If you want to live in a country and understand its people, you need to have an understanding of the stories that they grew up with. Whether these are folk tales, fairy tales, or movies, they leave an impact on the psyche of the individual person. They serve as a reminder of the traditions, as well as the moral values that the majority of the population holds dear.
Russia, and the surrounding countries of eastern Europe like the Ukraine or Belarus have a rich history of different folk traditions, among which the telling of folk tales and heroic epics is preeminent. Many of these traditions are shared between the three countries, while others exist only in some particular regions. These stories have been recounted from one generation to another. Many a grandson spent his nights sitting on his grandfather’s knee, listening to these wonderful tales, sparking his imagination with messages of courage and valor.
Russian folklore is based on old pagan Slavic mythology, mixed with newer Christian beliefs and historical events. Together with stories about princes, giants, and Baba Yagas (witches), you catch glimpses of mythical cities, powerful enemies, and old wise men with magic powers. These stories not only reflect the beliefs and history of the various peoples who tell them, but also serve as a way to impart moral lessons to the succeeding generations.
Old Heroes Could Kick Ass
One of the most well-known characters of the old heroic tales is Ilya Muromets. Ilya was a big guy, who however suffered from various illnesses as a kid, which left him unable to walk. So until the age of 33, he spent most of his life sleeping on an oven. Then one day, he is miraculously cured by two old wise men. From that day forward, he turns into a powerful warrior and goes on to perform many outstanding deeds, including saving the city of Kiev from invaders.
His story takes place in the era of the Kievan Rus, but mixes in various different time periods. Some parts of the tale recount historical events that happened in the 9th century, while others deal with events that happened in the 12th century. So just like a medieval James Bond, Ilya Muromets always stays the same age through various eras, battling enemies and slaying dragons.
His story can also serve as an inspiration for young men growing up, since Ilya transformed himself from being an incapacitated cripple to a bogatyr, a fighter and the savior of a nation. His courage, strength and willpower were meant to be an example to help instill these qualities in the younger generation.
During Soviet times, many of these epic tales and folk stories were made into movies. In 1956, the story of Ilya Muromets was made into a feature movie, directed by Alexander Ptushko, and starring Boris Andreyev, Shukur Burkhanov, Andrey Abrikosov and Sergei Martinson.
Another interesting Soviet film is Kashchey the Deathless, produced in 1944, directed by Alexander Rowe (the script was co-written by him and Vladimir Schweitzer) and starring Sergei Stolyarov, Alexander Shirshov and Georgy Millyar (whose original last name was de Milieu, since he was of French origin, but he changed it after the Russian Revolution). It was a black and white film that came out at the time of the victory of the Soviet armies against Nazi Germany. It had a symbolic meaning: after much suffering and heroism the invaders are driven out and the country is left free once again.
Analyzing The Stories
These different epic tales serve as metaphors for various repeating themes in Russian history. Many of these stories have recurring patterns, which was recognized by Vladimir Propp, a Soviet folklorist and scholar. He published his Morphology of the Folktale in 1928, more than two decades before Joseph Campbell published his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces.
Vladimir Propp was born into a Russian-German family and grew up speaking both languages (Russian and German). Since childhood, he was interested in different folktales and epics that he heard and decided to study them closer. His main focus became Russian folktales in particular.
Propp divides up these stories into 31 narratemes. Not all stories will contain all of these elements, but almost all stories will contain at least some of them. Many of these divisions are similar to what Campbell came up with in his structure (remember that Propp’s structure came two decades before Campbell’s).
It would take too long to list all of the 31 narratemes here, but they can be summarized into 5 steps:
1. The initial situation and the identification of a lack of something.
2. Once this lack is identified, the hero has to go on a quest in order to eliminate the lack.
3. During the quest, the hero comes across a magical helper (and a method to solve the initial problem).
4. The hero has to pass several tests and overcome many challenges.
5. The hero succeeds in his quest and returns home victorious.
Notice how these elements are common to many different tales that are around us every day, whether in movies, or real life. You can do a little experiment for yourself in order to try to apply this structure in practice. Watch Star Wars and try to identify the different narratemes that these movies contain. Having an understanding of these different elements will give you a new perspective and a deeper insight into different stories that you might come across.
Live The Life Of A Hero
These narratemes are not only present in legend and fiction, but also in many of the great stories of our history. You can even use this same structure to help shape your own life.
