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I want to make a setting based on Russian folklore. Any tips or pointers?
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funny accents

also, ushankas
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You can never go wrong with Baba Yaga, my friend.
Except when you do and she throws you in the cook-pot.
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>>28965839
Koschei, baba Yaga, Zmey gorynich,Leshy,Vodyanoy these are some creatures from slav folklore. read about it.
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>>28965839
Things used to be good. Now they're worse. And getting worse.

There is no great, ancient evil waiting to be awakened. It was always awake.

Witches are not always of sinister intent, and should therefore be treated with extra caution. If you can't trust them to be evil, you can't trust them at all.

Do not enter the forest. It will eat you.

Do not go swimming in any body of water. You will be eaten.

There are many tales of great cities in lands far away. You will never get to see them.

Old people know the secrets to killing the fantastic creatures of the land. Except when they don't, in which case they will at least be able to direct you to someone who does know those secrets.

Fantastic creatures often cannot be killed in any way but a single, very specific and convoluted way.

Fantastic creatures and wilderness are often bad. The nobles ruling you are generally worse.

You are expected to idolize the nobles ruling you. Not that the nobles really care, but daydreaming about them helps distract from an otherwise bleak existence.

The people living south of you aren't very fond of you. Despise them.

The people living west of you aren't very fond of you. Despise them, too.

The people living east of you aren't very fond of you. Don't even bother despising them.

The cossacks tend to look down on you. You don't have to despise them, but be wary.

People living in more populous settlements than yours look down on you. Keep a good face as long as you can trade stuff with them, but otherwise you can think whatever you want of them.

The best thing you can do with your time is go cutting down trees. It kills the forest that would eat you, and it gets you wood that can be used either to throw on the fire or to build your coffin with. If nothing else, at least it takes the mind off how much you hate life and everyone who are not from the same place as you.
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>>28965839
My mom had that cartoon on VHS back in the day. It was very bleak, and I didn't understand what it was about. I only know that I watched it many times as a kid.
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>>28965942
from folklore, not modern day russia
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>>28965974
Modern Russia is still pretty much the same as medieval Russia in attitudes.
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>>28965943
Interested. The cinematography in the picture OP posted looks pretty fucking tight.
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>>28966018
I don't remember much about it. It must've been at least 15 years ago last time I saw it.
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>>28965839
Players think they will outsmart you. But I have yet to meet player who can outsmart Czernobog.
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>>28966018
>>28966033
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39PH16vpyXE

OP, do you want "Russian folklore as interpreted by the Soviet regime" or "actual Russian folklore?"
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>>28965982
Does the forest and witches still go about murdering people for no apparent reason. Also can they hate the people from the west if they are the west?
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>>28965839
In Russian folklore heroes are not often brave or strong but resourceful and smart.

If you want tu build setting with Russian folklore flavor, you'll need to create wast wilderness with villages and towns laying on trade crossroads.
Endless dark forests with hidden totems of ancient tribes, clearings, lakes, animals that speak like people. Also, there are lot of mystery. Strange shapes at night, spirits that guard places of power, small invisible creatures that live alongside humans.
And as with most medieval states there is always some war going on.
Teutonic knights from northwest, Tatar-mongols from south and east, feuds between city-states.
Also, magic in Russian folklore in never an academic thing but more of gift of nature, or some divine entity, or powerful artefact.
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>>28966578
>In Russian folklore heroes are not often brave or strong but resourceful and smart.

Not always true, as there is the idea of the Bogatyrs who are often very strong, but also resourceful.

They are also solemn, just like almost everything else. One of the signs of stupidity in Russian culture is smiling for no reason, especially the American toothy smile.
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>>28965974
Modern Russia is still better for the average Russian than the country has ever been at any point in its entire history.
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>>28966192
>OP, do you want "Russian folklore as interpreted by the Soviet regime" or "actual Russian folklore?"
Care to explain the distinction for an ignorant anon?
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>>28965942
Can't we all just get along instead of despising one another?
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>>28967345
It's roughly the difference between commercial fairy tales and actual superstitions and folklore. It should probably be obvious, but taking your "mythology" from cartoons and the like is probably not the best way to go.

On that note, if you're going to have a Not-Russia setting, everyone in it should be superstitious, and these superstitions should be fact. Bird signs, house spirits, rules about crossing rivers and thresholds, appeasing spirits in the forest, following rituals strictly, that kind of stuff.
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>>28967376
I despise you for that comment
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Wasn't there a GURPS Russia book at some point? Might be valuable for ideas.
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>>28965942
>Witches are not always of sinister intent, and should therefore be treated with extra caution. If you can't trust them to be evil, you can't trust them at all.
Loving this.
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>>28967582
Holy shit, you're right. Tracking it down now.
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Motherfucking Koschei the Deathless man.

First, and craftiest, Lich. Motherfucker decides to escape mortality by putting his soul in an item. But just any old box? Hell naw, Koschei don't fuck around. Cunning fucker hid his soul in a needle. A needle you say? That's stupid you say? I'm not done faggot, and neither was Koschei. He put that needle in an egg, and the eggs in a duck, which is in a rabbit, which is in a magical chest, which is under a tree, on a random island in the sea.

You wanna kill Koschei? Find the random island. Dig the box from under the tree. Chase down the rabbit that flees from inside, then chase down the duck that flies from it's corpse, fish an egg out of it's body, and destroy the needle inside.
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>>28965839
If you're making an urban fantasy setting, maybe you should read this.
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I can't remember, was the story of the soldier who burned the evil wizard part of Russian folklore?
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>>28967662
>random island
>not Buyan, home of the winds, disappearing at will like the dick supernatural landmass it is
Nigga you done fucked up.
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>>28967770

I didn't realize Buyan did that. I actually knew the name of the Island, I just didn't know it was magic. He's even craftier then.
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>>28965982
>>28965974
>>28965942
My dad recently worked with a bunch of Russians and learned that the worst curse word you can use roughly translates into "Go get lost in the woods".
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>>28967907
Russians REALLY don't like the woods...
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>>28967907
Look, maybe you live in Europe -- proper Western Europe, not Eastern or Shit Europe. Maybe you've got some forests around you. Pretty imposing right? Well, between two World Wars and Europe being pretty developed, there's probably roads to the forests, and maybe a park system. Maybe there are rangers that patrol the forests. At any rate, even if you go into the forests, you're not really a trailblazer. Someone's probably been there before you; maybe even a tank battalion.

Maybe you live in the USA, where there is an extensive park system. National parks are pretty big, but there's roads, and if you get lost, you can probably count on a search-and-rescue team to come find you.

If you're in Russia and you get lost in the woods, you are well and truly alone. Not only is Siberia fucking huge, it's also merciless. It's cold in the winter. There's secret cities and abandoned gulags hidden away there; I don't really know if ANYONE knows what's out there, even now. There's no roads, or if there are, they are no more than a pothole-laden offroad trail. If you go in the wrong direction, you can end up going and going and not hitting anything resembling civilization. You could reach the coast and not find anyone. If someone or something kills you, nobody will ever find your body. Maybe you'll wander into a military base, or some pile of nuclear waste. Maybe you'll encounter wolves, or a bear. Maybe you'll fall through a hole in the ice, or get eaten up by a mud pit.

