Zagоvory is a form of verbal folk magic in Eastern Slavic folklore and mythology. Users of zagоvory use incantations to enchant objects or people.
Khors is a Slavic god of uncertain functions mentioned since the 12th century. Generally interpreted as a sun god, sometimes as a moon god. The meaning of the theonym is also unknown: most often his name has been combined with the Iranian word for sun, such as the Persian xoršid, or the Ossetian xor, but modern linguists strongly criticize such an etymology, and other native etymologies are proposed instead.
The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary is a comprehensive multi-volume encyclopaedia in Russian. It contains 121,240 articles, 7,800 images, and 235 maps. It was published in the Russian Empire in 1890–1907, as a joint venture of Leipzig and St Petersburg publishers. The articles were written by the prominent Russian scholars of the period, such as Dmitri Mendeleev and Vladimir Solovyov. Reprints have appeared following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
A bogatyr or vityaz is a stock character in medieval East Slavic legends, akin to a Western European knight-errant. Bogatyrs appear mainly in Rus' epic poems—bylinas. Historically, they came into existence during the reign of Vladimir the Great as part of his elite warriors (druzhina), akin to Knights of the Round Table. Tradition describes bogatyrs as warriors of immense strength, courage and bravery, rarely using magic while fighting enemies in order to maintain the "loosely based on historical fact" aspect of bylinas. They are characterized as having resounding voices, with patriotic and religious pursuits, defending Rus' from foreign enemies and their religion. In modern Russian, the word bogatyr labels a courageous hero, an athlete or a physically strong man.
Alyosha Popovich, is a folk hero of Kievan Rus', appearing in Russian folklore. He is a bogatyr and the youngest of the three main bogatyrs, the other two being Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets. All three are represented together in Viktor Vasnetsov's famous painting Bogatyrs.
Volost was a traditional administrative subdivision in Ruthenia, Muscovy, and Russian Empire.
In the Dove Book and other medieval Russian books, Buyan is described as a mysterious island in the ocean with the ability to appear and disappear with the tide. Three brothers—Northern, Western, and Eastern Winds—live there, and also the Zoryas, solar goddesses who are servants or daughters of the solar god Dazhbog.
In the medieval history of Kievan Rus' and Early Poland, a druzhina, drużyna, or družyna was a retinue in service of a Slavic chieftain, also called knyaz. The name is derived from the Slavic word drug with the meaning of "companion, friend".
Bespopovtsy are Priestless Old Believers that reject Nikonite priests. They are one of the two major strains of Old Believers.
Sword Kladenets is a magic sword in Russian fairy tales and byliny, rendered as "sword of steel", "hidden sword", or "magic sword" in English translations.
Nakhichevan-on-Don, also known as New Nakhichevan, was an Armenian-populated town near Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia founded in 1779 by Armenians from Crimea. It retained the status of a city until 1928 when it was merged with Rostov.
Tyushtya IPA ['tʲuʃtʲɑ] is Moksha demigod, son of Atäm and mortal girl. Tyushtya is able to turn into White horse. The good harvest depends on him. He was the first Moksha King chosen by clan elders. The first Moksha title for the king derives from his name Moksha: тюштян, romanized: tyushtyan, lit. 'king' IPA [tʲuʃ'tʲɑn].
Znamya was a newspaper established by ultra-nationalist Black Hundreds journalist Pavel Krushevan in Petersburg. It is known for publishing of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" in August–September 1903.
Tail fat is the fat of some breeds of sheep, especially of fat-tailed sheep. It is fat accumulated in baggy deposits in the hind parts of a sheep on both sides of its tail and on the first 3–5 vertebrae of the tail. The weight of this part of a sheep's anatomy may be up to 60 kg (130 lb). These hind parts are used to accumulate fat for subsequent use during dry seasons, similar to a camel's humps.
Idolishche Poganoye is a mythological monstrosity from Russian bylinas and other folklore; he personifies pagan forces invading the Russian lands. The name literally means "pagan idol", with a Russian augmentative suffix "-ishche".
Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Kniazhnina was an 18th-century Russian poet. Her surname also appears as Knyazhnina.
Evgeny Vasilyevich Anichkov was a Russian literary critic and historian who specialised in the Slavic folklore and mythology, as well as their relation to and use in the Russian literature.
The Verse about the Book of the Dove is a medieval Russian spiritual verse. At least 20 versions are known. They vary in length from 30 to over 900 lines. The poem is generally thought to have been written ca. 1500 in the Novgorod region, though Russian nationalists postulate its great antiquity. The earliest extant manuscript is dated to the 17th century.
Volkhovnik was an Old East Slavic book of divinatory nature which included collections of signs and their interpretations.
Posad People were a class of medieval (feudal) East Slavic lands, whose duties were to bear the tax, that is, pay monetary and natural taxes, as well as perform numerous duties.