1) Identify something that you want to achieve and set a goal for yourself.
2) Go on a quest to reach your goal.
3) You come across a mentor or a method to help you. In modern times this can be a person, a book, a website, or a gathering of inspirational people. These can not only serve as mentors, but can also provide you with various methods to solve many of your problems.
4) In order to reach your goal, you will have to pass several tests and go through many obstacles. It won’t be easy. Every good thing in life requires hard work.
5) Finally, you will succeed and reach your goal. Victory will be sweet.
Watch, read, listen and learn, then go on to apply the lessons that you learned. Learning about Russian folk epics, will not only make you more interesting when talking to Russian girls, but can also help you become a better, stronger man. You too can live the life of a hero, you just need to identify your goals and start your quest.
Read More: On Becoming Immortal: The Life Of Heracles
Good, interesting article with concepts applicable to real life.
Great article. Well done, Mr. Burns.
Taras bulba is a good Ukrainian story and you should write an article on the Cossacks Quintus, great red pill people who didn’t take shit from anyone
I am actually planning to write an article on the Zaporozhian Cossacks at some point. These guys were really inspirational. 🙂
Looking forward to it, my father is Ukrainian so he’s been telling my stories and has had me reading about them since I was child along with the don and kuban Cossacks. Never gets old reading about them, it’s a damn shame communism fucked that up like everything else it touches
thanks! 🙂
The truth of the matter is, a good number of us are probably descended from Heroes. We have this inheritance coursing through our veins – the question is, will you realize the potential given to you as a birthright by blood?
I’m a descendant of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Genetic studies indicate that he has nearly 3 million male descendants living as of 2006.
1 in 200 men are direct descendants of Genghis Khan.
I’d be willing to bet that there are a handful of very fecund Viking progenitors in Western Europe and the New World whose names we’ll never know since they “hit and run” so to speak.
All Europeans are descended from Vikings.
In fact all people of European descent are related to each other.
Well, more than that – they made their way to North America, Sicily, North Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean. A broader genome study would be quite fascinating, although the current political trend is wholly interested in discovering that a white Southerner has 0.000001% African ancestry and nothing else.
Nevertheless Vikings visited some places more than others. The 14% of Scots with red hair is indicative of their most favorite raping and pillaging grounds. Six Nations Rugby is being played every weekend for the next few weekends – you can see the Vikings’ faces reliably on all sides except perhaps the Italians. Paul O’Connell, Richie and Jonny Grey, James Haskell, Jaime Heaslip – doesn’t take much to imagine them storming off a longship.
If the Slavic tales are correct, they went east as well, eventually reaching as far as the Pacific.
The Land of the Rus would be named after them.
Yes. I can’t imagine a myth of that vintage not having a factual basis. Modern analysis indicates that the longships had such shallow draft as to almost have been designed more for river travel than sea voyaging, buttressing the myth.
Along those lines, of late I have been absolutely astonished by the sheer bravery and audacity of Polynesian migration in the Pacific. Originating as the aboriginal peoples of Taiwan and populating the Pacific from Fiji, Tahiti, Samoa, New Zealand, the Marquesas, Tonga, Hawaii, and all the way to Rapa Nui. The range is just incredible. The open ocean travel with only celestial navigation and water interpretation – no maps and no assurance that there was any land ahead – on reed ships with rudimentary provisioning just boggles the mind.
They had balls made of solid stupid.
Red hair comes from a lack of vitamin D, i.e. lack of sunlight.
How do modern people have red hair then, with normal amounts of sunlight and sufficient nutrition?
Mutations take time. Look, this isn’t a theory, it’s been proven… multiple times. Google it if you don’t believe me.
I’m fairly certain it comes from a recessive gene.
We’re all related via our common Indo-European roots, yes, clearly. But by that accord, that also makes Persians related as well (Iranians), given as they too share the same linguistic and cultural root (don’t tell fundy Neocons, they’ll blow a gasket).
I think a more accurate statement regarding Vikings would be that there’s a good chance that we all have some amount of *Germanic* blood in us as Europeans, given as the Goths were a prolific and far flung race of people. The Goths of course being the forebearers not only of the Vikings, but also of the Saxons, Angles, Jutes and every other manly Germanic you can find. They had the Goth seed spread far and wide long before their descendents in Sweden and Denmark decided to head out on long ships to set shit on fire. There’s a fair chance that your average Spaniard is actually a crypto-Visigoth, more than some amazing Italo-Romance type. But don’t tell him that.