One thing's for sure, though. If you get lost in those woods, you're on your own. May God help you, because no one and nothing else will.
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>>28966063
Isn't the only thing anyone knows about Czernobog that you kept him away by spitting curses into a bowl?
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>>28967907
>being Russian
>having no idea what are you taking about
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>>28968093
Yeah, I'm Russian and I don't really get it either.

I still wouldn't like to get lost in the forest.
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>>28968093
>>28968105
russia is fuckhueg tho.
maybe it's common in one region?
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>>28968093
>>28968105
Could it have been something dialectal? I mean, my country doesn't even have ten million people, but the insults used up north can still differ quite a bit from the insults used down south. I imagine a country like Russia might have a greater variance in the regional idioms.
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>>28968269
That is possible. Especially if those guys were from a small city/village
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>>28966578
Actual Russian here. That is a good start. Russian folklore is very rich in mysticm. There was a comic posted on /co/ about two brothers that go hunt a monster. It reminded me a lot of a darker themed Russian story.
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>>28967692
I was thinking of setting it some hundreds years back, honestly. Will check out the comic if I can find it, though.
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>>28965942
This post pleases me.
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>>28968326
>>28968105
>>28968093
If you gentlemen would be so kind, could you describe a Russian "everyman" kind of hero? What traits would they require to appeal to the broadest base of Russians?
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>>28965942
>The people living south of you aren't very fond of you. Despise them.
>The people living west of you aren't very fond of you. Despise them, too.
>The people living east of you aren't very fond of you. Don't even bother despising them.
What about the people living north of you?
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>>28968545
You're not sure they exist, but if they did you'd rather pity them than despise them.
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>>28968545
Ain't any. And if there are, despise them too.
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>>28968545
add
>The people in the centre of all this are not very fond of you. Despise them especially.
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This seems like a decent thread to ask, though its mildly offtopic.

There are some Russian fantasy vidyas (Eador, Rage of Mages/Evil Islands) that I've played that share similar setting elements: namely a planet that has been broken apart in some ancient calamity into islands that float about in a sort of magical outer space. Said islands and their scare resources are constantly battled over by immortal mage-lords who besides being generally powerful are the only individuals who can maintain the existance of the islands and prevent them from crumbling into the void.

As above, I've encountered a few games that all have the same premise and was wondering if knew where they might be drawing their inspiration from. Are they aping eachother, a novel, some sort of fairy tale?
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>>28968499
Ivan the Fool is kind of like the everyman hero. He's not particularly strong or brave, but he can be resourceful and quick thinking. It's usually his foolishness that gets him into trouble and he then has to use his wits, and sometimes bravery, to set something right.

Ivan is portrayed differently in different stories, but the "hero" interpretation is someone who is young, sufficiently brave, and in possession of a magic item. Usually a sword or horse.
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>>28968105
Yeah, that's pretty universal. Nobody wants to get lost in the woods. Because seriously, fuck the woods.
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>>28965839
...is that ice queen doing the one-cheek sneak?
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>>28968545

Those are bears.
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>>28968786
No, silly, you are the bears.
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>>28968856
Then who are the bears?
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>>28968922
You are, bruv. Get with the program.
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>>28968962
Okay, I'm with you so far. We are the bears. But what is this?
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>>28968962

So I eat people who wander into the forest? That sounds pretty okay. I don't know why I wouldn't want to go in the forest if that's where my lost, scared food is.
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>>28969043

That's a very fluffy dog. Looks like a cross between a Newfoundland and a Doberman, from it's woolliness and coat markings.
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>>28969075
its a tibetan mastiff, you uneducated swine
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>>28969043
It's the thing Belle falls in love with.
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>>28968499
An "everyman" kind of hero wouldn't be especially strong: there's a place for big strong heroes, but strength alone can't get you very far.

He knows when to run, and he knows when to fight, and when he fights, he knows how to win. He has some sort of trick, or he knows the enemy's weakness, or he's thought up a clever ruse with which to win. Almost always he has enlisted in some kind of supernatural aid: either with a magical item, or by gaining the help of some supernatural spirit that he's convinced or gained the favor of.

A hero's quest would probably involve gaining the favor or some supernatural entity, getting a magical item, or finding the weakness of his enemy. Any deals with supernatural entities will backfire, unless sufficient trickery is involved on the side of the hero.

The motivations for a hero would usually be "chosen by fate," although it could also be rescuing someone or something. Another motivation is fulfilling a task given to them by an elder (parent or ruler). The hero almost never sets out to gain power or dominion, although he may become more powerful as a result of his quest. He may set out to slay a beast, but only if the beast has wronged him personally. Returning to the status quo is more often the goal than improving his lot.

The hero is almost always humble. He probably won't give an inspiring speech, but he may taunt the enemy as he defeats it.
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There's an excellent RPG called Mythic Russia if you can find it. It's full to the brim with Russian and Eastern European and Siberean folklore and history and campaign ideas. Sadly, while I have a paper copy, I don't have a scan of it. Maybe /rs/ or torrent can help?
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>>28967692
I like the cover. Is it available in english?
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>>28969174
It was originally published in english by Dark Horse.
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Well OP, I have a Master of Arts in History, specifically Russian history, and I'm Russian. I also read a lot of Russian, Siberian and Lapp folklore, as well as worked with some primary peasant sources (recordings and transcriptions, though mostly dealing with land reform and the First World War). Ask me anything.
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>>28969043
...a Tibetan mastiff...?
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>>28969334
Wow, okay.

Do you know anything about bird signs or any rituals of warding? How do you deal with house spirits? What is the distinction between the Sirin, the Alkonost and the Gamayun – or are they pretty much the same? And anything you know about magical artifacts is useful.
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>>28968545
There is no people living north of you. Up north is Siberia, and then Arctic Sea.

But just to be sure, despise them as well.
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>>28969830
>But just to be sure, despise them as well.

No good fucking Snow-golems. And Don't even get me started on those fucking Frost-mer-people. Scum of he Arctic sea.
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>>28965839
Watch some Aleksandr Rou films?
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>>28965839
Look no further than Ded Moroz, Russian Santa and total badass. He delivers presents every year like your average Santa, but it doesn't stop there. He's also a fucking ice wizard with his own granddaughter sidekick who is kind of some sort of ice elemental or something. You know what he does when not delivering presents? He fights fucking Baba Yaga and freezes people to death.
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>>28970238
Except he delivers presents for New Years, not Christmas, because religion is heresy.

