Folklore & Myth

Folklore and myth often originated as a people tried to understand the world around them and to understand where they came from. Folklore and myth also convey value systems that are often still embedded deep within the modern cultural identities that evolved from them.

June 22, 2025

Kupala: Ancient Slavic Midsummer Mythology and its Modern Celebration

Kupala is an ancient Slavic holiday celebrating the summer solstice, or midsummer. Once part of a series of annual rituals, it marked and was believed to sustain agricultural cycles—essential to early human survival. Held as vitally important, these pagan traditions remained deeply rooted even after Christianization, technological change, and centuries of oppression tried to dislodge […]

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Manas and the Manaschi: Foundations of the Kyrgyz Soul

Russian Vocabulary: Haunted Places in Russia

Halloween as a Case Study for Cultural Understanding

The Creation and Solution of Gender Problems in “Finist the Bright Falcon II,” a Russian Fairy Tale

Medical Russian Vocabulary: Doctors and Folk Remedies

Yhyakh: A Summer New Year in the Coldest Place on Earth

Russian MiniLessons: Death in Russian Folklore and Culture

Why Do Russians Shout «Горько!» (Bitter!) at Weddings?

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