Uh, I think we’re both right. Just checked wiki (because, hell, you can’t always believe everything you read, even in the newspaper *sarcasm intended*). It seems there are two causes (or potential causes, since science is always being revised), one from vitamin D and one from a recessivhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_haire gene.
Information’s found in the “Biochemistry” section near the bottom.
Side note: I remembered where I originally “learned” that fact, the Daily mail. Yeah, I know… anyway, some chick in her early 20’s did a final thesis on it or something and that was newsworthy. I checked the comments and two of the commentators mentioned how this isn’t a new discovery, it’s been known for decades.
edit. Uh, I messed up the link. You can work it out.
Red hair doesn’t come from a “lack of sunlight” – it is a potentially advantageous genetic mutation because it permits the synthesis of copious Vitamin D in areas with little sunlight (i.e. Scandinavia) relative to blondes and brunettes who are able to produce less Vitamin D from the same exposure to sunlight. Someone with brown hair isn’t going to turn into a redhead because he is deprived of sunlight.
I think Alec has a more accurate interpretation.
Viking ships were (are) exceptionally seaworthy and a marvel for their time. Broad in the beam they were steady under sail and the light construction (thin fir planking on slender oak frames) enabled them to climb and surmount the big breakers instead of being swamped by them. Fast too because the shallow draft made the wet surface relatively small (hence less friction). These ships were the first to conquer the North-Atlantic. Took their crews to Iceland, Greenland and North America 500 years before Columbus.
Seriously, this.
I can see if you *think* you’re going someplace, and you have ocean worthy ships, and some kind of at least partially reliable form of accurate navigation. But to just jump on some reed rafts? Dafuq?
“Ok honey, pack up the kids, we’re going to string some reeds together and sail forward into the ocean!”
“Where are we going?”
“The fuck if I know! Now get packing!”
Doesn’t really seem like a convincing sales pitch if you ask me.
Yes, Iranians and indeed Indo-European. Thank you for having a clue!
Well, I WILL admit they had balls, but I am betting 10 canoes sank for every 1 that found an island.
That may be the way we have to colonize the universe, so I am in… even if it’s incredibly stupid.
Conventional Manosphere wisdom (also known as armchair evolutionary psychologizing) would rather suggest that it was the unmarried low-SMV men who did it, having the choice between risking it in exploration or resigning themselves to MGTOWdom.
The DNA record shows little change after the introduction of farming.
Celts, Romans, Goths, Vikings, Normans were ruling warrior elites who did not settle in concentrated numbers – with a few small exceptions.
Celtic languages were spoken all the way up the West of Britain until the 1750’s. In some cases supplanting each other.
“The 14% of Scots with red hair is indicative of their most favorite raping and pillaging grounds.” For that to be true it would mean only the gingers went raiding and pillaging. Which, given their angry nature, is perfectly plausible.
That’s 3 million patrilineal descendants. All males, all the way back.
I am a scion of the House of Capet, and thus a descendent of Charlemange, but through Hugh the Great’s mother, thus not patrilineal, and the patrilineal line was broken again during the Middle Ages.
Which is, I suppose, why I’m here, the line not ending on the guillotine.
I don’t know – don’t think – we’re arguing, but the source says three million men “bear,” not “have born” the marker. Therefore sheer numbers of male descendants would eclipse 3 million men. Which, against today’s combined population of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is simply immense. The source didn’t mention other likely places you’d find the genetic marker – Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and perhaps to a lesser degree the rest of the Commonwealth including much of the Caribbean, Indian Subcontinent, Asia, and so on.
” . . .don’t think – we’re arguing . . .”
Not at all. I was clarifying.
All Europeans, as per my comment on Vikings below, are descended from Niall through some line or other (and the same goes for Charlemagne), but you are of the direct line and have a claim to the throne.
It takes about 600 years for any two Europeans to find a common ancestor, and about a thousand for everybody to be related to everybody.
And only about 3400 years for the entire world.
A brief and humble correction – Niall wasn’t a Viking but rather a “High King” of Ireland. Which in someways is even more impressive since he was confined to a rather discrete island.
