval Russia, an oral heroic song or poem, originally sung by court minstrels and in recent centuries by skaziteli,…
Baldak Borisievich
Baldak Borisievich In Russian folklore, a hero who defeated the Turkish sultan. One day Baldak Borisievich, with 29 other young men, went directly to the…
Azadovskii, Mark Konstantinovich
Azadovskii, Mark Konstantinovich (1888– 1945) Russian folklorist whose expeditions in 1913–1915 took him to the Amur and Lena Rivers in Siberia, where he gathered materials…
Aliosha Popovich
Aliosha Popovich (Aljosa Popovic) (11th century c.e.) In Russian legend, bogatyr (epic hero) who appears in the bylini (epic songs) and in folktales. Aliosha was…
Alexander Nevsky
Alexander Nevsky (1220–1263) In Russian legend, prince-saint who defended Russia against foreign invaders. The heroic personality Alexander Nevsky, the first prince of Novgorod and (after…