Thanks, Communism.
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>>28969806
OK, let me start with Domovoi. A few cardinal rules are (still superstitiously obeyed in some households):
- do not shake hands across a house entrance or throw food across a house entrance, domovushka will get angry
- build an izba (hut) only in springtime for good luck. Pagan slavs (and even Christian peasants afterwards) believed that the domovoi is created either out of souls of the trees killed to build a hut, or out of a sacrifice of an animal (pagan slavs would often sacrifice an animal prior to building a hut)
- If a hut burns down but some piece of foundation remained, then the domovoi could be saved and brought to the new hut. This could be done by carrying it in a well-worn lapt' (a sort of a woven show or sandal) or on an oven shovel.
- Domovois like it when people sing to them and leave them treats - sweetened milk, honey, mead, bread.
- If a domovoi became angry or felt disrespected he would start by playing annoying tricks and pranks, and graduate to hurting children and animals.
- in some slavic beliefs, domovoi also had a wife and children, so if your son is getting ready to move out and needs to get a hut of your own, you could ask the domovoi to lend one of his children to go with your son.
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>>28969806
Warding rituals. Wow, there are so so many. Good and bad places to build dwellings, smithies, banyas (sauna would be the closest equivalent) and stables. Warding rituals for entering the house and leaving the house. Warding rituals for newborns and for the dead. Is there something in specific you'd like to know about? Maybe warding against unclean spirits (nechistaya sila)?
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>>28970417
I was gonna ask for rituals used when traveling, as that's probably good to keep in mind for the PCs. But the stuff about entering and leaving the house sounds interesting, as does the part about the newborns.
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>>28969806
Sirin and Sereda were two "heavenly birds", with the body of a bird and usually chest and head of a woman. They are often depicted together, and although in some myths they bring the dawn and are generally associated with happiness and joy, they are not to be mistaken with the actual goddess of dawn (Zarya Utrennyaya). Ethymologically speaking, Sirin and Sereda are almost certainly descended from myths of sirens and similar creatures, but over time in Slavic mythology the Sirin's song became associated not with evil (the siren's song luring sailors to death) but with goodness and salvation. According to V. Dal', Alkonost and Sirin are sister birds who (in Christianized Slavic tradition) sit on the tree of knowledge in Eden.

Gamayun on the other hand appears to be a somewhat distinct creature from more western slavs. Its song, rather than being an angelic or heavenly song of Alkenost, Sirin/Sereda which inspires higher emotions in people, is a prophetic song, often foretelling calamity.
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>>28970598
Warding the newborns and pregnant mothers was seen as incredibly important task with the whole community participating in protecting their lives. Some superstitions (that still exist in rural areas today) include:
- a young mother whose husband is travelling, should wear his belt
- during the last month of pregnancy the mother should not leave the house or its yard, and the fire should always be burning day and night (the fire is one of the most potent wards in Slavic traditions). Failure to do so would result in the unborn baby being stolen by unclean spirits or replaced with a fake (a changeling so to speak)
- The touch of a pregnant woman was considered lucky, and her touch was believed to be able to restore dead trees or bring good harvest, especially apples.
- In pagan Slavic households the birth never happened in the house itself, but in the banya (sauna). The husband would in some traditions stand inside the banya with his wife, and his friends were expected to stand guard outside, the blacksmith would also be invited to stand guard with his hammer (the blacksmith's hammer was another potent warding instrument)
- The umbilical cord would be cut with an axe or an arrowhead if it was a boy, or with a thread if it was a girl. The bellybutton, in some regions, was sown up with the hair of both the mother and the father
- The first thing the newborn should wear had to be the father's old shirt, the second thing the newborn should wear had to be the mother's shirt. Also worth noting that even pagan Slavs had a tradition of baptizing a newborn with water. After baptism, the newborn was raised to the sky, lowered to the ground, shown to the north, south, east and west, and the family hearth. So that all spirits and deities could witness that the child was alive and well.
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>>28970804
Couple more things about newborns and protecting them include:
- the name of the child was not revealed for some time and was known only to the closest relatives. Often the child would be simply known by a patronimic or a family name. Even in adulthood, there were different verbal tricks to conceal one's true name. Even in modern Russian, when introducing yourself, you usually say "Menya zovut" (I am called, or They call me) rather than the more direct "Ya ....." (I am.....). That means that you say that people call you this, not that it is actually your true name. It's an interesting anachronism in any case.
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>>28970369
>>28970650
>>28970804
This is all great stuff. I gotta catch some sleep, sadly. Do you know some good book(s) to read up on more of this?
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>>28970889
Sadly there are none in English that I can specifically recommend. I'm working from Russian sources (mostly A. Ivanov - probably the greatest Russian ethnographer and folklorist of 19th century, and V. Dal', and a couple of more modern academic encyclopedias).
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>>28970889
This one looks alright:
http://www.bakebooks.com/myth-and-legend-learn-russian-russian-words-and-language--PDF-40265641.html
This one's more on general cosmology and deific hierarchy http://www.bakebooks.com/damjan-j-ovsec-slavic-mythology-and-belief-for-example--PDF-40265643.html
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>>28970924
That's actually not all that bad. I've studied a bit of Russian (decent grammar, thin vocabulary) and I'll be taking it as a university course next year.
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>>28971049
Well, throw me a line later on and I'll try to think up more recent (and perhaps easier to find) sources in Russian. There are also some excellent encyclopedic sites on Russian folklore in Russian.
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>>28970968
Thanks. I'll check it out tomorrow, but now I really gotta get some sleep.
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>>28967329

This is patently false.

Many Russians right now fondly recall how good it was under communism from 1969-1988.
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>>28968083
Dammit, man, the PCs don't need to know that.
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>>28971591
You mean the Era of Stagnation and the military occupations and the Afghan War?
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>>28969830
>>28970026
>north of Russia
>despise them
Depends on your definition of "north"
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>>28966063
Czernobog isn't that hard to outsmart. His hammer is pretty much impossible to get the better of, however.
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>>28971762
That sounds oddly familiar, which is odd since I'm an American...
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>>28971762
Nostalgia is a helluva drug. They probably only think about how they were pioneers in space and how they were a superpower.
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>>28971762
I wouldn't say the 80s are fondly remembered. But 60s and 70s were remembered fondly, yeah.
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>>28971800
Well... When you pass the center... You'll be going south... But uuuh, yeah.
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>>28971841
It's funny how history repeats itself, I guess.
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>>28968093
"иди в лес", бро. Вполне себе ругательство.
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>>28969043

It's a Caucasian shepherd.
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>>28971899
Скорее уж "Иди лесом". Ну или к лешему.
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>>28971932
I like how he's wearing six layers of protective clothing and still tries to get behind his buddy.
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>>28971865

Dude no one remembers the 80s fondly aside from punk kids who are too young to have experienced them
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>>28972000
Ну или так. У меня в семье именно как "иди в лес" звучало всегда.
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OH! OH! OH!

