Russian mythology is rooted in Slavic traditions and includes deities, folklore, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Baba Yaga and Firebird are popular supernatural creatures. Russian nationality includes many ethnicities with their own mythologies. Perun and Veles were major gods, and Russian mythology has a variety of supernatural creatures. Old Russian religion was deeply connected to nature, life cycles, and ancestors, with a complex calendar of events and rituals. Christianity absorbed and Christianized pagan folklore.
The main elements of Russian mythology are deeply connected with Slavic traditions throughout Eastern Europe. The elements of this mythology are divided into deities, folklore/folktales, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The most used examples are supernatural creatures such as Baba Yaga and Firebird. With the arrival of orthodox Christianity, a great deal of pagan folklore was absorbed and Christianized as in other parts of the world.
Russian mythology should be separated from Russian nationality, which includes many non-Russian ethnicities such as Tatars, Chechens and Chuvashes with their own mythologies and traditions. Russia is a vast country that stretches from the borders of Eastern Europe to the Bering Strait; Russian culture comes mainly from the west of the Ural Mountains.
A common chief god of the pagan Russians – not all tribes agreed – was a pan-Slavic god named Perun. Perun is often balanced with Veles, also written as Volos. If Perun is noted in an elevated situation such as on a hill or mountain, then the surrounding lowlands, valleys and plains, are associated with Veles. With the introduction of Christianity, folklore changed Veles from a rival of Perun to a diabolical figure. Other major gods of the region included Rod, Svarog and Triglav.
Russian mythology is filled with a wide variety of supernatural creatures and monsters. An example is the Baba Yaga. She started her life as a minor goddess, but after the arrival of Christianity, she became a witch-like creature who mostly caused trouble, but sometimes helped the heroes in the stories. Another example is the firebird. Basically a flaming peacock, the firebird usually tries to help people.
Slavic and Russian mythology also have localized versions of more pan-European creatures. The Russian dragon, or Zmey Gorynych, is a three-headed creature that runs on two legs with small T-Rex-style front arms. Vampires in Russia are represented by butterflies rather than bats and have been seen as immortals who had suffered a tragic death, rather than blood-sucking monsters.
Like many polytheistic and animist religions, Old Russian religion was replete with a number of local variations on basic ideas. Religious beliefs were deeply connected to nature, the cycle of life and ancestors. This often meant appeasing and getting along with a vast number of spirits, from house spirits like Domovoi to field and woodland spirits like the polevye and lecnyee, respectively.
The dominance of life cycles in Russian mythology naturally led to a complex calendar of events and rituals. Some were linked to particular deities and others to times of the year. For example, the Kupala festival was seen as an ideal time for bathing because the sun had given the water special qualities. When Christianity came, Christians combined Kupala with the rituals surrounding John the Baptist.
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