Russian fairytales have their wicked witches and handsome princes, but also houses that walk around on chicken legs and magic talking fish. So throw on your cloak and venture into the snowy forest to find out more about the wonderful tales of Grandfather Frost and Baba Yaga
“Once upon a time…” These words are a gateway into a different world, a magical realm of wicked witches, fairy godmothers, talking animals and handsome princes. Yet this distant world is familiar to all of us. We’ve all been there, through the fairy tales of Cinderella, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, the Ugly Duckling and countless others.
But, for most of us, traditional fairy tales from around the world are not so familiar. Each country has its own stories, heroes and villains. Russia’s wealth of fairy tales contain characters that are in some ways similar to our beloved characters, but in other ways very different. The Tsarevich is the handsome prince, and Grandfather Frost is Russian folklore’s answer to both Father Christmas and Jack Frost. Instead of our wicked witch, many Russian fairy tales tell of Baba Yaga, an old witch who flies around in a pestle and mortar and lives in a house that walks around on chicken legs. Some stories cross over between cultures, like The Golden Slipper, which is a wonderful version of the Cinderella story, but with one key difference - there is no Fairy Godmother. But who needs one when you can enlist the help of a magic talking fish?
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