Russian folk historical legends. Russian folk legends

Legends and traditions born in the bowels of the Russian folk life, have long been considered separate literary genre. In this regard, the well-known ethnographers and folklorists A. N. Afanasyev (1826–1871) and V. I. Dahl (1801–1872) are most often named. M. N. Makarov (1789–1847) can be considered a pioneer in collecting old oral stories about secrets, treasures and miracles and the like.

Some narratives are divided into the oldest - pagan (this includes legends: about mermaids, goblin, water, Yaril and other gods of the Russian pantheon). Others - belong to the times of Christianity, explore the folk life more deeply, but even those are still mixed with the pagan worldview.

Makarov wrote: “Tales about the failures of churches, cities, etc. belong to something immemorial in our earthly upheavals; but the legends about gorodets and gorodishches, is it not a pointer to the wanderings of the Russians on the Russian land. And did they belong only to the Slavs?” He came from an old noble family, owned estates in the Ryazan district. A graduate of Moscow University, Makarov wrote comedies for some time, studied publishing. These experiments, however, did not bring him success. He found his true vocation at the end of the 1820s, when, being an official for special assignments under the Ryazan governor, began to write down folk legends and legends. In his numerous business trips and wanderings around the central provinces of Russia, “Russian Traditions” were formed.

In the same years, another "pioneer" I. P. Sakharov (1807-1863), then still a seminarian, doing research for Tula history, discovered the charm of "recognizing the Russian people." He recalled: "Walking through the villages and villages, I peered into all classes, listened to the wonderful Russian speech, collecting the traditions of a long forgotten antiquity." The type of activity of Sakharov was also determined. In 1830-1835 he visited many provinces of Russia, where he was engaged in folklore research. The result of his research was the long-term work "Tales of the Russian people."

The folklorist P. I. Yakushkin (1822–1872) made an exceptional for his time (a quarter of a century long) “going to the people” with the aim of studying their work and life, which was reflected in his repeatedly republished Travel Letters.

In our book, of course, it was impossible to do without the traditions from The Tale of Bygone Years (XI century), some borrowings from church literature, and Abevegi of Russian Superstitions (1786). But it was the 19th century that was marked by a stormy surge of interest in folklore, ethnography - not only Russian and common Slavic, but also Proto-Slavic, which, having largely adapted to Christianity, continued to exist in various forms. folk art.

The most ancient faith of our ancestors is like scraps of ancient lace, the forgotten pattern of which can be identified from the scraps. complete picture no one has installed yet. Until the 19th century, Russian myths never served as material for literary works, unlike, for example, ancient mythology. Christian writers did not consider it necessary to refer to pagan mythology because their goal was to appeal to Christian faith pagans, those whom they considered their "audience".

Key to national awareness Slavic mythology became, of course, widely known " Poetic views Slavs to nature "(1869) A. N. Afanasyev.

The scientists of the 19th century studied folklore, church annals, and historical chronicles. They restored not only whole line pagan deities, mythological and fairy tale characters, of which there are a great many, but also determined their place in the national consciousness. Russian myths, fairy tales, legends were studied with a deep understanding of them. scientific value and the importance of preserving them for future generations.

In the preface to his collection “Russian people. Its customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry "(1880) M. Zabylin writes:" In fairy tales, epics, beliefs, songs there is a lot of truth about native antiquity, and in their poetry all folk character century, with its customs and concepts.

Legends and myths also influenced the development fiction. An example of this is the work of P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky (1819–1883), in which the legends of the Volga and Ural regions shimmer like precious pearls. To the high artistic creativity undoubtedly applies to "Impure, unknown and cross power» (1903) S. V. Maksimova (1831–1901).

In recent decades, forgotten in Soviet period, and now deservedly enjoying wide popularity: “The Life of the Russian People” (1848) by A. Tereshchenko, “Tales of the Russian People” (1841–1849) by I. Sakharova, “The Antiquity of Moscow and the Russian People in Historical Relations with the Everyday Life of Russians” (1872 ) and “Moscow neighborhoods near and far ...” (1877) S. Lyubetsky, “Tales and legends of the Samara region” (1884) D. Sadovnikov, “ People's Russia. All year round legends, beliefs, customs and proverbs of the Russian people ”(1901) by Apollo of Corinth.

Many of the legends and traditions given in the book are taken from rare editions available only in the largest libraries in the country. These include: “Russian Traditions” (1838–1840) by M. Makarova, “Zavolotskaya Chud” (1868) by P. Efimenko, “ complete collection ethnographic works” (1910–1911) by A. Burtsev, publications from old magazines.

Changes made to the texts most of which belong to the XIX century, are insignificant, are purely stylistic in nature.

Before the creation of the world, there was only water. And the world was created by God and his helper, whom God found in a water bladder. It was like that. The Lord walked on the water, and sees - a large bubble in which a certain person can be seen. And that man prayed to God, began to ask God to break through this bubble and release it into the wild. The Lord fulfilled the request of this man, set him free, and the Lord asked the man: “Who are you?” “As long as no one. And I will help you, we will create the earth.

The Lord asks this man, "How are you going to make the earth?" The man answers God: "There is land deep in the water, you need to get it." The Lord sends his helper into the water behind the earth. The assistant fulfilled the order: he dived into the water and got to the earth, which he took a full handful of, and returned back, but when he appeared on the surface, there was no earth in the handful, because it was washed with water. Then God sends him another time. But on another occasion, the helper could not deliver the earth intact to God. The Lord sends him a third time. But the third time the same failure. The Lord dived himself, took out the earth, which he brought to the surface, he dived three times and returned three times.

The Lord and his helper began to sow the extracted land on the water. When everything was scattered, the earth became. Where the earth did not fall, there remained water, and this water was called rivers, lakes and seas. After the creation of the earth, they created their own dwelling - heaven and paradise. Then they created what we see and do not see in six days, and on the seventh day they lay down to rest.

At this time, the Lord fell fast asleep, and his assistant did not sleep, but thought out how he could make people remember him more often on earth. He knew that the Lord would bring him down from heaven. When the Lord slept, he stirred up the whole earth with mountains, streams, precipices. God soon woke up and was surprised that the earth was so flat, and suddenly it became so ugly.

The Lord asks the helper: “Why did you do all this?” The helper answers the Lord: “Yes, when a person goes and drives up to a mountain or an abyss, he will say: “Oh, the devil take you, what a mountain!” And when he drives up, he will say: “Glory to you, Lord!”

The Lord was angry with his assistant for this and said to him: “If you are a devil, then be it from now on and forever and go to the underworld, and not to heaven - and let your dwelling be not heaven, but hell, where those people will suffer with you who commit sin."

I. N. Kuznetsov

Traditions of the Russian people

FOREWORD

Legends and traditions, born in the depths of Russian folk life, have long been considered a separate literary genre. In this regard, the well-known ethnographers and folklorists A. N. Afanasyev (1826–1871) and V. I. Dahl (1801–1872) are most often named. M. N. Makarov (1789–1847) can be considered a pioneer in collecting old oral stories about secrets, treasures and miracles and the like.

Some narratives are divided into the oldest - pagan (this includes legends: about mermaids, goblin, water, Yaril and other gods of the Russian pantheon). Others - belong to the times of Christianity, explore the folk life more deeply, but even those are still mixed with the pagan worldview.

Makarov wrote: “Tales about the failures of churches, cities, etc. belong to something immemorial in our earthly upheavals; but the legends about gorodets and gorodishches, is it not a pointer to the wanderings of the Russians on the Russian land. And did they belong only to the Slavs?” He came from an old noble family, owned estates in the Ryazan district. A graduate of Moscow University, Makarov wrote comedies for some time, and was engaged in publishing activities. These experiments, however, did not bring him success. He found his true calling at the end of the 1820s, when, being an official for special assignments under the Ryazan governor, he began to write down folk legends and traditions. In his numerous business trips and wanderings around the central provinces of Russia, “Russian Traditions” were formed.

In the same years, another "pioneer" I. P. Sakharov (1807-1863), then still a seminarian, doing research for Tula history, discovered the charm of "recognizing the Russian people." He recalled: "Walking through the villages and villages, I peered into all classes, listened to the wonderful Russian speech, collecting the traditions of a long forgotten antiquity." The type of activity of Sakharov was also determined. In 1830-1835 he visited many provinces of Russia, where he was engaged in folklore research. The result of his research was the long-term work "Tales of the Russian people."

The folklorist P. I. Yakushkin (1822–1872) made an exceptional for his time (a quarter of a century long) “going to the people” with the aim of studying their work and life, which was reflected in his repeatedly republished Travel Letters.

In our book, of course, it was impossible to do without the traditions from The Tale of Bygone Years (XI century), some borrowings from church literature, and Abevegi of Russian Superstitions (1786). But it was the 19th century that was marked by a stormy surge of interest in folklore, ethnography - not only Russian and common Slavic, but also Proto-Slavic, which, having largely adapted to Christianity, continued to exist in various forms of folk art.

The most ancient faith of our ancestors is like scraps of ancient lace, the forgotten pattern of which can be identified from the scraps. No one has yet established the full picture. Until the 19th century, Russian myths never served as material for literary works, unlike, for example, ancient mythology. Christian writers did not consider it necessary to turn to pagan mythology, since their goal was to convert the pagans, those whom they considered their "audience", to the Christian faith.

The key to the national awareness of Slavic mythology was, of course, the widely known “Poetic Views of the Slavs on Nature” (1869) by A. N. Afanasyev.

The scientists of the 19th century studied folklore, church annals, and historical chronicles. They restored not only a number of pagan deities, mythological and fairy-tale characters, of which there are a great many, but also determined their place in the national consciousness. Russian myths, fairy tales, legends were studied with a deep understanding of their scientific value and the importance of preserving them for future generations.