Tips or pointers?!?
>1. move to South London and Invite me to play in your group
>2. Baba Yaga as NPC (Cntl+F lists many mentions of her, good work /tg/)
>3. Read the Master and Margarita and lift about 80% of your material from than
>See also Ivan the Fool >>28968629
Brilliant Russian folklore character who always acts and appears foolish but through virtue end ups being right and or saving the day somehow.

And also remember to invite me when you arrive in London.
M&M Pic related, best booke ever + a brilliant distillation of Russian Folklore, Religious imagery and a pericing satire on government and social structure (which arguably is the most common theme in all Russian stories as far back as Folklore, Satirizing the people in charge)
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>>28972186
>>28972186
Whoops, Pic related, this is the best Translation I have read and the footnotes at the back are extensive yet concise and brilliantly informative.
>inb4 i work for the publisher
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>>28972261
Ahem, M&M, while a brilliant book, has in fact almost zero to do with actual Russian folklore. Most of the mythical creatures in it are either from Goethe's Faust or from the New Testament or Germanic legends. A better humorous take on Russian folklore is brother Strugatski's "Monday Begins on a Saturday" and its sequel "Trinity" (Troika).
>>
One thing to note, about monsters and nonhumans, is that Russian folklore has a preponderance of warped human forms.

The Rusalka, the leshii, the domovoi, the bannik, the vodyanoi, the vele, the vampire, the werewolf, Koschei the deathless, Baba Yaga, and more, are all basically human in shape. There's some bestial savage monsters, but they're in the minority.

Magic tends to be very primal and simple. Shapeshifting is a big deal, but so are visions, healing touches, speaking with birds and beasts, and weather control.

Gods come in two flavors. 1: a quasi Nordic pantheon with a thunder/lightning god in charge, a World Tree and howling apocalypse wolves. 2: a mysterious and little understood dualistic tradition that might be connected to Zoroastrianism, where you have a god of light and a god of darkness.
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>>28972022
Wouldn't you? Look at that thing, it straddles the line between dog and wolf
And not leaning on dog either
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>>28972524
It's looking more like a tiny bear than any sort of canine.
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>>28972333
The protagonist of the first half of the book is Ivan the Fool and I think it's fair enough to count a depressed creative as a character of Russian Folklore seeing as nearly every Russian story i've ever heard contains one.
Abaddon, Azaello and Behemoth actually come from the Hebrew Bible, older than the
New Testament, and given that the the Russian Orthodox church has had such an impact on the psyche of Russians since it's foundation in 988, i think it's fair to say that religious characters and iconography would have filtered into folklore over that period.

Sorry if i got a bit carried away. I will look up your recommendations though.
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>>28972652
Ah, well I know Azaello and Behmoth from Faust where they are both mentioned, I'm not a Biblical scholar. I think saying that the poet Ivan represents Ivan the Fool is quite a bit of a stretch to the Russian folklore, personally I interpret the poet's name as the author's sarcastic reference to the 20s-30s cliche of a "peasant poet" being popular rather than a reference to the figure of Ivan the Fool. Behemoth as an evil black cat can be another stretch to the Russian folklore, but then black cats as evil witch familiars are ubiqutous in European folklore. While the Greek Orthodox Church (later Russian Orthodox Church) was instrumental in shaping Russian folklore, I've never once seen any mention of those specific three demons in any Russian folklore or myth. When referring to the devil or servants of evil, Church slavonic and lay Russian do not use proper names but instead refer to generic "diavol", "satana", "nechistaya sila", or "chyort" (in lay Russian).

A pretty awesome not-Russia fantasy series by the way is Maria Semyonova's "Volkodav" (Wolf Hound). It incorporates a lot of Slavic folklore and it's a great example of a low-fantasy setting to boot. There are I think four books in the series and a spinoff by a different author. Just stay away from the movie adaptation. It's terrible.
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>>28965942

I'm not too familiar with Russian folklore but it mostly seems to have a very dreary and dark sort of attitude. Look at Russian games like STALKER and Pathologic/The Void/Knock Knock by Icepick. (I'm a fanboy of them.)

It's really interesting to use non-Russians, I wonder how Russians view Western legends, myths, and high fantasy.
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>>28972811
Nice, You're filling up my reading list exceedingly well.

I bow to your clearly superior knowledge on the subject, and If i had to put money on who's right it'd be you. In parting though for the sake of your interest rather than argument i'll leave you with 2 things-
1.I've read somewhere in reference to Manuscripts Don't Burn (which i've yet to read) or through reading around various peices about Bulgakov, that Ivan whilst not lifted entirely from the folklore, is generally considered by Bulgakov scholars to stem from the Fool. I think there are references to The Fool in some of his surviving (yet charred) papers, and possibly inferred from something his last wife said to editors and the like during her efforts to get M&M published.

The rest I conceed to you though.

The second thing i leave you with is a cat.
Forgive the caption, it's one of the only captioned pics i've really found funny, and it's a tad relevant.

I don't even know how the fuck sage works since they stopped it showing, and if it still doesnt count if you attach an image or not, but polite sage for going on a bit of an off topic tangent anyway.
>>
>>28972953
Oh we took to Western fantasy and myths like duck to water. Arthurian cycle was translated a long time ago and was pretty popular. In late 80s Tolkien was finally translated and oh boy was it ever huge. I got Russian translation of Hobbit when I was 6, and the LOTR trilogy in 1991 I think. Western fantasy was huge with all my peers. I am pretty sure that Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Andersonw as translated even earlier than Tolkien's stuff, and I think LeGuin's "Earthsea" books came out in Russian roughly at the same time as LOTR. I don't have my Russian books on me right now, but Zhelazny's Amber Chronicles I think were translated in 1991-1992 and they were hugely popular. Also, the earliest Russian RPGs or RPG-like products copied from the West were those Choose Your Own Adventures books, with flipping pages and stuff. Man there were a LOT of those in Russian.

During the 90s Western-style fantasy (both translated from English and Russian imitations) was the reigning king, but now there is a lot more Slavic-themed fantasy out in Russian, although Western fantasy is still just as popular.
>>
>>28973074
I'm not a Russian lit major so it may be possible that Ivan the poet is a reference to Ivan the fool. I read the political interpretation of his name, so that's what I went with in my original response.

The cat is a credit to the hardworking socialist workers and peasants. :D
>>
>>28965839
Has anyone ever heard of the story of Illya's Honey?


I read a book as a kid called The Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were. It recounted a wondrous story about about the sole, sickly child of two peasants named Illya. When they let two monks stay at their place, the prepared a medicine for the son, out of wild honey.

The elixer gave him the strength of a hundred men, which let him perform great deeds of heroism. Apparently his last deed before dying was to turn himself to stone so that he could be revived and save his beloved Russia.