The Vikings – the raiders at least – being seabound and itinerant had a certain advantage in spreading their genetics widely. I figure their are likely a handful of Viking “Ghengis Khan” progenitors whose names we’ll simply never know due to their peculiar lifestyle at the time.
“Niall wasn’t a Viking but rather a “High King” of Ireland.”
Right.
“Which in someways is even more impressive since he was confined to a rather discrete island.”
A brief and humble correction – all the old tales agree that Niall died in combat: overseas, possibly in Brittany. He may well have spread his seed to the continent directly.
The Irish at the time were the notorious coastal raiders. The Vikings before the Vikings. That’s how Patrick came to Ireland, as a captured slave from a coastal raid on Britain.
Aha! I do believe I have encountered a few noble Frenchmen with a refined taste for the Cratur.
Hey, all I have to do is kill the right 6 people to inherit a big pile of oddly shaped scottish rock.
and killing 61 gets me a much bigger pile of english rock. something to do with ham and bucks.
Niall may not have been a Viking but his name is still a popular name for boys here in Iceland, a rugged island in the middle of the North-Atlantic where the wildest Vikings finally settled, and where the most famous medieval saga was written: The Saga of Burnt Niall.
I doubt it. A peasant girl raped by a viking raider after her village has been looted and burned is probably a genetic dead end. The circumstances that led to the impregnation don’t bode well for the survival chances of the little bastard that resulted.
Genghis Khan’s massive progeny is a result of the fact that multiple male-line branches of his descendants went on to become rulers in their own right. He was a super alpha who bred more alphas.
Well, studies of genetic markers that pass along the sex chromosomes (and thus only father-to-son and mother-to-daughter) have shown that while the men who settled Iceland were of Scandinavian origin, the women who did were overwhelmingly Celtic. Suggesting it was mainly settled by single male vikings who then captured Irish (and possibly Scottish and Pictish) women on raids and brought them back home. Which makes early medieval Iceland the biggest and rapeyest frat house in the history of the universe.
If the name Niall made it way to Iceland, it may have come along with the Celts captured on raids. It might sound implausible that thralls or forcibly married female captives would have had much influence, but then, it’s also thought that the first seeds of Christianity in Scandinavia were planted by captured thralls.
“If the name Niall made it way to Iceland, it may have come along with the Celts captured on raids.”
It did.
“It might sound implausible that thralls or forcibly married female captives would have had much influence, but then, it’s also thought that the first seeds of Christianity in Scandinavia were planted by captured thralls.”
Iceland is a rugged, unforgiving country and the late 9th century population was small. The thralls soon got their freedom back for under the circumstances the master couldn’t afford to treat them less than equals. His very survival depended on them. Moreover the literate Celtic concubines became the mothers of the first children to be born in Iceland and imbued them with love of story-telling and poetry. Hence the sons of Icelandic chieftains became scalds at the courts of Norwegian kings. A little later the Celtic influence also bore fruit in the pinnacle of the narrative art of the middle ages; The Sagas of Icelanders. The Saga of Burnt Niall ranks highly among them. To this day viking names like mine – Baldur – and Celtic names like my friend’s name – Kormákur – exist side by side. There are many others. Then there is the fiord in the north-west that has been called Patreks fiord for 1100 years.
We are all descendants of alpha males who managed to procreate.
Almost certainly we are descended from heroes. But heritage is something that is earned. Who will prove they are worthy of their ancestors?
Heritage is a social construct (heh) invented to let mediocre individuals claim the achievements of others as their own.
Or from Omega males who did what the women told them too. 🙂
Nice to think about … but the odds of having ANY genetic material ( excluding the Y chromosome ) from someone more than six generations back is astoundingly low.
You only get half your genetic material from a parent, and that parent only
got half from the grandparent, with half of that a mix from the other
parent. And the half passed down is chosen completely at random, except
for the Y chromosome for males. The odds of getting a single gene (
except a Y chromosome on the male line ) from a six-removed parent is
nearly zero.
Interesting. I’ll have to read this entire thing tomorrow morning.
the appearances of the actresses kind of gives lie to the whole “people used to appreciate fatties and uglies more 70 years ago” several of the actresses are surprisingly hot by today’s standards.
