A Town in a Snuffbox: Stories

Vladimir Fyodorovich Odoevsky 1804-1869 - Russian writer and philosopher, art critic. He was born in Moscow into the family of a high-ranking official and was the last representative of one of the oldest branches of the Rurik dynasty. His father was a direct descendant of the Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich. In 1816, V.F. Odoevsky entered the Moscow University Noble Boarding School, and during his studies, his first works were published in the magazine Vestnik Evropy. In 1826, V.F. Odoevsky moved to Saint Petersburg and took a position as assistant director of the Petersburg Imperial Chancellery. During these years, he became interested in alchemy and wrote fairy tales for children. He is credited with the first science-fiction fairy tale A Town in a Snuffbox 1834. The main character, a boy named Misha, receives a musical snuffbox as a gift. The boy's curiosity knows no bounds; he is eager to understand how everything is arranged and interconnected. Misha's wish comes true, and he meets the magical inhabitants of the musical snuffbox, finding himself inside it. From a scientific perspective, the mechanism is described very accurately, while the fairy-tale form makes the description extremely captivating. The fairy tale Moroz Ivanovich was first published in the collection Tales of Grandfather Iriney in 1841. The basis is the plot of the Russian folk tale Morozko. As in any fairy tale, there is an allusion - a lesson for good young men. The contrast between the kind and hardworking Rukodelnitsa and the impatient and selfish Lenivitsa repeatedly convinces the reader that evil and laziness should be punished, while diligence, modesty, and kindness should be rewarded. V.F. Odoevsky believed that children's literature is an important element of education, developing benevolent feelings in a child's soul, and he placed great importance on the combination of scientific accuracy and the captivating nature of the narrative.