Was this story just the fanciful work of the author, or was it based in some folk tale or Russian literary fiction?
>>
>>28973565
Yeah, the son lay on the oven (warmest place in the house) for 20 or 30 years (I don't remember how long) until the monks gave him the magic honey potion. He woke from his slumber as a bogatyr (great champion, hero) and through his deeds became known as Ilya Murometz, one of the champions of Kyiv.
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>>28973565
>>28973626

Yeah the tale you heard is a bit more mythologized.
He is actually considered a saint in the Orthodox church.
Murometz means from Murom (A city next to wich he lived)
The story I heard was that when he was laying near paralyzed on top of the oven (the large brick ovens have a flat shelf on top that is the best bed because it is heated from below) and his parents were away, a traveling christian hermit came to his house.
He called out for a drink of water to be drawn up for him from the well (A sign of hospitality.)
Illiya answered that he was paralyzed.
It happened again and he replied with all of the pain and sadness of the last 30 years welling up in him.
The guy ignored the reply and asked again. Illiya got so angry that the dude was mocking him that before he knew it he was outside ready to kick his teeth in.
Then he realized that he was walking for the first time in 30 years. In awe he drew some cool water from the well for the hermit to drink.
The hermit handed it back and said 'You drink it' and Illiya was filled with great and tireless strength.
The first thing he did was cut down the forest around his home, built a huge wooden house (Izba) uprooted the stumps, and plowed the 7 fields that he cleared by pulling the plow himself (They were too poor to own oxen or horses) and planted them.
This basically left his parents set for life - by harvest time they would have enough to hire workers and pay them very well. They could retire and not have to work the fields (Illiya hated being disabled because for all these years he depended on his elderly parents instead of supporting them)
After this he bid them farewell and set out to wander the land defending the downtrodden, helping the weak, punishing the corrupt, and protecting the land from invaders.
He is most often depicted on his horse out on the steppe risking his life so that enemy scouts can't sneak in and scout out a path for their army to invade by.
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>>28970859
This is true in at least Spanish as well. "Me llaman..." means "they call me..."
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>>28974220

The amazing thing is that his mummified body is preserved in Kiev in the 'Long Catacombs'.
He is dressed in beautiful orthodox vestments and as a kid i was floored to see my favorite hero from fairy tails in front of me. Mummified bodies shrink but his looked easily over six and a half feet. He was definitely over 7 foot in life.

I don't know if the dates line up but it is said that the reason that he was not able to warn the nobles of Rus of the approaching Mongol invasion was because the Knyaz (Ruller of a Principality) of Kiev threw him into the dungeon because he was afraid that the people liked Illya more then him. And then came to beg him to defend the city when it was besieged.
Illya would not agree no matter what the Prince promised him, no matter whom he sent, his envoys, his beautiful daughters who plead with him that he could have any one of them and become the heir, and finally the Prince himself prostrating himself in front of him.
He only accepted when a wise man in court gathered homeless children and had them cry that Illya relented and said - 'I wouldn't bat an eye if all of you nobles get slaughtered, but to protect these children I will fight.'
>>
from this thread i gather that banjo kazooie is a russian myth of some sort?

> one day evil witch conspired to attain great power, only to do so she must steal from the horrible magic bear.
>in retaliation bear monster and comrade bird monster go on quest for revenge. with the help of death worshiping savages they kill everything in entire world. world becomes only forest, bears and death
> now go sleep or i tell story again.
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>>28974477

One of his favorite tricks was to pretend to be a lame hunchbacked beggar, which allowed him to beat up those who attacked him thinking he was a defenseless old man.

One of the most famous tales is how he defeated the 'whistling brigand' (and sometimes his cohorts) who was a foreigner, and a great archer who would sit in a huge oak tree and extort or kill and rob travelers. In the more mythologized tales his whistling was like hurricane force winds, and in other tales that was how he let his men know when to spring the ambush.
>>
OP still here?
Read the mango 'Witch Vasenka's War' and some Hellboy for ideas.
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>>28974801

nice!
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>>28974948

When he fought some worthy foe, he would sometimes get knocked down, and while he was laying on the ground he would draw strength from the earth of his homeland shrug off his wounds and assault his enemy again.
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>>28975375
Pic is from before he was healed.
Don't know if you want more stories of Ilya Muromets.
He is firmly in the Christian era of Russian culture and the good obscure myths and supernatural lore have their roots in the pagan Slavic faith of old.
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>>28975479
>Forgot pic
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>>28965942
After reading this post, I have the urge to play Don't Starve.
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>>28965839
Sure it's a post-apoc Russia where demons are everywhere, but still a good source of ideas.
Warlords of Russia is good too, but has less folklore, more stompy cyborgs.
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>>28975479
I'm enjoying them anyway (Not OP)
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>>28974220
>>28974477
>>28974948
>>28975375
Badass.
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>>28965942
>The people living south of you aren't very fond of you. Despise them.

I thought the Russians had the biggest boner for the Byzantine Empire.
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>>28968622
I think they are aping each other for the most part.
Idea of mage lords, who are also prisoners of their land stems from medieval conception of "allods", and thats how games of the series are are named in original too.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allod
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>>28976381
The people to the south that are being referred to are probably Seljuk and then Ottoman Turks.

As for Byzantium, it was a love hate thing.
They are very proud that Oleg assaulted Constantinople in 860, got the army to retreat inside, robbed the lands around it, and then nailed his shield to the gates and sailed off with the spoils.

This was obviously well before Kievan Rus was converted to Orthodox Christianity.
>>
I know it's a bit out of the time period, but how do/did the Russians feel about the Poles? I've heard both that they regarded them as arrogant nobles as well as uncivilized barbarians.
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>>28970598
I like warding rituals from a "Wolfhound", russian fantasy novel. People there used a circle around their encampment and their beds against undead and evil spirits, dependant on nation they would use a horse hair rope, an axe (weapon of god of thunder), firebrand, pebbles, all kind of stuff. Most powerful cirlce ward used by protagonist to ward against undead spirits of people he killed unrightfully (they do come to pull a killer into an underworld three days after their death) included a Sun, Lightning and a Fire - so a triple circle around a sacred tree.
>>
>>28974220
>>28976278
>The hermit handed it back and said 'You drink it' and Illiya was filled with great and tireless strength.
I heard a version where he got so strong at first that he could turn earth itself upside down, so three travelling hermits (yeah, there were three hermits in that version) asked him to drink again to downgrade a little.
>>
>>28974948
Its the Nightingale the Bringand, guy who killed travellers by whistling so hard their head exploded (figuratevly speaking). Muromets threw a mace at him and fucked up his teeth so he couldnt whistle again, if I remember it right.
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>>28976781

