Народные Русские Сказки, or Russian Folk tales, is a collection of various Russian fairy tales put together by Russian folklorist, Alexander Afanasyev. Afanasyev is sort of the Russian equivalent to the German Brother's Grimm. Some of these fairy tales have been retold and adapted into our culture... for example The Princess and the Frog. The Russian style of the story usually differs quite a bit. In these stories, there are some reoccurring characters like Koschei the immortal, Baba Yaga, and Vasilisa the Beautiful. I could not figure out after reading them, however, if these are really reoccurring characters throughout the stories, or if these names like Vasilisa are just common names that are used in several stories. Either way, the set of stories is an interesting read, as are most European folklore. Also, there is a ton of Russian art work dedicated to some of these stories that are really very cool.
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (1878—1942)
This is a painting of Koschei the immortal. He is risen from the dead by wizards on a mission to save Marya Morevna.
Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926)
"The Princess who never smiled" was about a shallow princess that could be pleased by nothing. Her father promised her suiters that whoever could make her laugh or smile would be her husband.
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