In the preface to his collection “Russian people. Its customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry” (1880) M. Zabylin writes: “In fairy tales, epics, beliefs, songs, there is a lot of truth about native antiquity, and in their poetry the whole folk character of the century is conveyed, with its customs and concepts."

Legends and myths also influenced the development of fiction. An example of this is the work of P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky (1819–1883), in which the legends of the Volga and Ural regions shimmer like precious pearls. The "Unclean, Unknown and Holy Power" (1903) by S. V. Maksimov (1831-1901) undoubtedly belongs to high artistic creativity.

In recent decades, forgotten in the Soviet period, and now deservedly enjoying wide popularity, have been republished: “The Life of the Russian People” (1848) by A. Tereshchenko, “Tales of the Russian People” (1841–1849) by I. Sakharova, “Ancient Moscow and the Russian people in the historical relationship with the everyday life of Russians” (1872) and “Moscow neighborhoods near and far…” (1877) S. Lyubetsky, “Tales and legends of the Samara region” (1884) D. Sadovnikov, “People’s Russia. All year round legends, beliefs, customs and proverbs of the Russian people ”(1901) by Apollo of Corinth.

Many of the legends and traditions given in the book are taken from rare editions available only in the largest libraries in the country. These include: “Russian Traditions” (1838–1840) by M. Makarov, “Zavolotskaya Chud” (1868) by P. Efimenko, “Complete Collection of Ethnographic Works” (1910–1911) by A. Burtsev, publications from old magazines.

The changes made to the texts, most of which date back to the 19th century, are minor and purely stylistic.

ON THE CREATION OF THE WORLD AND THE EARTH

God and his helper

Before the creation of the world, there was only water. And the world was created by God and his helper, whom God found in a water bladder. It was like that. The Lord walked on the water, and sees - a large bubble in which a certain person can be seen. And that man prayed to God, began to ask God to break through this bubble and release it into the wild. The Lord fulfilled the request of this man, set him free, and the Lord asked the man: “Who are you?” “As long as no one. And I will help you, we will create the earth.

The Lord asks this man, "How are you going to make the earth?" The man answers God: "There is land deep in the water, you need to get it." The Lord sends his helper into the water behind the earth. The assistant fulfilled the order: he dived into the water and got to the earth, which he took a full handful of, and returned back, but when he appeared on the surface, there was no earth in the handful, because it was washed with water. Then God sends him another time. But on another occasion, the helper could not deliver the earth intact to God. The Lord sends him a third time. But the third time the same failure. The Lord dived himself, took out the earth, which he brought to the surface, he dived three times and returned three times.

The Lord and his helper began to sow the extracted land on the water. When everything was scattered, the earth became. Where the earth did not fall, there remained water, and this water was called rivers, lakes and seas. After the creation of the earth, they created their own dwelling - heaven and paradise. Then they created what we see and do not see in six days, and on the seventh day they lay down to rest.

At this time, the Lord fell fast asleep, and his assistant did not sleep, but thought out how he could make people remember him more often on earth. He knew that the Lord would bring him down from heaven. When the Lord slept, he stirred up the whole earth with mountains, streams, precipices. God soon woke up and was surprised that the earth was so flat, and suddenly it became so ugly.

The Lord asks the helper: “Why did you do all this?” The helper answers the Lord: “Yes

Russ... This word absorbed the expanses from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic and from the Elbe to the Volga - expanses fanned by the winds of eternity. That is why there will be references to the most diverse tribes, from the southern to the Varangians, although it mainly deals with the traditions of Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians.

The history of our ancestors is bizarre and full of mysteries. Is it true that during the great migration of peoples they came to Europe from the depths of Asia, from India, from the Iranian highlands? What was their common proto-language, from which, like from a seed - an apple, a wide-noisy garden of dialects and dialects grew and blossomed?

Scientists have puzzled over these questions for centuries. Their difficulties are understandable: the material evidence of our the deepest antiquity almost not preserved, as, indeed, the images of the gods. A. S. Kaisarov in 1804 in “Slavic and Russian Mythology” wrote that in Russia there were no traces of pagan, pre-Christian beliefs because “our ancestors very zealously set about their new faith; they smashed and destroyed everything and did not want to leave to their offspring signs of the delusion to which they had hitherto indulged.

New Christians in all countries were distinguished by such irreconcilability, but if in Greece or Italy time saved at least a small number of marvelous marble statues, then wooden Russia stood among the forests, and as you know, the Tsar Fire, raging, did not spare anything: not human dwellings, no temples or wooden images gods, no information about them, written in ancient runes on wooden planks. And so it happened that only quiet echoes reached us from the distances of the pagans, when the bizarre world lived, blossomed, and ruled.

The concept of “tradition” is understood quite broadly: not only the names of gods and heroes, but also everything wonderful, magical, with which the life of our Slav ancestor was connected, is a conspiracy word, Magic power herbs and stones, the concept of heavenly bodies, natural phenomena, and so on.

The tree of life of the Slavs-Rus stretches its roots into the depths primitive eras, Paleolithic and Mesozoic. It was then that the first growths, the prototypes of our folklore, were born: the hero Medvezhye USHKO - half-man, half-bear, the cult of the bear's paw, the cult of Volos-Veles, conspiracies of the forces of nature, fairy tales about animals and natural phenomena (Morozko).

Primitive hunters initially worshiped, as it is said in the "Word of Idols" (XII century), ghouls and coasts, then the supreme ruler Rod and women in labor Lada and Lele - the deities of the life-giving forces of nature.

The transition to agriculture (IV-III millennium BC) was marked by the emergence of the earthly deity Mother Cheese Earth (Mokosh). The farmer is already paying attention to the movement of the sun, moon and stars, and is counting according to the agrarian-magical calendar. There is a cult of the sun god Svarog and his offspring Svarozhich-fire, the cult of the sunny-faced Dazhbog.

First millennium BC - the time of the emergence of the heroic epic, myths and legends that have come down to us in the guise of fairy tales, beliefs, legends about the Golden Kingdom, about the hero - the winner of the Serpent.

In the following centuries, the thundering Perun, the patron saint of warriors and princes, comes to the fore in the pantheon of paganism. The flourishing of pagan beliefs on the eve of the formation of the Kievan state and during its formation (IX-X centuries) is associated with his name. Here paganism became the only state religion, and Perun became the first god.

The adoption of Christianity almost did not affect the religious foundations of the village.

But even in the cities, pagan conspiracies, rituals, and beliefs developed over many centuries could not disappear without a trace. Even princes, princesses and combatants still took part in public games and festivities, for example, in mermaids. The leaders of the squads visit the Magi, and their households are healed by prophetic wives and sorceresses. According to contemporaries, churches were often empty, and guslars, blasphemers (narrators of myths and legends) occupied crowds of people in any weather.

By the beginning of the 13th century, dual faith had finally taken shape in Russia, which has survived to this day, because in the minds of our people the remnants of ancient pagan beliefs coexist peacefully with the Orthodox religion ...

The ancient gods were formidable, but fair, kind. They seem to be related to people, but at the same time they are called to fulfill all their aspirations. Perun struck the villains with lightning, Lel and Lada patronized the lovers, Chur guarded the boundaries of possessions, but the sly Pripekalo looked after the revelers ... pagan gods was majestic - and at the same time simple, naturally merged with everyday life and being. That is why in no way, even under the threat of the most severe prohibitions and reprisals, the soul of the people could not renounce the ancient poetic beliefs. Beliefs by which our ancestors lived, deifying - along with the humanoid rulers of thunder, winds and the sun - the smallest, weakest, most innocent phenomena of nature and human nature. As I. M. Snegirev, an expert on Russian proverbs and rituals, wrote in the last century, Slavic paganism is the deification of the elements. The great Russian ethnographer F. I. Buslaev echoed him: “The pagans made the soul related to the elements ...”

And even if the memory of Radegast, Belbog, Poel and Pozvizda has weakened in our Slavic family, but for that time the goblin jokes with us, help brownies, mischief watermen, seduce mermaids - and at the same time they beg not to forget those in whom they truly believed our ancestors. Who knows, maybe these spirits and gods will indeed not disappear, they will be alive in their heavenly, transcendental, divine world, if we do not forget them? ..

LEGEND ABOUT THE STAY OF A HISTORICAL PERSON IN A SPECIFIC LOCATION

327. Martha Romanova in Karelia

<.. .>Nun Marfa visited not only the villages closest to the Tolvui churchyard, but also went to the Savior in Kizhi, and in Sennaya Guba, and for Onego in Cholmuzha, where they treated her and gave her whitefish.
These whitefish, for their excellent taste, were subsequently delivered to the court ...
Zap. N. S. Shayzhin // P. book. 1912. S. 11.

328. Elk-stone, or Peter the Great in Totma

Peter the Great passed by, traveled in a sailing boat, well, there with his retinue. And they rode from Arkhangelsk and climbed all along this along the Dvina. Then (the Sukhona flows into the Dvina) they drove along the Sukhona<...>.
Well, they arrive... Totma didn't have such a city as it exists now, but it was lower, Totma, about seven or eight kilometers lower, in the old place. Well, they were driving, and there dense forest everything is around this river (then steamboats did not yet go, these small merchants went, small ones).
Here we went. Well, where do you have to eat? And there, in the middle of the river, a huge stone stands, approximately like a decent house. In the spring, this river rises by six or eight meters, and this stone is still visible in the spring, even, partly visible. Well, they rode in the summer - the river has sold, duck a huge stone. There they dined with their entire retinue.
We had lunch, Peter looked:
- What, - he says, - is darkness here! ..
Well, after that it was created that Totma was appropriated. And they moved (the village. - N.K.) up seven kilometers, this Totma grew. Well, there are many monasteries there, everything, in this Totma.
And then he went to travel, all on his boat, from Arkhangelsk and to Vologda, from Vologda he went further, along the canal and there all the way to the place, to Leningrad, all on a sailing boat.
This I have heard from old people and from many. Only in books, I didn’t see it anywhere.

