Russian Language Blog

For some reason every time I see this picture of Vasilisa the Most Beautiful, I am reminded of the Snow White and her woodland critters.

«У Лукоморья дуб зелёный…» – do you know the rest by heart yet? One of the most famous lines from Alexandr Pushkin’s opening to “Ruslan and Lyudmila” does not translate very well into English. “There grows a green oak in Lookomorie…” somehow doesn’t sound nearly as magical, don’t you think?

Yes, I’m back with more Russian fairy tale characters, as promised. Well, it took me long enough to write «продолжение» [continuation] of the post, but as they say in Russia, «обещанного три года ждут» [one must wait three years for what’s promised].

This time I’d like to talk about the heroes – male and female – of the «русские сказки» [Russian fairy tales]. I already mentioned «Алёнушка» [Alyonushka] and her little brother «Иванушка» [Ivanushka], but there are plenty of others, including

«Иван Дурак» [Ivan the Fool] – this guy is featured in countless tales. Sometimes he has two older brothers who are ambitious and cunning. Ivan, on the other hand, is «простак» [a simpleton] for which he’s teased a lot. His parents don’t seem to expect much from him. How else would you explain that in one of the fairy tales his own father consents to Ivan’s marriage to a frog. I guess they know him too well. After all, the dude is known for disregarding all sound advice he gets. And of course, he always «попасть из огня да в полымя» [is between the rock and the hard place].

Yet in the end it’s Ivan and not his brothers who ends up with all the goodies – riches, pretty girls, magical servants, etc – mostly by asking fairy tale creatures to do all the dirty work for him. How come? «Потому, что он – добросердечный» [Because he is kind-hearted]. Well, if by kind-hearted you mean not shooting a bear after the animal pleads for its life or not setting Baba Yaga’s house on fire after she feeds him, then yes – he is a nice guy.

«Василиса Прекрасная» [Vasilisa the Most Beautiful] and «Елена Премудрая» [Yelena the Wisest] – sometimes these two swap their last names and then you read about «Василиса Премудрая» [Vasilisa the Wisest] or «Елена Прекрасная» [Yelena the Most Beautiful].

Note the use of the prefix «пре» in both names. In this particular case, «пре» indicates the superlative. To be wise is to be «мудрый», but to be the wisest is «премудрый» [the wisest].

You can use «пре» to form some other superlative forms of adjectives, such as «преинтересный» [of outmost interest], «престранный» [the strangest], «препротивный» [the most disgusting], etc.

However, «пре» might also mean to make something differt, as in «преображать» [to transform into something different]. For example, «Василиса Премудрая преображается из лягушки в царевну» [Vasilisa the Wisest transforms herself from a frog into a tsarina].

Finally, «пре» can also have the meaning of “across” – «Иван Дурак преступил порог избы Бабы Яги» [Ivan the Fool crossed the threshold of the Baba Yaga’s cottage].

But back to the leading ladies… These are usually princesses of some sort, cared for by scores of «мамки-няньки» [nurses and nannies]. It seems that they divide their leisure time between «рукоделье» [crafts] at which they excel and «ученье» [learning], sometimes getting quite literally too smart to remain unpunished by their evil fathers. Their beauty is world-renown and gets them a stream of marriage proposals, mostly from old, ugly, rich foreign princes. They are also in constant danger of being abducted by either «Кащей Бессмертный» [Kashey the Deathless], «Змей Горыныч» [Zmey Gorinich] or any of their more evil and determined suitors.

So guess what these chicks end up doing? Yep, they end up marrying Ivans (see above). Not only do they marry them, but they frequently help them in their quests as well. Ok, so Ivans are usually good-looking and young, but does that really justify changing one’s last name from Wise to Fool? I guess, as they say in Russia, «любовь зла, полюбишь и козла» [love makes you blind].

Well, why bother with Russian fairy tales anyway? «Сказки – для детей» [Fairytales are for the children]. A couple of reasons spring to mind. One is «сказка – ложь, да в ней намёк, добрым молодцам – урок» [fairy tale is a lie, but it has a hint and a lesson for all good lads]. Sometimes reading a tale about an old man who tries to break a golden egg, cries when it happens and gets consoled with a promise of no more golden eggs, just the regular ones can give you deep insights into the unfathomable Russian soul (can you name this fairy tale?).