A related tale has to do with Ilya and the Giant Bogatyr Svatogor (Holy Mountain) who was so strong that he could only live in the mountains because if he went down into the plains the earth could not bear him and he would sink down into it like deep mud.
When Ilya first saw Svyatogor he was riding on his giant horse, and snoozing.
Ilya called out to him, but he did not wake up, Ilya shoved him with the butt of his spear but he did not wake up, then he swung at him with his spiked mace with so much strength his hands ached.
Then the giant woke up, scratched himself, and said 'The Russian flies really do sting quite a bit.'
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>>28976605
Mostly as arrogant nobles and dicks who always have some underhanded shemes to install their own pet tzar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_Dmitriy
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>>28965839
Our spirits and other supernatural creatures are mostly neutral or benevolent. But
>Witches are not always of sinister intent, and should therefore be treated with extra caution. If you can't trust them to be evil, you can't trust them at all. Everyone can be either an okay guy-spirit-tree-thing or it may have a really shitty day and try to eat you.There are rare exceptions, mostly undead (stay the fuck out of rusalkas, unless you have fetish for fatal tickling).
Is a very accurate description of russian folklore in general.
Fantastical creatures are rarely fought, most often hero bargains with them or helps them in some way and gains their favor. In general, "punch problem in the face" should be the last solution (and often the worst one).
>>
>>28975499
>That post gave me communism
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>>28968326
>implying I'm not actual Russian too
>>
If you want a russian FREEDOM elements try to incorporate those
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novgorod_veche
Like plutocracy city wide elections backed up by street vs street fistfights sposored by merchant guilds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaporozhian_Sech
And buffer frontier land where state laws do not apply and raiding is considered a national sport.
>>
Cossacs. Free people of the steppes, a light cavalry of rogues that despite not answering to any lord held back islamic invasion of Europe for centuries, always in skirmishes with tatars, turks, and the likes. Dreaded and adored, as they took what they needed from whoever had it, and if you didn't welcome them as guest they'd make a short story off your homestead...
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>>28977160

Then noticing Ilya he grabbed him and his horse and put them in his pocket. A bit later his giant horse began to stumble.
'Are you finally getting old?' the giant asked.
'I have borne your great weight without complaint' said the horse, 'but I can only bear one great warrior.'
Then Svyatogor remembered the man in his pocket and realized that he must have a great fate to strain his blessed horse.
So he pulled out and greeted Ilya. They shared stories of their travels and became fast friends.
After many travels they swore to be battle brothers.
Then coming to the sacred mountain of Elonsk they found there an empty coffin of great size.
Upon it was written: 'Destined for the one, whose stature matches mine.'
- What do you think this means? asked Ilya
- I do not know but i see that the sign is written by the hand of Fate.
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>>28970238
also his name sounds like Dead Morose which is super fucking metal
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Despite all badassness of Ilya Muromets, do not forget that there are three iconic bogatyrs.
Number 3 is very important in folklore - Tzar usually has three sons, supernatural entities are convinced to help you on a 3rd try, waystone here >>28966695
depicts three paths to take, etc
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>>28978536

Going to sleep.
Somebody willing to finish translating?
>>
>mfw my name is Ilya

Also there are other bogatyrs.
Alesha Popovich
Dobrynya Nikitich
Nikita Kozhemyaka
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>>28978702

Yeah but Alesha Popovich is too rash and takes unnecessary risks. Plus I don't know many stories he is in except the ones where it is the 3 of them.

Did he do anything except fight Tugarin Zmey?
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>>28978948
Don't badmouth him.
I want to see you take this guy on.
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>>28966695
>Stupidity
>Smiling for no reason
I do find this gets taken to the extreme. Some Slavs are so fucking sombre and resentful of people who smile that I want to fucking kill myself sometimes.

No, I'm not gay for smiling at you. No, I'm not an idiot. I just didn't grow up under Stalin.
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>>28978740
I got another version, where Svyatogor has a wife living in a golden box, which he carries around. She tries to seduce Ilya, but he goes "nope".
When Svyatogor found out about his wife treachery he killed her and called Ilya his brother.
When they found a coffin Ilya lied down inside first, but coffin was very big and didnt fit him, so Svyatogor (this name might be roughly translated as Holy Mountain, by the way) lied down in the coffin, and asked Ilya to cover him with a coffin lid. Ilya goes "nope, are you fucking crazy, bro?", then Svyatogor takes a lid by himself and is immediatly trapped inside. Ilya tries to open the coffin, but cannot move the lid, then Svyatogor asks him to take his magical bulat (an damascus steel) sword and hack at it. Turns out the sword was so heavy Ilya cannot even lift it. So a Svyatogor transfers his strenght to Ilya through breath, he does it twice, but Ilya rejects a third one because then he would sink into the earth like Svyatogor does. Svyatogor eventually dies, and asks Ilya to take his sword, but leave his horse tied to a coffin.
And so the guy has tripled his strength and got a badass giant sized sword.
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>>28979153
there's a russian proverb, i forget the exact wording but it roughly translates to "laughing without reason is the sign of a dope"
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>>28979344
'Ignorance is bliss.'
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>>28979082
His image is represented ambiguously and he has many negative features. As far as I know, Alesha Popovich, as a main protagonist, represented only in two tales. First about Tugarin Zmey. But second tale not even heroic - about a feast, on which he taunted someone ("you think that your sister is virgin? jokes on you - i fucked your sister")
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>>28979186

The version I recall Svyatogor admits that knowing he couldn't escape from the coffin he was planning to give so much strength in the 3rd breath that it would kill Ilya.
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>>28979344
Oh, I understand the mentality entirely. It just shits me is all.
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>>28979375

So they couldn't find a decent 3rd guy to make Ilya Muromets and Dobrinya Nikititch a trio?
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>>28979416

Go into an elevator, look a lady in the eyes, smile a big toothy smile and start chuckling and then laughing.

We have a thing against laughing for no reason too.

Russians just take a while to warm up to strangers.
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>>28979435
Its just that Alesha Popovich one is the youngest and is quite rash, I think. He is also a member of clergy, or a son of priest or something like that.
There is also Nikita Kozhemyaka (roughly translated as Skin Crumpler), a tanner who softened animal hides with his bare hands, that kind of work/training gave him an unparaleled strength.
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>>28978740
That is a big-ass sword he's swinging.
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>>28965839
Wow.

Whatever happens plese do it. It would be awesome.

As suggestions I would say go with low fantasy and check some existing low fantasy games based on other country folklore.

For example Fate of the Norns.
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If you want some art I find
http://antiloh.info/iskusstvo/xudozhnik-vsevolod-ivanov-podlinnaya-istoriya-rusi-html.html

very funny, its about fusing slavic mythology and ancient austronauts.
>>
>>28968093
>>28968105
I think it's a misunderstanding of na hui.
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>>28973074
>I don't even know how the fuck sage works since they stopped it showing, and if it still doesnt count if you attach an image or not
I thought I was the only one!
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>>28972953
As a Tolkien fan, I happen to know the Russians love the Silmarillion
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>>28967643
when you find it, share it.
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>>28981172
How would you translate a "na hui" anyway? "Go ride a dick" or something?
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I hereby seal this thread with my approval.