Zap. from Burlov A. M. in the village. Andoma of the Vytegorsky district of the Vologda region July 10, 1971 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin // AKF. 134. No. 25; Record library, 1621/4

LEGEND ABOUT THE ELECTION OF THE KING

329. Boris Godunov

All the Russian boyars have gathered in stone Moscow and are advising on how, Lord, we will choose the tsar. And the boyars thought of choosing him in such a position: at the Trinity, Sergius has the Savior above the gate and before him a lamp; we will all pass through these gates, and whoever lights up a candle in front of a lamp, to be the king in Moscow over the whole earth. So they approved this word. On the first day, from the highest hands, let people into the gates, on the other - the middle class of people, and on the third and the lowest rank. Before whom the lampada will light up against the Savior, he will reign in Moscow.
And now a day has been appointed for the people on high to go to the Trinity: a gentleman is going with his coachman Boris.
- If I, - he says, - will be king, I will make you right hand- the first person, and you, Boris, if you are the king, where will you put me?
“What’s the use of caroling,” the groom Boris answered him, “I’ll be king, I’ll say so ...
They drove through the gates to the holy monastery to the Trinity - and a candle on the lamp lit up from them - itself, without fire. The people on high saw it and shouted: “Lord, God has given us a king!” But they split up which of the two should be king ... And they decided that it was necessary to let go one by one.
The next day they let in people of the middle class, and on the third and the lowest class. As the groom Boris entered the holy gates, he crossed his eyes on the frames and a candle lit up on the lamp. Everyone shouted: “Lord, God has given us a king from the lowest class of people!”
Everyone began to disperse to their places. Boris the Tsar came to stone Moscow and ordered that the head of that boyar, for whom he served as a groom, be cut off.

Published E. V. Barsov // Dr. and new. Russia. 1879. V. 2. No. 9. S. 409; Legends, legends, anecdotes. pp. 101-102.

LEGENDS ABOUT THE ROYAL AWARD

330. Queen Marfa Ivanovna

This queen was exiled to Vyg-lake, to the White Sea, to Cholmuzha, to St. George's churchyard<...>. For her life, it was ordered to arrange a three-quiet barrel in order to keep oats at one end, and water at the other, and peace for the queen herself in the middle.
And in this Cholmuzh churchyard there was a priest Yermolai - and he made a turik with two bottoms, poured milk into it on top, and in the middle between the bottoms passed letters and gifts sent from Moscow.
Tyn and the remains of her dwelling were visible until recently. Priest Yermolai, with the accession to the throne of Mikhail Fedorovich, was summoned to Moscow and appointed to one of the Moscow cathedrals, and his family was given a charter, which is still intact, and in this charter it is written about the zeal of priest Yermolai.

Published E. V. Barsov//Dr. and new. Russia. 1879. V. 2. No. 9. S. 411; Legends, legends, anecdotes. S. 102.

331. Obelishchsha

<.. .>Marfa Ioannovna did not forget the services of the Tolvuy well-wishers and summoned them to Moscow. There she suggested that they choose one of two things: either receive one hundred rubles each at a time, or enjoy forever the benefits and benefits that they will be given.
The Tolvuyans, after consulting with knowledgeable people, chose the latter and received grants for land and benefits.

Published I. Mashezersky // OEV. 1899. No. 2. S. 28; P. book. 1912. S. 20-21.

332. Obelshchina

Empress Elizabeth saved herself in our direction when she had troubles. And in which villages I stopped and in which I ate tea or there was a little gate, I remembered about you. And then, as she stood in the kingdom, she sent them a letter:
- What, peasants, you want, everything will be fine for you, come to St. Petersburg, just tell me.
They chose it which is smarter and sent. They are walking around the city and do not know what to ask for something. So they saw an important person and tell him. And he says:
- Do not ask you for money - spend the treasury; do not ask for ranks - soon you will be kicked out of there in your dark business; and you ask for deeds of deeds so that you and your children and grandchildren will not go to the soldiers forever and ever.
And so we did the deed, and we became a "belshchina", and until now we did not go into the soldiers. Only under the Bolsheviks they took us.

Zap. from Mitrofanov I.V. in the village. Yandomozero Medvezhyegorsk district of the Karelian ASSR I. V. Karnaukhova // Tales and legends of the Severn, the region. I” 50 S. 101-102.

333. White

Mikhail Fedorovich's mother lived in Tsarevo (Tolvuya) under supervision. I went to the well to wash (five kilometers from Tolvui).
When her son became king, those where she lived did not pay taxes. There were several such villages. They were called obelnye. They did not pay taxes even under Nicholas.

Zap. from Krokhin P. I. in the village. Padmozero in the Medvezhyegorsk district of the Karelian ASSR in 1957. N. S. Polishchuk // AKF. 80. No. 72.

334. For oats and water, or clerk Tretyak

<.. .>Like Marfa Fyodorovna Romanova, she was imprisoned here. Here on this island there is a prison hidden here (not this one, but that little island higher up), here she lived on this island. And there, it means, he went, looked after her, well, fed her (she was exiled here for oats and water) a deacon or a priest, God knows who. And it was like he was taking care of her.
When, then, Mikhail Fedorovich was appointed to the kingdom, then he began to look for his family, his mother. And then he found his mother.
Well, as if this mother, so (they took her there), well, she rewarded this deacon. So she began to tell her son that this key keeper should be rewarded ...
And this over-fertilization went to the Klyucharyovs from this key keeper. It would be ... So the father told. But I don’t know, so it was exactly that?
So, here we are, the Klyucharevs, our village; then there, in Zaonezhye, the Tarutins, the Tarutinsky village, this is what they supposedly rewarded: there - whitewashed, and here Isakov - boyars.
So my father told me, and whether this is accurate or not, how can I know, since I was born in nine hundred and three, and this happened in the sixteenth century, how can you understand this matter - it's difficult ...
From this key keeper we went, this rebirth went. At first there were six of us householders, but now there are more than twenty householders.

Zap. from Klyucharev A. A. in with. Cholmuzhi of the Medvezhyegorsk district of the Karelian ASSR August 12, 1971 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin / / AKF. 135. No. 33; Record library, 1628/9.

335. Marfa Romanova and the Klyucharevsky family

<...>There is someone there, the Klyucharevs, residents, there were eight families then. And so Mikhail Fedorovich, the first Romanov (Mikhail Fedorovich was the first elected from the Romanov dynasty), his mother was exiled here by Boris Godunov. She was actually exiled not to Cholmuzhi, but here, to Tolvaya. There is a Tsarevo village. So she sometimes went to Cholmuzhi, to the priest. And the priest accepted it.
And when Mikhail Fedorovich was elected tsar, the first of the Romanov family, he rewarded this priest, he awarded the land, together, it seems, with the population. large area gave land and forestry. In my presence, a certain Belyaev developed, no, Belov, this site. Well, duck, that's why Cholmuzhi are connected with the Romanovs.
(These Cholmuzh peasants), it seems, were called "boyars", there were eight families of them.
Well, in 1909 they were not called boyars, but votchinniks: they had a letter from Tsar Mikhail Romanov (I didn’t read this letter, but they told me that the measure was called “howl” in it).

Zap. from Sokolin A. T. in with. Shunga of the Medvezhyegorsk district of the Karelian ASSR August 9, 1971 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin // AKF. 135. No. 2; Record library, 1627/2.

336. In Moscow - Tsar Michael

Tsarev told me from Sandy: a big old man was walking towards us, in his hands - a cross, like a tree:
- Master, will you allow me to glorify God?
He stood up before God, got busy.
- From now on and until the century people will not pay taxes here - Tsar Michael came to Moscow.
And the land was its own ... The land was counted in grandmas (ten sheaves - in the grandma); threshed small - a pood of ten pounds. Land for mowing gave forty zakolin (twenty heaps of zakolin, in the current one - one and a half tons).

Zap. from G. I. Burkov in the village. Volkostrov of the Medvezhyegorsk district of the Karelian ASSR in September 1968. N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin // AKF. 135. No. 61.

337. Peter's award

What will you be rewarded with? - Peter asked our old people.
- We do not need any reward, let us work for ourselves. (Earlier, you see, they worked at the Solovetsky Monastery for three days ... Martha the posadnitsa was in charge).
Peter the Great freed the Nyukhotskys from the monastery. Martha the posadnitsa left all these lands. The old people plowed, sowed for themselves! The places here are good: there was a skete on Ukkozero, so they carried fish from there in purses, carried them by boats! ..

Zap. from Karmanova A. A. in with. Nyukhcha of the Belomorsky district of the Karelian ASSR July 14, 1969 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin // AKF. 135. No. 109.

338. Peter the Great on the way to Arkhangelsk

Traveling to Arkhangelsk, Peter visited the Topetskoye village of the Arkhangelsk province and<...>leaving the karbas on the muddy bank of the village, he could hardly walk along it, saying at the same time: “What kind of mud is here!” And since that time, this place has not been called otherwise than Il.
Arriving in the village, the sovereign entered the house of the peasant Yurinsky and dined with him, although the dinner table was prepared for Peter in another house. This peasant, when Peter left the karbas on the shore, accidentally chopped firewood on the shore and, thus, was the first to congratulate the sovereign on a safe arrival. For this reason, Yurinsky was distinguished from other fellow villagers.
As a memento of his visit, the sovereign granted him two silver cups and the same nominal ring and several plates. Moreover, Peter gave Stepan Yurinsky as much land as he sees, but the prudent Yurinsky was content with fifty acres.

