IVAN the FOOL: Russian Folk Belief: A Cultural History (New Russian Writing) [Paperback]

Andrei Sinyavsky (Author)

Book Description

Series: New Russian Writing | Publication Date: November 11, 2007

This masterly and extremely readable survey covers folk superstitions and customs, house and nature spirits, pagan gods, Christianization, saints, icons, the Schism, Old Believers, religious sects, and the characters and symbolism in Russian fairy tales that could be called the origin of the Russian psyche.

Andrei Sinyavsky (1925–1997) was also known as Abram Tertz.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Andrei Sinyavsky (1925-1997), acclaimed satirical novelist and literary critic, emigrated to France in 1973 after his incarceration in a Soviet labor camp for publishing works in the West under the name Abram Tertz. His best known works include “On Socialist Realism”, The Trial Begins, Fantastic Stories, The Makepeace Experiment, A Voice from the Chorus, Strolls with Pushkin, and his autobiographical novel Goodnight!
"Sinyavsky has been increasingly recognized both in the West and in Russia as one of the most significant Russian literary figures of the post-Stalin period." – Catharine Theimer Nepomnyashchy

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: GLAS New Russian Writing; 1 edition (November 11, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 5717200773
• ISBN-13: 978-5717200776
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,771,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The power of stories and myth in Russia, October 17, 2008

By 

Paul E. Richardson "Russian Life" (Montpelier, VT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: IVAN the FOOL: Russian Folk Belief: A Cultural History (New Russian Writing) (Paperback)

It is common to say that "we are the stories we tell ourselves." This principle is the thread that connects the many themes in this astoundingly rich and useful survey of Russian folk belief, religious symbolism and practice. Sinyavsky, one of the original Soviet dissidents and an extraordinarily gifted author and critic, describes here the intricately intersecting layers of the Russian psyche, as they developed and morphed through history and custom: ancient and invisible, pagan and Christian, faith and fantasy, symbol and society.

Beginning with a penetrating analysis of Russian fairy tales - their purpose and genesis ("people remember and pass on only what is precious to them"), Sinyavsky examines the uniquely Russian views toward Beauty, Fate and Heroism, and the role of magic and the supernatural behind all things.

This leads to concise and entertaining descriptions of Russia's pagan gods, demons, spirits and symbols. Which naturally segues into a history of how these all were supplanted with the adoption of Christianity. Well, perhaps not simply supplanted so much as coopted and overlaid. Pagan holidays took on Christian meaning, phonetic similarities inclined patron saints to certain "assignments," and age-old sprites were given new jobs as modern devils.

Finally, Sinyavsky closes with succinct summaries that are essential reading for anyone interested in Russia but unfamiliar with Orthodoxy: elements of the Russian faith, the role of icons, the major sects, the reforms and schisms that have rocked that faith. What truly makes this an invaluable book (and part of the Russophile's Essential Library) is Sinyavsky's easy, storytelling style. Adapted from lectures he gave at the Sorbonne and fluidly rendered into English by Joanne Turnbull's superb translation, this book is never dry or encyclopedic. Rich with examples and constantly reflecting historical and social context, this is a lively history of the Russian worldview. (Reviewed in Russian Life)