December 21, 2021

Snow Fright


Snow Fright
Surely she lost her immortality?! RIA Novosti Telegram

Snegurochka, or the Snowmaiden granddaughter of Father Frost, is an essential figure of the Russian holiday season. In Kostroma, this year’s Snowmaiden seems to be more of a snow job.

On December 13, online outlet Kostroma Today reported that the city’s sparkling Snowmaiden structure, once called the “bride of Darth Vader,” has returned for the second year in a row.

The Snowmaiden is thought to have roots in pagan lore, and was first popularized by the playwright Alexander Ostrovsky, in his nineteenth-century play “Spring Fairytale.” In the tale, the Snowmaiden is the beautiful and lonely daughter of Frost and Spring who relinquishes immortality for the ability to love. She evaporates from the sun’s rays when she finally falls in love and leaves her forest shelter.

The Kostroma decoration is of a sort commonly found in Russia and Eastern Europe during the winter season, made of metal structure and laced with strings of lights. You often see find reindeer, Christmas trees, bears, balls, and jingle bells, but sometimes you’ll also stumble across a figure so horrifying that you’d rather run in the opposite direction.

“Remove this monstrosity already - it scares everyone off with its eerie appearance,” one resident of Kostroma wrote. "Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky has already turned over in his grave a thousand times from such a disgrace of a city. When I pass, I cross myself against sin a little farther away."

Some Kostroma residents are fans of the strange lady, but others are distraught, finding her more horrifying than before. Although this is the second year the Snowmaiden structure made an appearance, it was only removed the first time at the end of May!

Do not look into her eyes, some advise… this Snegurochka sure isn’t as pure as the driven snow.

 

You Might Also Like

Of Soviet Santas & Snegurochkas
  • January 01, 2000

Of Soviet Santas & Snegurochkas

This time of year, many Russians pine for the calmer, friendlier New Year's celebrations of decades past, and struggle to preserve family holiday traditions
Bringing in the New Year
  • November 01, 2004

Bringing in the New Year

From her village in the Bryansk region, Laura Williams offers a distinctly rural picture of the New Year's holidays in Russia.
Kostroma
  • August 16, 2016

Kostroma

Irina Yemets takes us north on the Golden Ring to visit the colorful town of Kostroma, hometown of the Romanovs and Snegurochka.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955