Book Review

Folk Tales From Russia
By Donald Mackenzie
Hippocrene Books, Inc. (1999)
Reviewed by Alan Irvine

Folk Tales From Russia is another in Hippocrene Books' wonderful series of reprints of classic folktale collections. In this case, the book is a reprint of a collection of Russian stories first published in 1916.

This book has a different feel to it than others Hippocrene has reprinted. For one thing, the stories are much longer, with more depth and detail to them. There are only seven stories in the book, each 20-30 pages long (which is probably why the collection is labeled for ages 12 and up.) Nor are the stories folk-tales. Instead, the seven stories are literary tales written by Donald Mackenzie. Two of them are closely based on traditional tales, but Mackenzie has rewritten them and set them in a literary and historical frame. Other stories seem to be based on historical incidents or traditions. And two are obviously Mackenzie's own stories. (The first story in the book, "The Test of War," for example, concerns two men who end up fighting in World War I, which began in 1914 and was still going on when the book was published. The intent of the stories seems to be to provide a sense of Russia and the Russian people rather than collect authentic Russian folk-tales. This aim is ably advanced by the detailed introduction, which provides considerable information on Russian landscape and geography, Russian history and society. Unfortunately, Mackenzie does not provide any background on the stories themselves, which makes it hard to sort out what material is truly Russian and what is added or invented by Mackenzie.

The stories themselves are well written and engaging. They move briskly along, filled with details of Russian life and history. The reader learns a lot abut Russia from the tales without feeling bogged down in a lecture. I enjoyed all the stories, but thought the best of them was "Tsar Ivan and the Scots Soldiers," a story that primarily focuses on the plight of 16th century Scots mercenaries imprisoned in Moscow. It was amusing to note that the Russian characters play only a minor role in this story. Indeed, at the very end of the story, Mackenzie engages in some nationalistic boasting, claiming the story, which I assume is based on historical fact, demonstrates the Scottish origin of many of the great families of Russia. The tales are, as I mentioned, literary tales, filled with extensive dialogue and description. Consequently, it would require a fair bit of work to adapt them for oral presentation.

What I found most intriguing about the book, however, was the sense of a definite agenda driving the work. The stories take great care to show the Russian people in the best possible light, to display the more "enlightened" aspects of Russian society. The Introduction, for example, emphasizes the peaceful, harmonious relations between Russia's social classes: "The aristocratic exclusiveness of German and Austrian nobility does not prevail in the Tsar's domains, which enjoy a marked degree of social freedom...In no country in Europe are the grievances of the past more readily forgotten." Mackenzie carefully ignores Russia's history of attempted revolts, assassinations, secret police, exile camps in Siberia, pogroms, and smoldering resentments that would erupt into the Russian Revolution in just over a year. In addition, two of the seven stories concentrate on historic connections between Russia and Britain, specifically Scotland. All of this starts to make sense if we remember that the book was first published in 1916, two years into WWI, with Britain allied with a faltering Russia against Germany. Was this book an effort to rally the British public's support for their Russian allies?

The book then has a number of appeals: a collection of well written stories, a glimpse of old Russia, a hint of political intrigue and maneuver. Whichever of these attracts your attention, you will find this an enjoyable book.

—posted January 2001