Slavic Mythological Creatures | Slow Russian | Russian / English subtitles

Hello everyone, this is Mila, and today I will tell you about the mystical creatures of Slavic mythology. In this video I will speak in Russian, so if you don't understand something, you can look at the subtitles. In the mythology of each people there are their key monsters, which children and sometimes adults are afraid of. These creatures become the heroes of fairy tales, movies are made about them, and books are written about them. In Slavic mythology there are a lot of different monsters, evil and not so much. I will tell you about the most famous mystical creatures in Slavic mythology. Well, are you ready? Let's go! Ladies need to concede, so our first character is Baba Yaga. In simple words, Baba Yaga is a witch. In some sources it is said that at the very beginning Baba Yaga was a good spirit, who guarded people. But over time she became an evil force, an evil and strong witch. She usually looks like this. A humpbacked ugly old woman with a long hook-like nose. She has gray hair and she wears old ragged clothes. By the way, she looks a lot like black Anis from English folklore. Well, just one face. Baba Yaga lives in a hut on chicken legs. Her hut usually stands on the top of a forest, which in ancient times was considered the border of two worlds. The door of the hut is turned to the forest, the world of the dead. The hero of the fairy tale cannot cross the invisible border himself and must cast a spell. Baba Yaga has various magical items. For example, magic sleds, which can take you to the right place. In simple words, a car with a navigator. Baba Yaga moves with the help of a stick and a broom. Baba Yaga acts in several roles. The evil Baba Yaga steals children and tries to fry them in the oven. Well, you understand why. She also likes to lure young girls and boys to her hut with the same goal to fry and eat. But in some fairy tales Baba Yaga is not evil at all and even helps people in difficult situations. Baba Yaga gives advice, helps to find the right way, gives magical items. By the way, in the film John Wick, the main character has a nickname Baba Yaga. He once was an associate to ours. We called him Baba Yaga. The second famous character in the Slavic mythology is Koschei the Immortal. The name Koschei probably comes from the word bone. Because Koschei is very thin, literally like a skeleton. Koschei is an evil, rich, old sorcerer who lives in the kingdom of the dead and is a guide between the two worlds. Koschei can turn into a raven. And also, with the help of magic, he can turn people into stone and various animals. He has his own army of the dead. According to the legend, no one can kill Koschei, because he is immortal. But in fact, you can kill him. Here is one of the versions. Black apple grows on a black tree. The tree stands on a black mountain. And if a man with a fearless heart approaches that tree, a leaf will bloom in his eyes, a flower from a leaf, an apple from a flower. And whoever breaks that apple will find my heart. But whoever finds it will turn to stone. Yes, no one would try to kill Koschei, if not for his hobby of stealing beautiful girls to marry them. You will live on your elbows in gold, on your knees in silver, under your chest in velvet. But real bridesmaids save their brides and kill Koschei. The third famous character in Slavic mythology is Zmey Gorynych. Zmey Gorynych is an evil dragon, which has several heads, usually three. He can fly, talk and cast fire. Zmey Gorynych usually lives in the mountains. He is Gorynych. Near the place where Gorynych lives, a fiery river flows. And he himself guards the bridge connecting the world of the living with the kingdom of the dead. You can kill Gorynych only if you cut off all the heads. Because a new one can grow in the place of a cut off head. In many fairy tales, Zmey Gorynych kidnaps beautiful girls to scare the people. Or just to eat them. Also, Gorynych likes to set fire and destroy entire villages. Therefore, Zmey Gorynych is the sworn enemy of Russian heroes, who constantly fight him. In modern fairy tales, Zmey Gorynych is a positive character, who is friends with Russian heroes. How old are you? Gorynych, my best friend! In folk Russian fairy tales, he is usually friends with Baba Yaga and Koschei the Immortal. Such is the dream team. Next we have Leshy, the defender of the forest. Leshy is the spirit of the forest. In fact, he is a defender of the forest. The Slavs considered the forest a dangerous place, bordering the outside world. An unclean force lived there. As in many characters of Slavic mythology, Leshy was considered a hostage of the dead. This was the name of the people who died an improper death. Suiciders, unbaptized and cursed by the parents of children. In some areas of Russia, Leshy was considered a descendant of the devil and witch. He was described as an old man with a gray beard, covered with a wooden bark. He could change his height and be invisible. Sometimes he was called a boar. Leshy is friends with animals, which he can call for help. Leshy are not evil creatures at all and did not do evil to innocent people. On the contrary, Leshy showed the way to people lost in the forest. But Leshy punished some people who behaved badly in the forest, did harm to trees or killed animals. Before going to the forest, a person prayed and asked Leshy for permission to enter. It was especially necessary for hunters and those who cut down trees. People did not hunt for fun and did not cut down trees for no reason, because they were afraid of Leshy's wrath. If Leshy was angry with a person, he could confuse the road so that the person got lost and died. And also he could turn into a bear and kill a person himself. Leshy is responsible for the forest, and Vodinoy is responsible for the water. Vodinoy is the ruler of rivers, lakes and seawater. In the fairy tale mythology, Vodinoy is a dangerous villain. He was represented as a head of a fat old man with big eyes and a fish tail. He is covered with a shadow, has a long beard and green mustache. Vodinoy was usually hostile to people. He lured them into rivers and drowned them, overturned their boats. People, drawn to the bottom by the spirit, became slaves of Vodinoy, and he kept their souls in special vessels. At the same time, everything that got into the water was considered to be under Vodinoy's control. Therefore, sometimes people were in no hurry to save the drowning, so as not to completely spoil their relationship with Vodinoy. To please him, people sacrificed the most beautiful girls to him. The next interesting character is Vi. If you are familiar with the work of Nikolai Gogol, then you know that he dedicated a whole work to this mystical creature. Vi is one of the most mysterious characters. In some sources it is said that Vi was created in the imagination of Nikolai Gogol and never existed in Slavic mythology. But Gogol himself claimed that he learned about this monster from an ordinary people. Vi is a terrible character from the Kingdom of the Dead. This demonic creature with one look can kill everything alive, incinerate villages and destroy entire cities. Yes, his eyes are usually covered with huge eyelids and eyelashes, which he cannot lift without help. At first glance, this is a terrible, ugly old man of very high height and powerful physique. Vi is covered with the roots of trees and moss. Vi's voice is very scary and disgusting. Its prolonged monotone sound can drive any person crazy. In the story of Vi, the witch summons the monster in order to kill the main character, who was protected by the magic circle. We have too many men here. Let's add one more woman. I present to your attention Kikimora. Kikimora is a spirit in the image of a woman. According to the stories of the 18th century, children, stolen by an evil force, turned to Kikimora. Kikimora looks very thin and small, with long hair, in strange clothes, usually without shoes. If Kikimora is in the house, wait for misfortune. She prevented sleep, scared everyone with prolonged tones and a wild howl, strangled children, threw what she got, beat dishes, opened doors, mixed things, turned furniture, chased the beast, cut wool from sheep, pulled feathers from chickens and hair from people, and generally did not let them live normally. As a place of residence, Kikimora preferred human houses. Later, they changed the place of residence and moved to the woods. The swamp Kikimora appeared. A twisted old woman in rags, covered with moss. From the depths of the centuries, the image of Kikimora has reached our days. To this day, a woman who looks funny or ridiculous is called Kikimora. That's all. I hope you won't dream of these monsters tonight. See you next time. Bye-bye!