Tales and Legends of the Caucasus

The Caucasian epic is one of the oldest heroic-epic works of the peoples of the world, standing alongside the "Iliad," "Odyssey," "Shahnameh," "Nibelungen," and "Kalevala." In our collection, more than thirty Caucasian fairy tales and legends are presented, lovingly collected and reworked by Russian folklorists L. F. Chersky, G. K. Dorofeev, E. Z. Baranov, V. A. Gatsuk, V. N. Kharuzina, V. Ya. Svetlov, and others. Published between 1895 and 1911, they are being released for the first time in the form of a single anthology. The heroes of these works are fearless heroes-narts Sosruko, Alaugan, Shauay, and Soslan, their wise mother Satané, the fearsome dragon-zaryag, cunning jins, and malevolent giants — immersing readers in a world of snowy peaks and picturesque waterfalls, mountain rivers, and fertile pastures, revealing a fairy-tale universe created by the imagination of the inhabitants of this enchanting region.