Or, if you are into reading contemporary Russian literature, it might give you a better understanding of various works, from Brothers Strugatzkiy’s hilarious «Понедельник начинается в субботу» [A Monday Begins on a Saturday] to the dark and soulful “The Secret History of Moscow” by Ekaterina Sedia.

And if you are into Russian pop-culture, it might even shed some light onto the popularity of the Russian boy-band «Иванушки International».

P.S. There’s a not-too-obvious link between this video clip and one of the reasons for reading fairy tales that I mentioned above. Can you guess? Here’s a hint – the title of the song is «Три белых коня» [Three White Horses] and it originally appeared in a 1982 Soviet movie, «Чародеи».

Almost a long time ago now, we had a post called Russian Grammar – «по-русски!» [in Russian!]. It explored what different «части речи» [parts of speech] are called in Russian and also tried to explain «почему?» [why?] a verb is called «глагол», a noun «существительное» and an adverb «наречие». Today I’m not asking you to remember that «глагол» [verb] comes from the Old Slavonic verb «глаголить» [to speak], «существительное» [noun] is derived from the verb «существовать» [to exist] and that «наречие» [adverb] can loosely be translated as to mean «на речи» [‘on/in speak’]. Today I’m suggesting we do something a little bit different, namely – take a closer look at «русский синтаксис» [Russian syntax]. The first question we all should ask ourselves is: «Что такое синтаксис вообще?» [What is syntax in general?] Syntax is what is always there for us when we need to find out about the principles and rules for constructing sentences. Syntax is a very helpful invention, especially when studying a foreign language as the rules for proper construction of sentences might differ – A LOT! – from your native language. A sentence in Russian is called «предложение». Don’t confuse this word in today’s context with the standard phrase:

«сделать/делать предложение + кому?» [to propose + to whom? (lit. To make an offer/sentence to someone)],

for in today’s post «мы будем делать предложения» [we're going to make sentences] of another kind. In today’s post we’re not going to explore the subject of Russian syntax all the way, so to speak, but instead try to create for ourselves a general idea of what this grammatical category can bring into our lives – just in what ways it might be enriching to our devout studies of the Russian language.

Every Russian sentence must usually contain TWO (2) so called «члены предложения» [parts of the sentence]:

In Russian syntax «подлежащее» means SUBJECT.

Think of «подлежащее» [neut. subject] as being derived (and it is!) from the verb «подлежать» [impfv. (with dative) to be subject (to); to be liable to], used in sentences like «товар не подлежит обмену» [the product is not subject to exchange].

In Russian syntax «сказуемое» means PREDICATE.

Because the predicate in a sentence is often the verb, think of «сказуемое» [neut. predicate] as being derived from the perfect verb «сказать» [to say, speak, tell]. And a sentence without a predicate – mostly it is a verb – «не так уж много и скажет» [doesn't really tell/say that much].

An example of a Russian sentence with one «подлежащее» [subject] and one «сказуемое» [predicate]:

«Пётр поёт» [Pyotr sings].

An example of a Russian sentence with one «подлежащее» [subject] and two «сказуемые» [predicates]:

«Алёна поёт и пьёт» [Alyona sings and drinks].

An example of a Russian sentence with two «подлежащие» [subject] and one «сказуемое» [predicate]:

«Пётр и Алёна гуляют» [here: Pyotr and Alyona are partying].

In English syntax, sentences «без подлежащего» [without a subject] are rare and sometimes not even possible. In Russian syntax, sentences with only a «сказуемое» [predicate] in the form of a verb are not rare at all and highly possible. Most often sentences of this kind informs about different weather conditions or other natural phenomena where it is not always too easy to say WHO the subject is:

«Вечереет» ['It is starting to get dark outside’/’the evening is approaching’] – a verb made from the noun «вечер» [evening].

«Похолодало» [‘It has become a little bit colder’] – a verb made from the noun «холод» [cold].

Russian sentences, just like sentences in all other languages of the world, would be rather boring if all they contained were a subject and a predicate. That’s why Russian syntax allows for yet another category:

In Russian syntax, «дополнение» means OBJECT.

