Perun, Svarog, Dazhdbog, Radegast, Svantovit, Belbog, Yarovit, Zhiv, Lad, Lel — how much do we know about these deities that embodied various forces of nature and human existence: light, sun, spring, love, war among our pagan ancestors? And the festivities — Ivan Kupala, Great Day, Kolyady, divination on straw, the etymology of words: Rusa, Ros, — channel; garden, suburb — city; garden — turn — orchard? In his fundamental work, the outstanding historian and one of the founders of Russian historical thought, Nikolai Ivanovich Kostomarov (1817—1885), by comparing data from Slavic history and folklore with data from other Indo-European peoples, created a unified system of the vast mythology of the Slavs.
Comprehensive information about Russian paganism, pagan rituals and holidays, a rich folk poetic creativity, and hundreds of festive, family, love, and wedding songs presented in the book also make it an encyclopedia of the history, morals, everyday life, and the entire spiritual life of the ancient Slavs.