Study Guides for Land of the Firebird
Chapter 12
- What are some examples of folk culture?
- What was the attitude of elegant society toward folk culture?
- What was the peasants' attitude toward foreign cultures and the culture of elegant society?
- What do you think is the meaning of these Russian proverbs?
- The Devil is always dressed in the latest fashion
- The truth has seven sides
- The stranger's soul is murky
- To know a man you ahve to eat 16 puds (600 pounds) of salt with him
- Fear life, not death
- If you don't oil the wheels, you won't get there
- A feast is only happy when everyone is drunk
- One opinion does not make a proverb
- Don't rejoice in the misfortune of others. Yours is there in teh vegetable paatch.
- Why did foreigners consider Russians barbarians?
- How did Russians address each other when meeting?
- What are some of the customs associated with bathing.
- How did Russians act when drinking?
- What does the word "krestyanin" mean?
- What is a person's Name Day?
- How did the church calendar regulate the activities of peasant life? Give examples.
- What was the peasant's relationship with God like?
1
- Explain the following statement by Massie about Russians: "This calm acceptance of the fate and the sympathy for human suffering are perhaps the greatest strengths of the Russian people and the most basic expression of Russian Christianity."
- What was the Russian's attitude toward superstitions?
- How did Russians show reverence to ancestors? Why do you think they plant trees by their graves?
- What are "rusalki"?
- What is a "domovoy"?
- What are some Russian popular beliefs and superstitions? name some.
- What are some of the superstitions associated with bears?
- How are Russian folk tales different from German ones?
- Who are some of the characters in Russian folktales?
- What can you say about the tradition of singing and folksongs?
- Describe the old wedding rituals.
Chapter 13
- Massie claims that the variety, beauty and craftsmanship of Russian folk arts belie the stereotype of the Russian peasant as a "gloomy, downtrodden creature" and demonstrate a "jubilant attitude toward life." What are some examples of these folk arts at which the Russians excelled?
- Use of wood for construction. (See picture of the Church of the Transfiguration in Firebird.
- Use of the ax.
- How were houses decorated on the outside? on the inside?
- What is a matryoshka?
- What is a samovar, and how does it work?
- What is the Tsar Bell?
- What did the traditional peasant dress look like?
- What is a kokoshnik?