Think of the verb «дополнять» [impfv. to expand, enlarge; to amplify, add to] and the adverb «дополнительно» [in addition] and thus the Russian «дополнение» [object] is something you add to a sentence that would’ve been correct and complete even without it – but a bit boring, right?

In Russian syntax, we have two kinds of objects – mainly, and this is true for many other languages as well, so if you remember your school syntax, then I’m not going to loose you as we did deeper into the wondrous world of syntax:

First there’s «прямое дополнение» which means DIRECT OBJECT.

In Russian language «прямое дополнение» [direct object] very often takes on the form of «винительный падеж» [accusative case], like in the following sentence:

«Пётр любит Алёну» [Pyotr loves Alyona].

In this sentence «Пётр» [Pyotr] is «подлежащее» [subject], «любит» [loves] is «сказуемое» [predicate] and «Алёна» [Alyona] is the «прямое дополнение» [direct object]. I don’t know why so many school kids think syntax is boring, difficult and not fun at all? It is really very easy! And what a great way to spend a relaxing Saturday afternoon – dissecting a poem by «Александр Сергеевич Пушкин» [Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin] «на члены предложения» [according to parts of the sentences]…

Secondly, there’s «косвенное дополнение» which means INDIRECT OBJECT.

In Russian language «косвенное дополнение» [indirect object] is often expressed by the noun – if it is as noun – taking the form of «дательный падеж» [dative case]. This isn’t ALWAYS the case, though, so be sure to be aware of this rule not always applying. But in the following sentences it is:

«Алёна наливает вино Петру» [Alyona pours Pyotr wine].

In this sentence «Алёна» [Alyona] is «подлежащее» [subject], «наливает» [pours] is «сказуемое» [predicate], «вино» [wine] is «прямое дополнение» [direct object] and «Петру» [(to) Pyotr] is «косвенное дополнение» [indirect object]. Did you all follow that?

Of course, Russian syntax is much more complicated – deep, if you’d like – than what I have tried to illustrate above. There are plenty of more difficult constructions of sentences in Russian, and a whole lot more for us to discuss in the future. But I think we’ve done enough for one day today. And so as not to leave you simply longing for more, try and pick these two sentences apart and tell me what’s subject, predicate and direct/indirect objects in the comments:

1. «Хорошо!» (yes, it is a tricky one!)

2. «Мне нравится классическая музыка» (yeah, this is tricky too…)

Want people to know «ты владеешь русским языком» [you speak Russian] even when you’re not within the Russian Federation? Wear a «Чебурашка» ['Cheburashka'] on your purse – like I’m doing here in San Francisco – and you’ll see the proverb «русские всегда рядом» [Russians are always close/around] is true indeed! Russians in the USA always talk to me when they see my «Чебурашка» ['Cheburashka'] – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!

I am in love with «палехские шкатулки» [Palekh boxes]. These hand-crafted black lacquer boxes are decorated with folk scenes and, frequently, with scenes from Russian fairy tales. This one shows Russian poet A. Pushkin surrouned by the magical characters that he immortalized in his poetic fairy tales that take place in the magical Lookomorie. Learn more about Palekh boxes in this Virtual Museum.

For the past couple of months we’ve been concentrating heavily on just one book – Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. How about we switch gears for now and take a short break from the novel. I’m inviting you «в гости к сказке» [to visit fairy tale land].

Let’s start with the beginning. Russian fairy tale land is located «за тридевять земель, в тридевятом царстве, в тридесятом государстве» [across thrice-nine lands, in a thrice-ninth kingdom, in a thrice-tenth country]. I understand, the translation doesn’t make much sense, but just trust me on it – it’s a standard opening of most of Russian fairy tales.

If you feel tongue-tied pronouncing all those “thrice”s, then you might be happy to find out a shorter name for the Russian fairy-tale land – «Лукоморье» [Lookomorie]. «Лукоморье» the way we know it – a fairy tale land – was immortalized by «Александр Сергеевич Пушкин» [Alexandr Sergeevich Pushkin]:

«У Лукоморья дуб зелёный,

златая цепь на дубе том,

и днём и ночью кот учёный

всё ходит по цепи кругом…»

[The green oak grows in Lookomorie,

With a gold chain around it,

And day and night a learned cat

Walks round and round on the chain…]

The poem goes on a bit longer, describing various inhabitants of the magic land. There are scores of children’s stores, ice-cream shops, day cares, etc that are called Lookomorie. Interestingly, the real Lookomorie does exist. And  it’s not particularly hard to find either. The clue lies in the name itself.

