Intimate Rus'. Potion-Making in Rus'. Russian Folklore Demonology (set of 3 books)

“Intimate Rus’”

Was there an intimate life in Rus’? More precisely, what was it like? Some have heard of wild pagan revelries, others - of strict Christian norms. Pagan Rus’, Christian Rus’, Tsarist and peasant Rus’ - all these are vivid facets of a single story, full of surprises and contradictions.

You will learn how people lived and loved each other in princely and royal families, boyar and peasant families, in the families of slaves and ordinary townspeople. How they confessed their feelings, how they married, divorced, and even what sexual practices they preferred - the authors tell all this vividly and without unnecessary embarrassment.

“Potion-Making in Rus’”

This book tells about the magical beliefs of the Slavs and consolidates the entire complex of their beliefs about plants. To summon rain, to enchant a loved one, to pacify a restless corpse - there were remedies for every occasion. Stories about how spells found reflection in the works of Pushkin, and rituals in modern psychotherapy, Alexander Barkov weaves into an exciting narrative about what people in the past believed, what they feared, and how they saw the world. He convincingly proves that thanks to the experience accumulated over generations, they understood much more than they could know.

“Russian Folklore Demonology”

These questions were pressing for our ancestors, who perceived various unclean spirits as restless but familiar neighbors. Mermaids, werewolves, kikimoras, and other creatures lived very close - in the forest, in the field, right in the house. Folklore researchers have collected and preserved for us numerous stories about encounters with the unclean forces and beliefs about how to deal with them.

Relying on this material, the author of the book pieces together a frightening yet vivid and captivating picture of Russian demonology.