{"id":12887,"date":"2020-09-04T11:54:45","date_gmt":"2020-09-04T11:54:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=12887"},"modified":"2020-09-04T11:54:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-04T11:54:45","slug":"were-not-in-kansas-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/were-not-in-kansas-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"We’re not in Kansas anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"

Somewhere between me reading Greek myths and then diving headfirst into The Chronicles of Narnia<\/em>, I remember being perfectly lost in the lore of the “\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0448\u0435\u0301\u0431\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0421\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430\u0301”<\/strong> (Magic Land<\/em>) created by the great Soviet author Alexander Volkov (\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440 \u0412\u043e\u0301\u043b\u043a\u043e\u0432)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You might be thinking, Volkov who<\/em>? Fear not, my friend, for I\u2019m here to tell you all about the genius man who drew inspiration from Frank Baum\u2019s The<\/em> Wonderful<\/em> Wizard of Oz<\/em> and created \u00ab\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0448\u0435\u0301\u0431\u043d\u0438\u043a \u0418\u0437\u0443\u043c\u0440\u0443\u0301\u0434\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0413\u043e\u0301\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430\u00bb<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>(The Wizard of the Emerald City<\/em>) and other stories as part of “\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0448\u0435\u0301\u0431\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0421\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430\u0301”<\/strong>\u00a0(Magic Land<\/em>). This classic Soviet fantasy-epos has and will continue to help young readers fall in love with adventure, the magic of reading, and books.<\/p>\n

\"Emerald-City\"

Image by Beri Garrett<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

First, let\u2019s talk about the author. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Alexander Volkov (1891) was \u043c\u043e\u0439 \u0437\u0435\u043c\u043b\u044f\u0301\u043a<\/strong>\u00a0(my fellow countryman), born and raised in an eastern city in Kazakhstan called \u0423\u0441\u0442\u044c-\u041a\u0430\u043c\u0435\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e\u0301\u0440\u0441\u043a<\/strong> (Ust-Kamenogorsk). Back then Kazakhstan was still part of the Soviet Union. Volkov\u2019s first connection with Baum\u2019s Wizard of Oz <\/em>happened out of the author\u2019s natural affinity for languages and translation. He was learning English and while reading Baum\u2019s story he would translate and re-tell it to his two sons. The translation was finished within two or three weeks in December of 1936 and later sent to Samuil Marshak, one of the most famous Russian authors who wrote for children. With Marshak\u2019s blessing, \u00ab\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0448\u0435\u0301\u0431\u043d\u0438\u043a \u0418\u0437\u0443\u043c\u0440\u0443\u0301\u0434\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0413\u043e\u0301\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> was published in 1939; the first edition of the story was accompanied by black and white illustrations by Nikolai Radlov. Volkov\u2019s characters were somewhat consistent with those of Baum yet already part of their own reality: Dorothy was now \u042d\u043b\u043b\u0438<\/strong> (Ellie), the Scarecrow went by the name \u0421\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0448\u0438\u0301\u043b\u0430<\/strong> (Strashila), the Tin Man – \u0416\u0435\u043b\u0435\u0301\u0437\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0414\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0441\u0435\u0301\u043a<\/strong> (The Iron Lumberjack), The Cowardly Lion \u2013 \u041b\u0435\u0432<\/strong> (Lion), and Toto changed to the familiar Russian diminutive \u0422\u043e\u0442\u043e\u0301\u0448\u043a\u0430<\/strong> (Totoshka).<\/p>\n