It shall be saved for posterity and the enjoyment of future /tg/ generations.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=folklore
>>
>>28981448
Literally "Go on a dick". So yes, you're right.
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>>28981448

"Go fuck yourself" seems the nearest approximation. There's also "eat a dick", but it's less common.
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>>28981445
Not the same guy but if you see the one posted in 4shared, all the odd numbered pages have bits of the left side of the page clipped. Apart from that, I haven't seen any other source.
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>>28981128
>austronauts
Surely you mean cosmonaut, comrade.
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>>28981128
I always loved the architecture in Russian fairytale. Those colourful log houses looks so pretty.
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>>28981700
yep. I liked how the new hobbit used slavic architecture in lake town.
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Would you guys like to see some illustrations by Bilibin for russian folkstories? Shit to get inspired by, you know. I'll dump a few, and will scan the rest later if there's interest.
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>>28981921
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>>28981935
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>>28965839

Get hold of a splat for Ars Magica called "The Dragon and the Bear", it has a shit load of stuff based on authentic slavic religion and magic.
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>>28981946
>>
>>28981935
>you will never be so manly as to ride a horse made out of fire while swinging a burning sword
>>
>>28981921
There's always interest for good art.
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>>28981967

Goddammit 4chan, there's no malicious code in this image. Just a girl in the woods! Maybe mirroring the image will help...

One more scan and then I'll have to leave for a few hours.
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>>28981921
>Vasilisa den Fagra
Why is it in Swedish?
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>>28982001
And the last one from this batch. I gotta run now - I'll post the rest when I come back later.

>>28982008
Because they're swedish translations of the originals. I don't speak either language.
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>>28982036
> being a girl around a Baba Yaga hut
Bad, bad idea.
>>
>>28972423
Hmmm, Not really, there is no Thunder god in charge, Perun is a war and lightning god, but he isn't really the one in charge, the one in Charge is Svarozich (Or something like that) a Sun god, Son of the Smith Svarog who made the world and will un make it when he gets bored, The gods in Slavic myth have several rules, like don't interfere with mortals, The thing is, they continuously do it. never heard of a world tree and howling apocalypse wolves tho. Also in Nordic myth there is no Lightning god in charge either, Odin is there, being the god of fucking everything.
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>>28965839
I have that movie on DVD.
>>
Gonna replay the Witcher games now.
>>
>>28968622
Sounds like Allods.
Used to be a russian RTS, if i'm not wrong, now it's a p2w MMO. Pretty dope though, even if you can't really level up after 30 without buying from the cashshop. Exp-rates are way low.
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>>28965839
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>>28982148
Chuckled like a deranged person.
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>>28965942
Such is life in Russia.
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>>28965942
Can I get a screencap of this?
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>>28976843
neat guy.

They even tried to make a Modern film about him
Tarantino style.
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>>28968856
Yep
And beware when we charge with our bear cavalry
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>>28982491
This movie has a hell of an ending.
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>>28965942
im stealing this
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>MFW THIS WHOLE THREAD
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>>28982531
>>28982261

If i remember correctly that is copypasta from a previous thread about russian floklore we had.

Still its awesome
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>>28982576
>>28982531
>>28982261
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>>28965839

Have you played Quest for Glory IV?
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>>28982261
You are either on your phone or one hell of a lazy faggot.
>>
>>28970889
Firebird by Mercedes Lackey. It's based on russian folklore. I can't verify how well she did it, though.
>>
>>28982661
Oh, man. That's an author I haven't read in ages. Fun stuff for angsty teenagers.
>>
>>28979464
Dane here (known as the happiest people of the world). If you did that to me i'd be freaked the fuck out.

then again i do have a fair bit of social anxiety. smiling and laughing in public is fine though if you're with friends. if you're not laughing is a little weird. A smile is always fine.
>>
>>28982691
Eh, I'm almost in my 30s and I still enjoy that shit. I recognize that it's sugary fluff fantasy but hell, it's fun. I like it, so what they hell.
>>
>>28969334
How different is Lappish lore from Russian?

Tell me about bears.

Privet na Finland
>>
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I find Helmlock webcomic very rlevenat to the thread.

Its not written by a russian but I like very much its interpretation of Slavic tales.
>>
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Source of power for slavic heroes.
>>
>>28983528
Brown bread, celery, onions and cheese?
>>
>>28983623
Cheese? I'm not sure that there is a cheese ...
>>
>>28965839
Vampires and werewolf's and crazy ass witch's ...
>>
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>>28983651
Yeah, this is definitely not a cheese
>>
>>28983732
That's called salo, basically fat.
Never liked it.
>>
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I'll simply leave it here.
>>
>>28983732
That looks horrifying.
>>
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>>28983764
If cossacks find out about your words - run like hell, bro
>>
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>>28984028
And how about this?
>>
>>28984102
I'm thinking some sort of cross between a Gelatinous Cube and the Amber substance from Fringe.
>>
>>28975633
Dunno why, but dystopian and post-apocalyptic fiction is apparently immensely popular in Russia. Or so I've heard.
>>
>>28968679
How do you think she keeps winter going so long?
>>
>>28984102
Das ist sülze!
>>
>>28984192
Sieht mir nach schmackhafter Kapitänssülze aus.
Auch wenn mir da zu wenig Fleisch drin ist.
>>
>>28984124
>some sort of cross between a Gelatinous Cube and the Amber substance from Fringe
By Jove...
>>
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>>28983528
You forget about this
>>
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>>28984260
German counteroffensive!
>>
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>>28984062
Pfft, they're just greedy drunks what are they gonna do?

>>28984102
That stuff is so disgusting.

>>28984260
Has basically no taste at all.

The delicious stuff is borsh, pelmeni and olivie.
>>
>>28984192
>>28984229
I always knew that germans are disguised slavs
>>
>>28984260
Looks like children's teeth. Like the kind of thing a witch or the Tooth Fairy would eat.
>>
>>28981614

No he means ancient Russians going south
>>
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>>28984337
This is buckwheat
>>
>>28984102
We eat gelatinous cubes for breakfest
>>
>>28982081

Although his argument was poorly worded, all Indo-European pagan faiths have a lot of similarities. It's almost to the point where they worship the same deities, but reskinned for their climate and culture.
>>
>>28984326
Fuck guys
You made me hungry.

Now I'm going to eat at my Italian university campus while longing for my motherland food.
>>
>>28984301
>lapskaus
searching lapskaus wiki says its Norways dish...


Funny things in Italy some shops sell russian food, (like smetana) but all of it is produced in Germany
>>
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Rassolnik rules ^_^
>>
>>28984454
That's it! I told that the Germans are Slavs!
>>
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>>28983528

>not raw egg on raw beef with some onion, pickles and pepper
>>
>>28968093
>>28968105
Иди лесом, иди в пень.
Not the worst one, just the one without swearwords.
>>
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>>
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Take a sauna: +5 Stamina
>>
>>28967697
To elaborate, I mean the story of the soldier who killed an evil wizard and chucked his body on a bonfire. Then when the wizard's corpse turned into a bunch of bugs so that it could reform and come back to life, the soldier spent the entire night sending the bugs back into the fire by flicking them with his sword.
>>
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>>28984454
Wikipedia says it's common in Norway, northern Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Liverpool.
I know you can get it everywhere around Hamburg.