Published S. Ogorodnikov//AGV. 1872. No. 38. S. 2-3; Legends, legends, anecdotes. S. 110.

339. Peter the Great and Bazhenin

Peter the Great ascended this bell tower (on the Vavchuzhskaya mountain. - N.K.) with Bazhenin<...>. On this belfry<. ..>he rang the bells, entertained his sovereign mercy. And from this bell tower once, pointing Bazhenin to distant views, to the whole vast space that spreads out in the neighborhood and is lost in the endless distance, Great Peter spoke:
- That's all that, Osip Bazhenin, you see here: all these villages, all these villages, all lands and waters - all this is yours, all this I grant you with my royal mercy!
“That’s a lot for me,” answered old Bazhenin. - A lot of yours to me, sovereign, a gift. I don't deserve it.
And bowed at the feet of the king.
- Not much, - Peter answered him, - not much for your faithful service, for your great mind, for your honest soul.
But again Bazhenin bowed at the feet of the tsar and again thanked him for his mercy, saying:
- Give me all this - you will offend all the neighboring peasants. I myself am a peasant and it is not a trace for me to be the master of my own kind, the same as me, peasants. And I am with your generous favors, great sovereign, and so until the end of my age I am exacted and satisfied.

Maksimov. T. 2. S. 477-478; inaccurate reprint: AGV. 1872. No. 38. P. 3i

340. Peter the Great and the potter

As he (Peter. - N.K.) once was in Arkhangelsk near the Dvina River and saw a fair number of barges and other similar simple ships standing in place, he asked what kind of ships they were and where did they come from? On this, it was reported to the king that these were peasants and commoners from Kholmogory, carrying various goods to the city for sale. He was not pleased with Sim, but he wanted to talk to them himself.
And so he went to them and saw that most of the carts mentioned were loaded with pots and other earthenware. Meanwhile, as he tried to reconsider everything and for this he went to the courts, then by chance a plank broke under this sovereign, so that he fell into a vessel loaded with pots; and although he did no harm to himself, he did enough damage to the potter.
The potter, to whom this ship with the cargo belonged, looked at his broken goods, scratched his head, and simply said to the king:
- Father, now I will not bring home much money from the market.
- How much did you think to bring home? the king asked.
- Yes, if everything was all right, - the peasant continued, - then Altyn with forty-six or more would have helped out.
Then this monarch took a gold piece out of his pocket, handed it to the peasant, and said:
"Here's the money you were hoping to get." As much as this is pleasing to you, so much is pleasing to me on my part that you cannot later call me the cause of your misfortune.

Zap. from Lomonosov M. V. Ya. Shtelin // Genuine anecdotes ... published by Ya. Shtelin. No. 43. S. 177-179; inaccurate reprint: Acts of Peter the Great. Part 2. S. 77-78.

341. Peter the Great and the potter

Peter the Great, during his more than a month and a half stay in Arkhangelsk, visited foreign ships in the clothes of a Dutch skipper, surveyed their structure with curiosity and easily talked about navigation and trade not only with skippers, but also with ordinary sailors. In addition, I visited the sights of Arkhangelsk.
Royal attention was paid not only to sea, but also to small river vessels. Once crossing a board through a boat, the king stumbled, fell and broke a lot of fragile goods, for which he generously rewarded the owner thereof.

Zap. from many Arkhangelsk old-timers // AGV. 1846. No. 51. S. 772; inaccurate reprint: AGV. 1852. No. 40. S. 360.

342. Peter the Great and the potter

They say that the sovereign spent whole days at the city exchange, walked around the city in the dress of a Dutch shipbuilder, often walked along the Dvina River, went into all the details of the life of merchants who came to the city, asked them about future views, about plans, noticed everything and paid attention to everything attention to even the smallest detail.
Once<...>he inspected all Russian merchant ships; Finally, by boats and barges, he ascended the Kholmogory karbas, on which the local peasant brought pots for sale. For a long time he examined the goods and talked with the peasant; accidentally broke, the board - Peter fell from the masonry and broke many pots. Their owner threw up his hands, scratched himself and said:
- That's the revenue! The king chuckled.
- Was there a lot of revenue?
- Yes, now a little, but it would be altyn for forty. The king granted him a gold piece, saying:
- Trade and get rich, but don't mention me dashingly!

Maksimov. T. 2. S. 411-412; inaccurate reprint: OGV. 1872. No. 13. P. 15^

343. Peter the Great on Kegostrov

<...>Peter, during his stay at Kegostrov, made fun of the village women. It used to swim up, invisible to them, overturn the karbas, and then let's pull them out of the water. Of course, the milk with which the women went to the city to bargain disappeared, but the king generously rewarded them for the losses they incurred in such cases.

Zap. in the village Gnevashevo Onega u. Arkhangelsk province. in the 50s. 19th century A. Mikhailov // Mikhailov. S. 14; Legends, legends, anecdotes. S. 113.

344. Peter the Great in Arkhangelsk

<...>Having built a fortress, he (Peter the Great. - N.K.) ordered to build a church in it and, wanting to perpetuate at least something his stay in Arkhangelsk, donated to the sacristy new church his marching cloak, from which, according to legend, the bishop's sakkos was subsequently made.
This sakkos, valuable from the memories, but seemingly quite plain, is still preserved in the Archangel Cathedral.

Published A. N. Sergeev//Sever. 1894. No. 8. Stb. 422.

345. Peter the Great and the people of Nyukh

There, for the successful escort of the ships, Peter the Great presented the Nyukhotsk captain Potashov with his caftan. He led the ships almost from Arkhangelsk.
And the one who undertook to lead the ships, Peter the Great removed from the leadership.

Zap. from Ignatiev K. Ya. in the city of Belomorsk, Karelian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic on July 7, 1969. Ya. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin // AKF. 135. No. 96.

346. Peter the Great and the people of Nyukh

Yes, the Nyukhites stole the caftan from Peter the Great (from the tsar!)
And for this, Peter the Great gave the old man five rubles of encouragement. His soul was wide open. He found out who stole it - he also praised him for his intelligence.
That's the thing: to steal a caftan from the king, and even get five rubles.

Zap. from Nikitin A. F. in with. Sumposade of the Belomorsky district of the Karelian ASSR July 12, 1969 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin / / AKF. 135. No. 101.

347. Royal camisole

There was a camp in the Vytegorsky churchyard: the horses were changed. Peter the Great went to the Vyanga pier; turning around, he came to the hut, began to get ready for the journey and wanted to put on his camisole. Suddenly Grisha the simpleton, a local resident, stepped forward; they revered him for a saint; he cut the truth and evil people made him blush. This Grisha fell at the feet of Peter the Great and says:
- Hope is the king of the sovereign! Do not order to execute, order to say a word.
“Say what you need,” said the king.
- Give us, hope-sir, this camisole, what to throw back on the shoulders, - said Grisha.
- And where do you put my camisole? - asked Peter the Great.
Here Grisha the simpleton replied:
- For ourselves, hope-sir, and for those who are smarter and kinder, for hats, and we will store hats not only for children, but also for great-grandchildren, as a memory of yours to us, the king-father, mercy.
Peter the Great fell in love with this word to Grishina, and he gave him his camisole.
- Good, - say. - Here you are, Grisha, camisole; Yes, look, do not remember me dashingly.
The vytegors took this camisole and sewed it on their hats. The neighbors became envious, and they began to say that you had stolen the camisole, and this word swept through Moscow, and from Moscow to all cities. And since then they began to call the vytegor "camisole". - Vytegory-de thieves, Peter the Great's camisole was stolen.

Zap. E. V. Barsov//Conversation. 1872. Book. 5. S. 303-304; Petr Vel in folk tales Severn. the edges. pp. 11-12; O. Sat. Issue. III. Dep. 1. S. 193; Bazanov. 1947. S. 143-144; Fairy tales, songs, ditties Vologda. the edges. No. 11. S. 287-287.

348. Royal camisole

Upon returning from the Vyanga pier, the sovereign stopped at the Vytegorsk churchyard to change horses and rest. Here is one holy fool - Grisha fell at the feet of the sovereign with the words "Hope-king, do not order to be executed, order to say a word"
Having received permission to speak, the holy fool stood up and, to the surprise of everyone, began to ask the sovereign to give him a red camisole, which the batman was preparing for serving.
The emperor asked why he needed a camisole. Grisha replied:
- For ourselves and those who are smarter and kinder, for hats, and we will stock hats not only for children, but also for great-grandchildren, in memory of yours, Tsar-father, mercy.
The sovereign gave a camisole; but this gift added a proverb to the name of the Vytegors - "camisole".

Zap. from a clergyman, born in 1733, whose father met Peter the Great. Extracted from the manuscript of F. I. Dyakov, which was kept in a copy in the library of the Olonets gymnasium, K. M. Petrov // OGV. 1880. No. 32. S. 424; abbr. reprint: Berezin. S. 8.

349. Arkhangelsk citizens-shanezhniks

At the time when Petersburg was already founded and foreign ships began to sail to the port there, the great sovereign, having once met a Dutch sailor, asked him:
Isn't it better for you to come here than to Arkhangelsk?
- No, your majesty! - answered the sailor.
- How so?
- Yes, in Arkhangelsk pancakes were always ready for us.
“If so,” answered Peter, “come to the palace tomorrow: I’ll treat you!”
And he fulfilled his word, treating and giving gifts to the Dutch sailors.
Maksimov. T. 2. S. 557; AGV. 1868. No. 67. P. 1; Legends, legends, anecdotes. pp. 111-112.