The first book was republished (and also rewritten) multiple times. The 1959 edition, considered the classic among the published versions, has illustrations by Leonid Vladmirsky. The old green book on the photo below is the one I grew up with (with the said 1959 illustrations). The other six books on the photo were printed in 2018 and later bought for my siblings:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0423\u0440\u0444\u0438\u043d \u0414\u0436\u044e\u0441 \u0438 \u0435\u0433\u043e\u0301 \u0434\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0432\u044f\u0301\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0441\u043e\u043b\u0434\u0430\u0301\u0442\u044b\u00bb<\/strong> (Urfin Joos and his Wooden Soldiers, 1963)<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0421\u0435\u043c\u044c \u043f\u043e\u0434\u0437\u0435\u0301\u043c\u043d\u044b\u0445 \u043a\u043e\u0440\u043e\u043b\u0435\u0301\u0439\u00bb<\/strong> (The Seven Underground Kings, 1964)<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u041e\u0301\u0433\u043d\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0431\u043e\u0433 \u041c\u0430\u0440\u0440\u0430\u0301\u043d\u043e\u0432\u00bb<\/strong> (The Fiery God of the Marrans, 1968)<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0416\u0451\u043b\u0442\u044b\u0439 \u0442\u0443\u043c\u0430\u0301\u043d\u00bb<\/strong> (The Yellow Fog, 1970)<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0422\u0430\u0301\u0439\u043d\u0430 \u0437\u0430\u0431\u0440\u043e\u0301\u0448\u0435\u043d\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0437\u0430\u0301\u043c\u043a\u0430\u00bb<\/strong> (The Secret of the Deserted Castle, 1982)<\/p>\n

\"\"

Magic Land <\/em>series by Alexander Volkov (Image by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"melting_witch\"

Ellie and the Wit<\/em>ch; illustration by Leonid Vladmirsky (Image by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"poppy_field\"

The poppy field<\/em>; illustration by Leonid Vladimirsky (Image by author)<\/p><\/div>\n

There are a number of other Russian authors who contributed to the universe created by Volkov. The Magic Land wiki fandom<\/a> page is a great reference of their works. I should add that while Baum\u2019s Wizard of Oz <\/em>is considered by many to be a political satire on the early 20th<\/sup> century America, Volkov\u2019s Magic Land<\/em> and its inhabitants are under less scrutiny and is viewed only as a children\u2019s classic. Volkov, who died on July 3 in 1977 at the age of 86, will always be remembered as someone who gave generations of children a magical reading adventure. To the Soviet reader, especially someone who grew up with Volkov\u2019s characters, the books are so much more than a re-narration. Re-imagining at first \u2013 yes, but the success of Volkov\u2019s series is what today\u2019s youth would compare to a work of fanfiction that gained triumphant momentum and stayed there, allowing new voices to live in that world.<\/p>\n

\"yellow_brick_road\"

Image by neotenist<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

So, if you are a fan of Baum\u2019s book The Wizard of Oz<\/em> or the 1939 live-action film, I hope you decide to pick up Volkov\u2019s stories too (for they have been translated into English, among other languages). And if you, like I, grew up on reading \u00ab\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0448\u0435\u0301\u0431\u043d\u0438\u043a \u0418\u0437\u0443\u043c\u0440\u0443\u0301\u0434\u043d\u043e\u0433\u043e \u0413\u043e\u0301\u0440\u043e\u0434\u0430\u00bb<\/strong>, here is one of my favorite quotes from the book by which we ought to remember Volkov:<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0412\u0441\u043f\u043e\u043c\u0438\u043d\u0430\u0301\u0439\u0442\u0435 \u043e\u0431o \u043c\u043d\u0435, \u043d\u043e \u043d\u0435 \u0441\u043b\u0438\u0301\u0448\u043a\u043e\u043c \u0433\u0440\u0443\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0301\u0442\u0435: \u0433\u0440\u0443\u0441\u0442\u044c \u0432\u0440\u0435\u0434\u0438\u0301\u0442 \u043f\u0438\u0449\u0435\u0432\u0430\u0440\u0435\u0301\u043d\u0438\u044e\u00bb<\/strong> (\u201cRemember me, but don\u2019t be too sad: sadness harms your digestion\u201d).<\/p>\n

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Somewhere between me reading Greek myths and then diving headfirst into The Chronicles of Narnia, I remember being perfectly lost in the lore of the “\u0412\u043e\u043b\u0448\u0435\u0301\u0431\u043d\u0430\u044f \u0421\u0442\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0430\u0301” (Magic Land) created by the great Soviet author Alexander Volkov (\u0410\u043b\u0435\u043a\u0441\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0440 \u0412\u043e\u0301\u043b\u043a\u043e\u0432). You might be thinking, Volkov who? Fear not, my friend, for I\u2019m here to tell you…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":12893,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,995],"tags":[541357,1250,541356],"class_list":["post-12887","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-soviet-union","tag-russian-childrens-literature","tag-russian-literature","tag-wizard-of-oz"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12887"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12903,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12887\/revisions\/12903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}