Smetana is (in a firmer variant than the Russian one) a common dairy produt in Germany, which should not be a surprise, given that it's historically adjacent to a lot of countries and thus shares many traditions with its Eastern and Northern neighbors.

>>28984571
Raw pork with pepper, salt and onion fuels the German lower classes.
>>
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>>28984146
It's a logical extension of the
>Things used to be good. Now they're worse. And getting worse.
mindset.

Whenever Russia begins to think positively, or to think that something good might happen, it always gets shit on. You can't look at Russian history and deny this. As soon as you start thinking "gee, maybe life is OK, maybe things can get better!" some asshole comes in and invades you, or your government collapses.

So the only solution is to remain somber and negative.

I think in this situation, it makes perfect sense to not smile or appear happy, lest someone take it as a sign of weakness and make your life more shit.

Also, have some scans I made for a class once. Focus was mythological beasts.
>>
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>>28982036
Continuing the dump.
>>
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>>28985258
>>
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>>28985297
>>
>>28984906
>Raw pork
No parasites?
>>
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>>28985322
>>
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>>28985350
>>
>>28984906
>lower classes.
.

Why do you hate Mett? Are an Elf or something?
>>
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>>28985368
>>
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>>28985398
>>
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>>28985431
>>
>>28966695

B-but I love being happy!

I try to be friendly to as many strangers as possible.
>>
>>28985340
The cold kills them.
>>
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>>28985472
>>
>>28985391

Elf here. Enjoy your domesticated drivel.

Venison is the real man's protein of choice.
>>
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>>28985515
>>
>>28985484
That's how we know you're not Russian.

>>28985515
That's a crossroads marker with ominous predictions of what fate lies down each path, not a grave.
>>
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>>28985541

>>28985548
Thank you, I did not know that. I'm just guessing with the filenames since the books are in swedish.
>>
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>>28985574
>>
>>28985541
>Around elves, watch yourselves
>>
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>>28985611
>>
Gotta love art noveau.
>>
>>28984746
silly question, but don't they die for bathing in the cold?

I've heard that sometimes the best course on a frozen land is to bath because the water is still above 0 dregrees, but yet I wonder how many people die doing that.
>>
Is there a way to save an entire thread to my local HDD? I love everything here and don't want to lose it.
>>
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>>28985666
Now begins the last book, illustrations by E. Lissner.
>>
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>>28985782
>>
>>28985340
Plenty of parasites, that's what the inspection shelf in a toilet is for in germanic countries. So you'll know if you have parasites.
>>
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>>28985811
>>
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>>28985835
>>
>>28985738
They wipe themselves with snow and jump into the cold water after the heat up in the sauna. And after such cold shock they come back to the sauna. Hardcore version of a contrast shower
>>
>>28985730
Yeah, Ivan Bilibin is pretty sweet. His teacher, Ilya Repin, was also just out of this world.
>>
>>28985835
Who's the creepy raisin in the tree?
>>
>>28985869
Oh, and is that healthy?
>>
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>>28985862
>>
>>28985903
Yes
>>
>>28985896
Probably a Leshi (a forest spirit)

>>28985903
Yes. It's how Finnish saunas work. This tradition exists in Russia too.
>>
>>28985391
Mettigel is the staple of Fliesentisch owning, tracksuit wearing proletarians stuck in the 80s.
I do not renounce all applications of the flesh, but this particular presentation is a damnable offense.
>>
>>28985922
>Leshi (a forest spirit)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leshy

Might have spelled that wrong.
>>
>>28985738
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFzVlR5yEh4
>>
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>>
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>>28986001
>>
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>>28985919
And thus ends this image dump. I hope you all liked it!

No, 4chan, this image does not contain an embedded file. Just an angry guy throwing away a cartwheel.
>>
>>28985939
>>28985922

I see... even for diabetics? type 1
>>
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>>28986017
>>
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>>28986065
>>
>>28986001
>>28986017
>>28986065
>>28986085
Why are you posting these?
>>
>>28986052
you probably want to avoid extreme sauna heat if you have diabetes.
>>
>>28986001
>>28986017
>>28986065
>>28986085
What are you doing?
>>
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>>28986124
>>28986141
>>
>>28972423
Holy hell, someone else noticed the Iranian connection in Slavic myth. I knew I wasn't crazy!
>>
>>28986163
That's not an answer.
>>
>>28986221
I think it's a somewhat dada form of trolling. Maybe.
>>
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>>28986280
You just don't speak the language of my art.
>>
>>28983732
It's salo. Smoked or salted pork fat. It's delicious, especially when eaten with rye bread and vodka.
>>
Is there a good book filled with the short stories of Russian Folklore?
>>
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>>28986001
>>28986017
>>28986065
>>28986085
>>28986163
>>28986306
>>
>Ctrl+F
>No Grand Prince Vseslav the Sorcerer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vseslav_of_Polotsk
>>
>>28986322
In spain we eat something like that but with wine or beer instead of vodka.
>>
>>28986442
I've been in Spain on a vacation. Your wine is delicious, especially Jerez. I've drunk all the bottles of jerez in my first day in the hotel and had to wait for a day until they got new ones.
>>
>>28986502
I hope you had someone to help you with those bottles.
>>
>>28986529
Yeah, my friend helped me.
I also got a nickname in Spain. A barmen in my hotel and random passers-by in both Madrid and Barselona called me Grand Senor. Probably because I'm extremely large and tall (almost 7'), so I towered above everyone I saw.
>>
>>28965839
I'm not getting the pic.
>>
>>28982576
My inner optics nerd is disappointed. In a real double rainbow the weaker one is inverted.
>>
>>28986620
It's four frames from an old Soviet adaption of H.C. Andersen's The Snow Queen. That's all it is.

Also, we're past the bump limit.
>>
>>28984146
I hear they have the best Fallout LARPs there.
>>
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>>28984402
This is Buckwheat.
>>
>>28987117
Probably because of all the military surplus and the scores of Stalker fans.
>>
>>28985922
Swede here. Although our winters aren't quite as harsh most of the time, the tradition of jumping into freezing water/bathing in snow and then proceed into a blasting sauna is alive and well across the country. My family has been doing it since I was born, and probably before that
>>
This thread went down amazingly well. On a final note – OP, and anyone interested in reading more fairy tales, I advice you to look up Andrew Lang's Fairy Books. Lots of old tales can be found in them, from lots of periods and places.
>>
>>28988062
It's fun for the whole family!

What do you eat during/after the whole sauna process? I understand in Germany it's beer+sausage, but in Russia it's dried salted fish+beer.
>>
>>28965839
I remember seeing the cartoon in Op's pic a long time ago,
I wanted to hatefuck the kid's sister so fucking bad.
>>
>>28988834
Snow Queen is where it's at, though, bro. Iced perfection.


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