LEDITIONS ABOUT THE RECOGNIZATION OF A SUBJECT SUPERIOR OVER HIM

350. Peter the Great and Antip Panov

When the tsar in 1694 set out from the Arkhangelsk pier into the ocean, such a terrible storm arose that all those who were with him were extremely horrified and began to pray, preparing for death; only the young sovereign seemed insensitive to the fury of the raging sea. He, indifferently making a promise to himself, if a timely opportunity arose and state needs did not interfere, to visit Rome and pay homage to the relics of the holy Apostle Peter, his patron, went to the feeder and with a cheerful look encouraged everyone hearts struck by despondency and despair to the post.
The aforementioned feeder was the local Nyukhon peasant Antip Panov; he is the only one with the monarch in common that fear did not lose resolution; and just as this peasant was a steward who knew nothing on the local sea, when the sovereign, having come to him, began to indicate to him his deeds and where the ship should be directed, this one answered him rudely:
- Go, perhaps, away; I know more than you and I know where I rule.
So, when he ruled in the lip called Unsky Horns, and between the pitfalls with which it was filled, happily guiding the ship, he landed on the shore at the monastery called Perto-Minsky, then the monarch, approaching this Antipas, said:
“Do you remember, brother, with what words you reprimanded me on the ship?”
This peasant, in fear, falling at the feet of the monarch, confessed his rudeness and asked for mercy. The great sovereign raised him himself and, kissing him three times on the head, said:
- You are not to blame for anything, my friend; and I also owe my gratitude to you for your answer and for your art.
And then, having changed into another dress, everything that was on him soaked even to the shirt, granted him as a token of memory and, moreover, determined for him his annual pension before his death.

Add. to the Acts of Peter the Great. T. 17. II. pp. 8-10; Anecdotes collected by I. Golikov. pp. 9-10.

351. (Peter the Great and Antip Panov)

These campaigns were sometimes accompanied by dangers. Once a storm overtook him (Peter the Great. - N.K.), which horrified all his companions. They all resorted to prayer; each of them was waiting last minute his own in the depths of the sea. Only Peter, fearlessly looking at the navigator, not only encouraged him to do his duty, but also showed him how to steer the ship. - Get away from me! cried the impatient sailor. - I myself know how to rule, and I know it better than you!
And indeed, with an amazing presence of mind, he ferried the ship through all dangerous places and led it to the shore through the ridges of the Named Reefs.
Then, throwing himself at the feet of the king, he begged to be forgiven for his rudeness. Peter raised the navigator, kissed him on the forehead and said:
- There is nothing to forgive, but I still owe you gratitude, not only for our salvation, but also for the answer itself.
He presented the navigator with his soaking wet dress as a token of memory and assigned him a pension.

From the notes of the Dutchman Scheltema, translated by P. A. Korsakov // Son of the Fatherland. 1838. V. 5. Part 2. Det. 6. S. 45.

352. Peter the Great and Antip Panov

Peter the Great<...>went with Archbishop Athanasius and with a large retinue on a bishop's yacht to the Solovetsky Monastery. A fierce storm overtook the sailors. Everyone partook of the holy mysteries and said goodbye to each other.
The tsar was cheerful, consoled everyone, and, having learned that there was an experienced pilot on the ship, the bishop's carrier Antip Timofeev, gave him a command, ordering him to lead the ship to a safe pier.
Antip went to the lip of the Unskie Horns. Fearing a dangerous passage, the king interfered with his orders.
- If you gave the command to me, then go away! This is my place, not yours, and I know what I'm doing! Antip shouted angrily at him.
The king humbly retired, and only when Antip happily landed on the shore, having guided the yacht among the pitfalls, laughingly reminded the pilot:
- Do you remember, brother, how you beat me.
The helmsman fell to his knees, but the king picked him up, hugged him and said:
- You were right, and I'm wrong; really interfered in his own business!
He presented Antipas with a wet dress that he was wearing as a souvenir and a hat, gave five rubles for clothes, twenty-five as a reward, and freed him forever from monastic work.
In memory of salvation, the king cut down with my own hands a huge wooden cross, carried it, with others, to the shore and hoisted it on the spot where the ship moored. This cross has been in the Arkhangelsk Cathedral since 1806.

AGV. 1846. No. 51. S. 773; AGV. 1861. No. 6. S. 46; GAAO. Fund 6. Inventory 17. Unit. ridge 47. 2 l.

353. Peter the Great and Antip Panov

<...>Having passed the Unskaya Bay, which lies a hundred and twenty miles from Arkhangelsk, the sovereign's yacht had to contend with a storm that had risen on the sea and threatened to destroy the brave swimmers. The waves rolled over the yacht, and the fear of death was visible on all faces. Death was inevitable. The storm intensified. The sails on the yacht were removed. Experienced sailors who steered the yacht no longer concealed the fact that there was no salvation. Everyone prayed loudly and called for help from God and the Solovetsky saints. The cries of despair merged with the roar of the wind and with sacred chants. Only the face of Peter, who looked silently at the furious sea, seemed calm. Surrendering himself to the providence of God, Peter received the holy mysteries from the hands of the archbishop and then boldly took the helm. Such composure and the example of Peter's piety encouraged his companions.
At this time, the monastery feeder Antip Timofeev, a native of Sumy, taken in Arkhangelsk as a pilot on a yacht, approached him and reported to the sovereign that there was only one way to avoid death - to enter the Unskaya Bay.
- If only, - added Antip, - to improve the way to Unsky Horns; otherwise our salvation will be vain: there ships are broken on pitfalls and not in such a storm.
Peter gave him the steering wheel and ordered him to go to the Unskaya Bay. But the sovereign, approaching a dangerous place, could not stand it, so as not to interfere with Antip's order.
- If you, sovereign, gave me the steering wheel, then do not interfere and go away; this is my place, not yours, and I know what I'm doing! - Antip shouted, pushing the sovereign away with his hand, and boldly directed the yacht into a narrow, winding passage, between two rows of pitfalls, where breakers raged with foam. Under the guidance of a skillful pilot, the yacht happily escaped danger and on the second of June, at noon, anchored near the Pertominsky Monastery.
Then the sovereign, wanting to reward Antipas, jokingly remarked to him:
- Do you remember, brother, how you beat me?
The pilot, in fright, fell at the feet of the sovereign, asking for forgiveness, and the sovereign raised him, kissed him three times on the head and said:
- You were right, and I was wrong, and really intervened in my own business.
Obliged to save his life to the pilot, Peter gave him his wet dress and hat as a keepsake, gave him five rubles for clothes, twenty-five rubles as a reward, and freed him forever from monastic work. But the royal cap did not go to the future Antipas. The hat was presented to him with an order: to give him vodka to anyone who only shows it. And everyone, familiar and unfamiliar, gave him water, so that he became a sleepless drunkard and died of hard drinking.

Published S. Ogorodnikov // AGV. 1872. No. 36. S. 2-3.

354. Peter the Great and Antip Panov

One of the Polish lords, having come to Nyukhcha for robbery and ruin, stopped at the Holy Mountain on the western side for an overnight stay with his followers. But on the same night, he had a vision that fear attacked his people, so that they began to rush into the lake, located at the mountain, and the pan himself became blind. Waking up, he told his companions about this vision and, declaring that from that time on he was leaving his criminal profession, he went to the local parish priest and received from him holy baptism with the name of Antipas, by the name of Panova.
Subsequently, while living in Nyukhcha, he fully mastered the art of navigation and, as an experienced sailor, steered the ship of Peter the Great and saved the tsar and all his companions from certain death in the Horns of Una.
Having received a cap as a gift from the tsar, upon presentation of which any wine merchant could drink wine for free as much as he wanted, Antipa Panov used this right too immoderately and died of drunkenness.

Brief ist. description parishes and churches Arch. diocese. Issue. III. S. 149.

355. Peter the Great and Master Laykach

Here the surname is Laikachev. There was a master. Laykach. Peter comes to him.
- God help, master.
And the master does not answer, amuses at once, does not say anything. Then he finished the beam, recovered:
- Please, - says - your imperial majesty!
"Why didn't you tell me right away?"
- And therefore, that I hewed, - he says, - if I take my eyes off, then I won’t finish it. Gotta finish the job.
The king laid down his fingers:
- Can you get between my fingers and not cut my fingers? Well, he put his hand, and he smacked his ax between his fingers.
The king pulled his hand away, but the chalk remained, a trace remained from the finger. And he vkurat in the middle and got between the fingers.
- Well, - he says, - well done, you will be a guide to the city of Povenets.
Let's go to Povenets. Laykach says:
- It will hit three times, but it will pass.
And, as he said, the bottom of the ship hit a stone three times, but reached the very shore.

Zap. from Fedorov K. A. in the village. Pulozero of the Belomorsky district of the Karelian ASSR in July 1956. V. M. Gatsak, L. Gavrilova (Moscow State University expedition) // AKF. 79. No. 1071; Northern legends. No. 231. P. 162-163 (reprinted due to clarification of the certification of the text).

356. Bast shoes of Peter the Great

But no matter how cunning he was, he still couldn’t weave a bast shoe: he braided it, but he couldn’t do it. The sock failed to turn. And now there’s still a bast shoe, from this one somewhere in St. Petersburg in the Ali Palace, or hanging in the museum.