The name of the land is actually a combination of two words – «лук» and «морье», a form of the word «море» [sea] used to describe “seashore” in such words as «взморье» [sea shore] and «приморье» [land by the sea].

Now back to the word «лук». Here it means “a bow”, the kind used by archers. (The other meaning of word «лук» is “onion”). So the word «Лукоморье» is a descriptive name of a land that is a) by the sea and b) with a shoreline that’s bow-shaped. Seems like any bow-shaped «залив» [bay] with a forest and at least one ancient oak can be Lookomorie, doesn’t it?

«Лукоморье» is inhabited by lots and lots of fairy tale creatures. In fact, so many of them that it’d take an encyclopedia to even briefly mention them all. So, I’m going to concentrate on the ones that are encountered most often and that I know the most about.

So without further ado, here they are, A to Z or rather «от А до Я».  

«Алёнушка» [Alyonushka] – a young girl, usually an orphan or from a poor peasant family, usually has a brother – «Иванушка» [Ivanushka] (more on him – later). Alyonushka is always in peril and is quite helpless. As such, she relies on the kindness of strangers – «добрые молодцы» [kind young men] (ok, to be fair – one per fairy tale), good-natured animals, even inanimate objects – «печка» [a brick oven] and «яблоня» [apple tree] among others.

«Баба Яга» [Baba Yaga] is an old and very unpleasant witch who lives alone in the deepest and gloomiest part of the forest. In addition to her unpleasant personality, she is no looker and has «костяная нога» [bony leg] and «нос в потолок врос» [a nose that seems to have grown into the ceiling].

She’s usually pictured dressed in rags and in general living in squalor. At the same time, she lives in a custom voice-controlled mobile house: «избушка на курьих ножках» [a small hut on chicken legs]; flies in a high-tech self-propelled «ступа» [mortar]; and owns a variety of magical objects. She also seems to know where to find anything and everyone. I guess, the lady simply has a weird sense of style. She tends to decorate her front yard with skulls and bones.

Generally, she is a dark force, hell-bent on kidnapping children and eating strangers. However, dashing young men seem to not have much of a problem dealing with her. The key, it seems, is to show «кто в доме хозяин» [who’s the master of the house] by first ordering the house itself «повернуться к лесу задом, а к молодцу – передом» [to turn with its backside to the forest and its front door - to the young man] and then ordering the old witch herself «напоить, накормить, спать уложить» [to provide drink, food and warm bed] to her guest. Such brashness seems to be the most effective since only then does Baba Yaga make her guest comfortable, and come the next morning also gives him advice, a helpful tip and/or a magic object before he leaves.

Attention: This is NOT a “Водяной”! Why not? Believe it or not, mostly because of this creature’s good looks. A real “водяной” is rather old, very out of shape, has a scragly greenish beard and has no desire to put out fires either figuratively or literally. Although noone knows for sure what he wears, I doubt he swims around half-naked in a fire-fighter get-up.

«Водяной» [Vodyanoy] is a water-dwelling spirit that’s up to no good. The history of the word is very interesting. In his «История водки» [The History of Vodka] V. Pohlebkin notes that back in the days “vodyanoy” was used to describe religious dissenters who used water, instead of wine, for the communion. Such practice was viewed as heresy and those practicing it were considered «нехристи» [pagans, lit: Christ-less].

«Горыныч, Змей» [Zmey Gorinich] is a (usually) three-headed fire-breathing flying dragon of Russian fairy tales. For his residence he prefers either a cave «в горах» [in the mountains] or the sea. He’s not very intelligent and typically represents dumb brute force of evil. Gorinich’s time is occupied by laying waste to villages, stealing domestic animals, kidnapping young and comely maidens, and fighting their handsome rescuers. Much of his dirty work is done on request from Baba Yaga and «Кащей Бессмертный» [Koshey the Deathless].

See, I told you this can go on and on. I’ve only briefly described 4 «сказочные герои» [fairy tale characters] with quite a few more to go, including, but not limited to Ivan, Yemelya and Vasilisa (if you’re interested, of course). Are there particular characters you’d like me to mention? What are some of your favorite ones?