Man the harpoons!:
http://36.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ll3jcr6G6q1qf6jy9o1_1280.jpg
Lies spread by the fat acceptance movement.
oddly enough i’m related to ivan IV of russia also know as ivan the terrible
He was the Bulgar slayer which allowed him to call himself a Tzar.
Inaccurate translation. Иван Грозный is translated as Ivan the Formidable, not terrible.
did not know that, i only know so much Russian
Indeed. Living in Russia has never been easy unless you are one of the .00001% elite running things. The struggle men went through and go through today buts hair on a young man’s balls.
Btw – who painted the picture on the header image?
It’s a painting from 1898 by Viktor Vasnetsov
Here’s another popular hero in the Balkans – Prince Marko
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/ff/Milo%C5%A1%2C_Marko_i_vila.jpg
Excellent article. It is the journey to the goal that makes the man. Reaching the goal is just the confirmation of the fact of the matter. If your life isn’t’ a journey, it isn’t even worth living at all.
Russian boxing
This article is on some Quintus Curtius type shit!
Thumbs up!
They didn’t have the internet back then to find unmagical but worldly-experienced bloggers like Roosh to guide them towards their goals.
In this regard, I present the following from romaninukraine.com
“Russians are liars. Truth telling is a value of western civilization. For Russians, words are just sounds meant to distract enemies.
Otto Von Bismark — “A treaty with Russia isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.”
General Patton — “The difficulty in understanding the Russian is that we do not take cognizance of the fact that he is not a European, but an Asiatic, and therefore thinks deviously. We can no more understand a Russian than a Chinaman or a Japanese, and from what I have seen of them, I have no particular desire to understand them, except to ascertain how much lead or iron it takes to kill them. In addition to his other Asiatic characteristics, the Russian has no regard for human life and is an all out son of bitch, barbarian, and chronic drunk.”
Remember this: For Russians words are just sounds meant to distract enemies.
In Russian society there is no shame in lying, there’s shame in believing. Of course Westerners lie too, but they’re embarrassed then they’re caught. They hide it and/or deny it.
In Russia, the person who feels shame is the sucker who believed somebody. Russians consider westerner extremely weak and naive for reacting so strongly to words — for assuming that words have any connection whatsoever to the real physical world.”
Russians are no way Asians, there are sub groups in Russia that are ( such as tarters, and yakutians). Genetically and culturally and linguistically Russians are European
I am merely quoting an article. I did not say that I believe it, all or in part.
As for being Asians, he does not mean by race, but by thought processes. He is saying (you have to read some of his other articles for this) that Russia is the heir not of Byzantium – which is the Ukraine Rus – but that Moscovy is, rather, the heir of the Tatar khanate; and thereby engaged in an asian deviousness.
Did you do it on purpose? Easy to take words out of context to bend an idea the way you need it to be.
The original quote:
Do not expect that once taking advantage of Russia’s weakness, you will receive dividends forever. Russian has always come for their money. And when they come – do not rely on an agreement signed by you, you are supposed to justify. They are not worth the paper it is written. Therefore, with the Russian is to play fair, or do not play.
– Otto von Bismarck
So, stop spreading your russophobia. Some of your other accusations are also a lie.
Boom! Shows the power of quoting out of context.
All that the complete quote says is that taking advantage of Russia’s weakness lasts only as long as Russia is actually weak. That if you force Russia to make an unequal agreement with you, it’s going to break it the moment it can get away with it.
Which should be a rather uncontroversial thing. Everyone agrees that agreements made under coercion are invalid. In international politics, agreements made under coercion are frequent but seldom very long-lasting, and when the party on which they have been imposed breaks them, it seldom suffers much diplomatic fallout.
Can’t forget the legendary story of Aleksander Nevsky. His story is half fact, half embellishment, much like another Alexander everyone knows and loves.
Ilya always seem to battle dragons with multiple heads. This is a strong element of the Rus culture. Ones Ilya fought a 12 headed dragon for 30 days and 30 nights and dragon begged Ilya for time out. Ilya said: “You got 12 heads and I only got one. When you have one head, we can rest.”
Dont forget about the legendary tale of Master Shake, aka Shakezula. his quest starts as a modest detective living in the burbs of New Jersey. Throughout his journey for poontang, he wards off many mystical space aliens and monsters. In the end, he makes sweet love to Mary Jane, and everybody learns hes got it… “GOIN ON”