Zap. on Kokshenga in Totemsky district. Vologda province. M. B. Edemsky // ZhS. 1908. Issue. 2. S. 217; Fairy tales, songs, ditties Vologda. the edges. No. 12. S. 288.

357. Bast shoes of Peter the Great

<...>I wanted, cheaper, so that the shoes were for the army, to weave bast shoes. Well, there was no one to hire there, that the people did not weave. And Peter means:
- Let's get it on!
And he tried to weave, weave-weave, could not do anything. As he began to weave bast shoes, he remained unwoven.

Zap. from Khlebosolov A. S. in the village. Samina, Vytegorsky district, Vologda region July 14, 1971 N. Krinitaaya, V. Pulkin//AKF. 134. No. 51; Music library,
1622/9.

358. Bast shoes of Peter the Great

<...>Only bast shoes could not weave. How many tried Peter the Great - could not weave:
- Cunning Karelians: bast shoes weave and play.
There are those bast shoes in Petrozavodsk - Peter the Great wove them.

Zap. from Egorov F. A. in the village. Kolezhma, Belomorsky district, Karelian ASSR July 11, 1969 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin / / AKF. 135. No. 114

359. Peter the Great and the blacksmith

Peter the Great once drove into the smithy on his horse to the blacksmith to shoe the horse. The blacksmith forged a horseshoe. Peter the Great took a horseshoe and broke it in half in his hands. And says:
- What do you forge when they break?
The blacksmith forged the second horseshoe. And Peter the Great could not break it.
Shoeing the horse, Peter the Great gives the blacksmith a silver ruble. The blacksmith picked it up and broke it in half. And says:
- And what do you give me for a ruble?
Well, then Peter the Great thanked the blacksmith and gave him twenty-five rubles for it. It turned out that power hit power ...
Peter the Great did not break the second horseshoe, but the blacksmith would have broken rubles without an account.

Zap. from Chernogolov V.P. in the city of Petrozavodsk, Karelian ASSR A.D. Soymonov // AKF. 61. No. 81; Songs and fairy tales on Onezhsk. factory. S. 288.

360. Peter the Great and the blacksmith

Once Peter drove up to the smithy to the blacksmith and said:
- Give me a horse, blacksmith. The blacksmith said:
- Can.
And the horseshoe begins to forge.
He forged a horseshoe and began to kick the horse's leg. And Peter says:
- Show me your horseshoe?
The blacksmith gives Peter the horseshoe. Peter took the horseshoe, unfolded it with his hands and said:
- No, brother, your horseshoes are fake, they are not suitable for my horse. Then the blacksmith forged the second one. He broke the second one too. Then the blacksmith forged the third, steel, and hardened it and gives it to Peter.
Peter took the horseshoe, examined it - this horseshoe is suitable. And such he forged four horseshoes and shod a horse. Then Peter the Great asked:
- How much did you earn?
And the blacksmith says:
- Come on, lay out the money, I'll check.
Peter takes out silver rubles. The blacksmith takes the ruble between his fingers and breaks the ruble between his fingers. And he says to Peter:
No, I don't need that kind of money. Your rubles are counterfeit.
Then Peter takes out gold coins and pours them on the table. And he says to the blacksmith:
- Well, do these fit?
The blacksmith answers:
- These are not counterfeit money, I can accept.
He counted out how much he needed for the work, and thanked Peter.

Zap. from Efimov D. M. in the village. Ranina Gora, Pudozhsky district, Karelian ASSR in 1940. F. S. Titkov//AKF. 4. No. 59; Ring - twelve stakes. pp. 223-224.

361. Peter the Great and the blacksmith

There is still such a legend about Peter the Great that he supposedly drove along an unknown road and he needed to shoe a horse. Went to the blacksmith. The blacksmith made a horseshoe, and Peter grabbed this horseshoe - unbent it.
The blacksmith was forced to make a second one, which Peter could no longer unbend.
When he shod a horse, Peter the Great gave him a rubel. Rubel gave, and the blacksmith took it between his fingers, between the index and middle fingers, and pressed with his thumb - this rubel arched. He speaks:
- You see, what quality of money you have! ..
After that, only Peter believed that the blacksmith had even more strength than him.

Zap. from Prokhorov A. F. in the village. Annensky Bridge, Vytegorsk district, Vologda region July 22, 1971 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin//AKF. 134 No. 122^ Record Library, 1625/8.

362. Peter and Menshikov

Once Peter the Great went hunting. He rides a horse and somehow lost his shoe. And his horse was a hero. You can't ride without horseshoes.
He drives up to one forge and sees - a father and son are forging there. The blacksmith's boy is what you need.
- Here's what, - he says, - shoe me a horse. The guy forged a horseshoe, the king by the shipaki and unbent it.
- Wait, - he says, - this is not a horseshoe. She's no good for me. He starts forging another. Peter took it and broke the second one.
- And this horseshoe is not good.
He forged a third. Peter grabbed once, the second - he could not do anything.
A horse was shod. Peter gives him a silver ruble for a horseshoe. He takes a ruble, pressed two fingers, the ruble only rang. Gives him another, - and the other in the same manner.
The king was amazed.
- I found a scythe on a stone.
He realized, he gets him five rubles in gold. Broke, broke the guy - could not break. The king wrote down his first and last name. And that was Menshikov. And the king, as soon as he arrived home, immediately called him to him. And he became his chief steward.

Zap. from Shirshveva in with. Krokhino, Kirillovsky district, Vologda region in 1937 S. I. Mints, N. I. Savushkina // Tales and songs of Vologda. region No. 19, p. 74; Legends, legends, anecdotes. S. 135.

363. Peter the Great at the sawmill at the Vavchug shipyard

Once Peter, at a merry feast, in Bazhenin's house, boasted that he would stop the water-acting wheel with his hand at the sawmill that was then at the shipyard. He said, and immediately went to the sawmill. Frightened close associates tried in vain to divert him from his intended intention.
Here he put his mighty hand on the spoke of the wheel, but at the same moment he was lifted into the air. The wheel has indeed stopped. The quick-witted owner, knowing well the character of Peter, managed to order that it be stopped in time.
Pyotr descended to the ground and, extremely pleased with this order, kissed Bazhenin, whose resourcefulness enabled him to keep his word and at the same time saved him from the imminent death that lay ahead of him.

Zap. from the Arkhangelsk old-timer in the 50s. 19th century A. Mikhailov// Mikhailov. S. 13; Legends, legends, anecdotes. pp. 112-113.

364. Oldest of all

When he (Peter the Great) raised the ships in the Nyukhcha region (in Vardegor), pulled towards Lake Onega, then to go to the rear of the Swedes and smash them, and when he was in the village of Nyukhcha, he asked to be brought to an apartment where there is no one older than him.
Well, who is older than the king? They brought him to such a rich house, but there was a child in the house. That's when he went there, and the child
cries.
- Well, get out! I said that you (wherever you are. - Ya.K.) are older than me, don't take me. And they brought me to a house where there is an older person than me.
He cannot punish a child.

Zap. from Ignatiev K. Ya. in the city of Belomorsk, Karelian ASSR in December 1967. A. P. Ravumova, A. A. Mitrofanova P AKF. 125. No. 104

365. Oldest of all

Well, when Peter the Great came with his detachment, how much did he count? about ten thousand soldiers pulled these ships overland - he came to Petrovsky Yam. And one mistress, it means (well, the child was small, and the child got dirty - well, you understand), she does not know where to put this child, at least throw it away.
And Peter the Great comes and says:
- Don't be afraid of it. He is older than us. He, - he says, - not a single general, even I, sovereign, can order. And he tells me what to do...

Zap. from Babkin G.P. in with. Cholmuzhi of the Medvezhyegorsk district of the Karelian ASSR August 12, 1971 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin / / AKF. 135. No. 18; Record library, 1627/18.

LEDITIONS ABOUT THE NEGOTIATION OF THE KING WITH THE SUBJECTS

366. Peter the Great - godfather

The grandfather or great-grandfather of this family was a peasant and kept horses at the Svyatozero station. Peter, on one of his journeys from St. Petersburg to the then Petrovsky factories, changing horses in Svyatozero, entered the peasant's hut and, having learned that God had given the wife of the owner of the house a daughter, expressed a desire to be godfather. They wanted to send for the kuma, but the royal guest chose eldest daughter owner (who personally conveyed this story to the lady, from whom it can still be heard) and with her christened the newborn. Served vodka; the emperor took out a cup, poured himself a glass, drank it, and poured it for his kuma, forcing her to drink. The young godfather, ashamed to drink, refused, but the sovereign insisted, and already after (to use the exact words of the godfather) her father's order, she drank. The sovereign was in a cheerful mood, continuing to lead the girl into shyness, took off his leather tie and tied it around her neck, also took off gloves that were large to the elbow and put them on her hands, then he bestowed a cup on his godfather.
- And what will I give the goddaughter? he said. - I have nothing. How unfortunate she is! But next time I'm here, I'll send it to her, if I don't forget.
Later, when he came with Empress Ekaterina Alekseevna, he suddenly remembered that he had baptized someone, told Catherine about this and about the promise to give, and asked her to fulfill this promise instead of him.
They found out whom he had baptized, and sent a lot of velvet, brocade and fabrics of various kinds, - and again everything was the same goddaughter, but again nothing to the goddaughter.
<.. .>Here the royal word does not pass by; called her unhappy, and so it was: she grew up, lived, and all her life she was unhappy.

Published S. Raevsky // OGV. 1838. No. 24. S. 22-23; P. book. 1860. S. 147-148;; inaccurate reprint: Dashkov. pp. 389-391.

