Nikita Kozhemyaka is a hero of Russian fairy tales

Nikita Kozhemyaka has long been a hero of folk tales in Russia. This is a typical example of a hero who is not just strong and brave, but also kind. There are several versions of the fairy tale, but in all of them Nikita Kozhemyaka is the hero who killed the dragon and saved the princess. The most similar are the Ukrainian and Belarusian variations, and in Russian the ending is much different. Although he always remains a hero, a simple good hero.

The plot of the fairy tale

The evil snake stole the daughter of the Kiev prince and hid it in his house so that no one could get to it. She misses the house and very much wants to return, but the snake does not let the princess. Later the serpent told the princess that in the whole world he was afraid of only one person - Nikita Kozhemyak. Since then, she began to think about how she would persuade Nikita to fight with the serpent. The prisoner sends a letter to his father so that he finds the hero and persuaded him to save her - to kill the terrible serpent. What does King Kozhemyaka answer? This is very untypical for fairy tales, because he refuses. When the first tsarist delegates visited Nikita's house, he was so surprised that he accidentally tore twelve skins, which already testifies to considerable power. Many envoys go to Nikita, and he remains adamant, but agrees only when he is sent to crying children: the hero simply can not bear children's tears. Smeared with resin to become invulnerable to the serpent, the strong man goes to save the princess. The long battle between the hero and the serpent ends with the victory of Kozhemyaki.

End of the fairy tale

In the Belarusian and Ukrainian versions, after Kozhemyaka wins the snake, the place where he lived, was called Kozhemyak. In the Russian version of the serpent, which defeated Kozhemyaka, asks for mercy, and the good heart of the hero decides. The serpent gives half of its land to the hero. He divided the territory with a furrow, and in it the snake drowned.

Nikita Kozhemyaka

This legend is not just about a hero, it's a classic fairy tale of Kievan Rus. Originally, a chronicle was created. For the first time it was attested in 992, but then the hero was not yet named Kozhemyaka, he was a youngster with incredible power, who during a quarrel with his father ripped the skin. Since then, of course, the fairy tale has evolved. If initially it was a youth who defeated the Pecheneg monster, in later versions it is already a hero who fought with a fantastic monster and saved the princess. A typical folk tale, which was brought up by more than one generation of children.