367. Peter the Great - godmother

<.. .>Once the sovereign volunteered in his factories to be the godfather of the son of one official. It was difficult to put a godfather from the noblewomen there next to him: everyone was afraid. To reassure this lady, who finally became godfather with him, Peter, after the baptism was over, took out a silver cup from his pocket and, pouring it with something, gave it to the godfather. At first she refused to drink, but in the end she had to fulfill the will of her august godfather. And he gave her the very cup as a keepsake.
Recently, this cup was donated to the Petrozavodsk Cathedral and is used to give warmth to the bishop.

Recall Archbishop Ignatius. pp. 71-72; OGV. 1850. No. 8-9. S. 4

368. Peter the Great - godfather

The convict also had the opportunity to visit our places ... About that time he baptized a child with my grandfather. My grandfather was a poor man: no martyr to eat, no wine to drink.
A son was born to him, and the padded began to beat up the thresholds and bow in order to find a godfather - no one would go to him as a godfather.
About that time the emperor came to our village.
- Are you wandering, old man? Or what did you lose?
“So and so,” says the grandfather.
- Take me, old man, godfather! Do I love you? - asks. “Just this: don’t take a rich godfather, why didn’t they treat you kindly, but find me such a chilling woman, and I’ll baptize you with her.
Both rich women ask their grandfather to take them as godmothers, and the grandfather found the most chilling wench and brought her to the judge .. They celebrated the baptism earnestly.
- Well, what are you, old man, going to treat us to? The paded was poking his head in - yes, there is nothing exactly in the house.
- It can be seen, - says the sovereign, - my anisovka will now take the rap. He took his flask, which always hung on his belt on his side, poured himself a drink, drank it, and then treated his godfather, and paddad, and a woman in labor, and poured a drop into the mouth of the newly baptized baby.
197
“Let him get used to it,” he said, “from people it will be much worse for him.
He gave the glass to the padded - look under the shrine, it's worth it.

Zap. in the village Vozhmosalme, Petrovsko-Yamskoy Vol. Povenetsky Olonets lips. V. Mainov // Mainov. pp. 237-238; Dr. and new. Russia. 1876. V. 1. No. 2. S. 185; OGV. 1878. No. 71. S. 849; Mirsk. messenger. 1879. Book. 4. S. 49; O. Sat. Issue. I. Det. 2. S. 31; inaccurate reprint: OGV. 1903. No. 23. S. 2; P. book. 1906. S. 335.

LEGENDS ABOUT THE KIDNAPPING OF THE CAFTAN FROM THE KING (CAMZOL, RAINCOAT)

369. Peter the Great and Vytegory

In the great days of Peter, on the spot where the city of Vytegra now stands, there was a small village; her name is Vyangi.
Our reformer, then only contemplating a system of water trade routes, did not, of course, pass by the area where the waterway of the so-called Mariinsky system now lies, which includes the Vytegra River, which gave the name to both the area and the city itself.
By chance, Peter visited the village of Vyangi, and in one of its huts or barns he settled down after dinner to rest from his labors, which continued, as he usually did, from early summer morning. The Emperor rested. His simple clothes hung in the wall, on a peg driven into the wall.
One of the peasant boys playing near the dwelling took off the sovereign's camisole from a peg, put it on himself and, of course, not without a train, went out to flaunt it in front of his comrades. Meanwhile, the sovereign woke up. There is no camisole. Rushed to look. They found a dandy accompanied by a crowd of comrades, brought him in someone else's camisole before the face of the great one, who, smiling at the naivety of the upcoming children and caressing them, jokingly said: "Ah, you vytegor thieves." Tradition added the rest: "Peter the Great's camisole was stolen."

OGV. 1864. No. 52. S. 611; Bazanov. 1947. S. 144-145.

370. Peter the Great and Vytegory

Once Tsar Peter came to Vytegra. Looking around the surroundings of the town, he went to rest on the so-called Besednaya Hill (near the town). Since the time was very hot, summer, the king took off his camisole and laid it right there on the grass.
It was time to get back to work and go into town; the king looks, but his camisole is not there. The camisole was not bad, and the vytegors were not a mistake: taking advantage of the fact that the king dozed off from exhaustion, they pulled off his clothes: the royal camisole seemed to have sunk into the water.
After that, all the neighboring residents called the Vytegory thieves: “Vytegory thieves, Peter’s camisole was stolen!”
The king, not finding a camisole, grinned and said:
- It's my own fault! It was necessary not to put on a camisole, but to put on the azyam.
The Vytegors assured, however, that they did not steal any camisole from Tsar Peter, but that camisole got from the tsar to some Grishka, who begged it from the sovereign himself for his hats.

Published A. N. Sergeev // Sever. 1894 No. 7. Stb. 373.

371. Peter the Great and Vytegory

Peter the First Canal built here, duck... Well, then? I saw Peter the Great, in short, the medal that he cast to the vytegors for stealing his camisole from him. Here you go. It was from a huge frying pan that such a cast-iron thing was cast. The inscription had already faded away when I saw it. And she was hammered on such a large nail, it was impossible to remove her in any way, no.
The chapel here was on Petrovsky. And I saw this medal. But they say that there was an inscription on it that "Vytegory-thieves, camisole." Here they stole a camisole ...
Here Peter the Great, it means, was resting, fell asleep in the wild, rested and undressed, you understand - this camisole was pressed from him, stolen. They stole it, but he did not begin to search for or punish anyone; he, then, gave the command to cast an iron medal. I cast the medal and wrote on this medal that “Vytegory thieves, camisole”. And he hung this medal not far from this incident, in this chapel ...

Zap. from Prokhorov A. F. in the village. Annensky Bridge, Vytegorsk district, Vologda region July 22, 1971 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin//AKF. 134. No. 118; Record library, 1625/4.

372. Peter the Great and Vytegory

So Peter the Great passed here, sat on Besednaya Hill (it was flooded now), sat; then, they said, they took some kind of overalls from him. He walked on foot to Nikolskaya Gora and straight into the city there, to Vytegra, and passed. On foot, it was necessary to pass such a road, so he passed through our village.
The peasants kept talking, it was like this: Peter walked alone, they say, he walked alone, without a retinue, and they stole it ...

Zap. from Parshukov I. G. in the village. Anhimovo, Vytegorsky district, Vologda region July 17, 1971 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin//AKF. 134. No. 153.

LEGENDS ABOUT THE WISE COURT

373. Olonets governor

The great sovereign often and accidentally visited cities, when the citizens did not expect him at all; and for this he used his simplest carriages and a small retinue for travel. On one of these visits, the monarch arrived in Olonets, went straight to the voivode's office and found the voivode in it, adorned with gray hairs, simple-heartedness and chastity, as from the following it is obvious.
His Majesty asked him:
- What are the petition cases in the office?
The governor, in fear, falls at the feet of the sovereign and says in a trembling voice:
- I'm sorry, most merciful sovereign, there are none.
- How none? - asks the monarch again.
“No, sir, hope,” the voevoda repeats with tears, “it’s my fault, sir, I don’t accept any such petitions and don’t allow them to reach the office, but I agree to peace and don’t leave traces of quarreling in the office.
The monarch was surprised at such a fault; he lifted the kneeling governor, kissed him on the head and said:
- I would like to see all the governors as guilty as you; continue, my friend, such service; God and I will not leave you.
After some time, noticing disagreement between the members of the Admiralty Collegium, and even more so between Messrs. Chernyshev and Kreutz, he sent a decree to the voivode to go to Petersburg, and upon arrival appointed him as a prosecutor to the collegium, saying:
- Old man! I wish you to be just as guilty here as in Olonets, and, not accepting any quarrelsome explanations from the members, reconciled them. You will not serve me so much if you settle peace and harmony between them.

Zap. from Barsukov I. Golikov//Add. to the Acts of Peter the Great. T. 17. LXXIX. pp. 299-301; Anecdotes collected by I. Golikov. No. 90, pp. 362-364; inaccurate reprint: OGV. 1859. No. 18. S. 81; P. book. 1860. S. 149-150; OGV. 1905. No. 16. S. 4; in literature. Processing: At the turn. 1948. No. 5. S. 46-47; abbr. reprint: OGV. 1887. No. 85. S. 765.

374. Olonets governor

Once the sovereign passed through the Olonets, stopped here for a short time and saw: a lot of people were standing at the neighboring house.
“What is it,” he asked, “a lot of people crowding around the neighboring house?”
“Here,” they told him, “voevoda Sinyavin lives.
"I'll go and see," said the Emperor. Comes and asks:
- Show me, voivode Sinyavin, your cases on the judicial side. Governor Sinyavin fell at the feet of the sovereign:
- Guilty, - he says, - hope-sir, there are no such court cases.
- How are there none? - menacingly asked his sovereign.
“None,” the governor repeated with tears. - I, sovereign, do not accept any such petitions and do not allow them to the office before the analysis, but I agree to peace, and there are never traces of quarrels in the office.
This answer came to the sovereign's heart, he raised him, kissed him on the head and said:
- I'm taking you to Petersburg, where you will reconcile with me not ordinary peasants, but higher than them, aces - my senators and other high nobles.
This governor was then made the prosecutor of the Admiralty Board and continued to establish peace and harmony between the nobility and nobles, between whom there were always quarrels and enmity.

Zap. E. V. Barsov//TEOOLEAE. 1877. Prince. IV. S. 35; abbr. text: OGV. 1873. No. 86. S. 979; Smirnov. pp. 43-45.

LEGENDS ABOUT THE COLLECTION OF DATA, TITIES, RENTS, TAXES

375. Yurik-new settler, or tributes and taxes

There was Yurik a long time ago. From the northern side he came and appropriated this Novgorod: he is the owner of this city.
- Let the Zaonezhane peasants, - he decided, - be empowered by me with a tribute, not a heavy quitrent. Near Novgorod I will pick them up and put them on them - take half a squirrel's tail as a gift from them; then after a short time I will put half a squirrel skin, and then a whole skin, and further and more.
And this filing continued, and the ruble, and two, and three, and in three rubles it was up to Peter the Great. Peter the Great, when he was crowned, paid a tribute of five rubles to the peasants, and in that hardship they lived for many years before Suvorov, before the main warrior.
From that hour on, the dues for the peasants were higher and higher, and from now on it is written to be twelve rubles, but we don’t know what will come next.

LEGEND ABOUT ROYAL MASSACTION

376. Execution of the bell

The Terrible Tsar heard in his reign in Moscow that there was a riot in Veliky Novgorod. And he went from the great stone Moscow and rode more and more on horseback along the road. It is spoken quickly, it is done quietly. He entered the Volkhov bridge; they struck the bell at St. Sophia - and his horse fell to his knees from the bell ringing. And then the Terrible Tsar spoke to his horse:
- Oh, you are my horse, a sack of ash (chaff), you are a wolf; you can’t keep the king - the Terrible Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich.
He reached the St. Sophia temple and in anger he ordered to cut off the tackle from this bell, and to fall to the ground, and execute his ears.
- They can't, - he says, - cattle ringing to hear him.
And they executed this bell in Novgorod - but this bell is poured.

Published E. V. Barsov//Dr. and new. Russia. 1879. V. 2. No. 9. S. 409; Legends, legends, anecdotes. S. 100.

377. Death of Ivan Bolotnikov

<...>This Bolotnikov was brought from Moscow to Kargopol. And he didn't sit there very long.
They brought him on horseback, there was no railway.
They took him out of prison at night.
He was drowned in Onega at night.
The chief ordered to cut the hole, but they took him and pushed him into the hole at night. In winter it was...
I heard it from the townspeople. They drowned him in Onega ...

Zap. from Sokolov V. T. in the village. Gary of the Oshevensky village council of the Kargopol district of the Arkhangelsk region. August 12, 1970 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin // AKF. 128. No. 90.

378. Burning of Archpriest Avvakum

And over there, to the left!<.. .>Behind the wood there is such a platform, there is a cross, people go to pray: Avvakumov-de.
And he himself was burned in Gorodok, on the square. They made such a log house from firewood, put the archpriest in the log house and three comrades with him. And the archpriest predicted it earlier that I should be in the fires, and he made such a routine: he distributed his books. The people gathered, began to pray, took off their hats ... they set fire to firewood - everyone fell silent: the archpriest began to speak, and he laid down the old cross - the true one means:
- If you pray with this cross - you will not perish forever, but leave it - your town will perish, it will cover it with sand, and the town will perish - the end of the world will come.
One here - as the fire seized them already - shouted, so Avvakum-ot leaned over and said something to him, it must be good; old people, you see, ours don't remember. So they burned down.
They began to collect the ashes in order to throw them into the river, so they only found bones from one, and, it must be, the one who screamed. The old women saw that somehow the log cabin had collapsed, three doves, whiter than snow, soared from there and flew into the sky ... darlings, it must be theirs.
And in that place now, according to years, the sand is such to know how the log house stood, white-white sand to know, and every year more and more. Forbid the cross stood in this place, made in the Mezen sketes and with a lattice, they say, was fenced. So the authorities burned the grate, and they ordered the cross to be taken out of the city, over there, to the left! ..

Maksimov. T. 2. S. 60-62; Legends, legends, anecdotes. S. 87. 379.

379. Shchepoteva mountain

Peter the Great walked two kilometers from Konopotye through a clearing, went to Oshtomozero by a winter road. He stretched another seven kilometers - after all, they went with the ships! And there - Maslitskaya mountain (now - Schepoteva). A big rain fell, they became orphans, got wet, and the tsar's batman became an orphan. Peter gave him his uniform - to keep warm. Here Shchepotev laughed:
- You are now like Peter the Great!
The king did not like it - he shot Shchepotev.
That is why Mount Shchepoteva is nicknamed.

Zap. from Karmanova A. A. in with. Nyukhcha of the Belomorsky district of the Karelian ASSR July 14, 1969 N. Krinichnaya, V. Pulkin / / AKF. 135. No. 91.

This book will open for the first time for many of us an amazing, almost unknown, truly wonderful world of those beliefs, customs, rituals that our ancestors, the Slavs, or, as they called themselves in the deepest antiquity, completely indulged in for thousands of years, the Rus.

Russ... This word absorbed the expanses from the Baltic Sea - to the Adriatic and from the Elbe - to the Volga - expanses fanned by the winds of eternity. That is why in our encyclopedia there are references to the most diverse tribes, from the southern to the Varangians, although it mainly deals with the traditions of Russians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians.

The history of our ancestors is bizarre and full of mysteries. Is it true that during the great migration of peoples they came to Europe from the depths of Asia, from India, from the Iranian highlands? What was their common proto-language, from which, like from a seed - an apple, a wide-noisy garden of dialects and dialects grew and blossomed? Scientists have puzzled over these questions for centuries. Their difficulties are understandable: almost no material evidence of our deepest antiquity has been preserved, as, indeed, images of the gods. A. S. Kaisarov in 1804 in “Slavic and Russian Mythology” wrote that in Russia there were no traces of pagan, pre-Christian beliefs because “our ancestors very zealously set about their new faith; they smashed and destroyed everything and did not want to leave to their offspring signs of the delusion to which they had hitherto indulged.

New Christians in all countries were distinguished by such irreconcilability, but if in Greece or Italy time saved at least a small number of marvelous marble statues, then wooden Russia stood among the forests, and as you know, the Tsar Fire, having raged, did not spare anything: neither human dwellings nor temples, no wooden images of the gods, no information about them, written in ancient runes on wooden planks. And so it happened that only quiet echoes reached us from the distances of the pagans, when the bizarre world lived, blossomed, and ruled.

Myths and legends in the encyclopedia are understood quite broadly: not only the names of gods and heroes, but also everything wonderful, magical, with which the life of our Slav ancestor was connected - a conspiracy word, the magical power of herbs and stones, concepts of heavenly bodies, natural phenomena and so on.

The tree of life of the Slavs-Rus stretches its roots into the depths of primitive eras, the Paleolithic and Mesozoic. It was then that the first growths, the prototypes of our folklore, were born: the hero Bear's Ear, half-man, half-bear, the cult of the bear's paw, the cult of Volos-Veles, conspiracies of the forces of nature, fairy tales about animals and natural phenomena (Morozko).

Primitive hunters initially worshiped, as it is said in the “Word of Idols” (XII century), “ghouls” and “shores”, then the supreme ruler Rod and women in labor Lada and Lele - deities of the life-giving forces of nature.

The transition to agriculture (IV-III millennium BC) was marked by the emergence of the earthly deity Mother Cheese Earth (Mokosh). The farmer is already paying attention to the movement of the sun, moon and stars, he is counting according to the agrarian-magical calendar. There is a cult of the sun god Svarog and his offspring Svarozhich-fire, the cult of the sunny-faced Dazhbog.

First millennium BC. e. - the time of the emergence of the heroic epic, myths and legends that have come down to us in the guise of fairy tales, beliefs, legends about the Golden Kingdom, about the hero - the winner of the Serpent.

In the following centuries, the thundering Perun, the patron saint of warriors and princes, comes to the fore in the pantheon of paganism. The flourishing of pagan beliefs on the eve of the formation of the Kievan state and during its formation (IX-X centuries) is associated with his name. Here paganism became the only state religion, and Perun became the first god.

The adoption of Christianity almost did not affect the religious foundations of the village.

But even in the cities, pagan conspiracies, rituals, and beliefs developed over many centuries could not disappear without a trace. Even princes, princesses and combatants still took part in public games and festivities, for example, in mermaids. The leaders of the squads visit the Magi, and their households are healed by prophetic wives and sorceresses. According to contemporaries, churches were often empty, and guslars, blasphemers (narrators of myths and legends) occupied crowds of people in any weather.

By the beginning of the 13th century, dual faith had finally taken shape in Russia, which has survived to this day, because in the minds of our people the remnants of the most ancient pagan beliefs coexist peacefully with the Orthodox religion ...

The ancient gods were formidable, but fair, kind. They seem to be related to people, but at the same time they are called to fulfill all their aspirations. Perun struck the villains with lightning, Lel and Lada patronized the lovers, Chur guarded the boundaries of possessions, and the sly Pripekalo looked after the revelers ... The world of the pagan gods was majestic - and at the same time simple, naturally merged with life and being. That is why in no way, even under the threat of the most severe prohibitions and reprisals, the soul of the people could not renounce the ancient poetic beliefs. Beliefs by which our ancestors lived, deifying - along with the humanoid rulers of thunder, winds and the sun - the smallest, weakest, most innocent phenomena of nature and human nature. As I. M. Snegirev, an expert on Russian proverbs and rituals, wrote in the last century, Slavic paganism is the deification of the elements. He was echoed by the great Russian ethnographer F. I. Buslaev:

“The pagans have related the soul with the elements…”

And even if the memory of Radegast, Belbog, Poel and Pozvizda has weakened in our Slavic family, even to this day goblin jokes with us, help brownies, mischief watermen, seduce mermaids - and at the same time they beg not to forget those in whom they truly believed our ancestors. Who knows, maybe these spirits and gods will indeed not disappear, they will be alive in their heavenly, transcendental, divine world, if we do not forget them? ..

Elena Grushko,

Yuri Medvedev, winner of the Pushkin Prize