The Tale of Fedot the Strelets
Encyclopedia
The Tale of Fedot the Strelets (rus. Сказка про Федота-стрельца, удалого молодца) is a play
poem by Russian writer and actor Leonid Filatov
, written in 1985 and first published in Yunost
in 1987. With a storyline based on Russian folk tales, 'Fedot' is a social and political satire
on contemporary realities of life in Russia. Characters mix archaic Russian language, typical for folklore, with neologisms of modern Russian, providing additional comic effect.
Film adaptations have been made in 1988, 2000 and 2008.
Fedot, a strelets, serves at Tsar's court as the royal hunter. Tsar orders him to provide the game
for his dinner with English embassinger. Fedot was unlucky: he got not a single bird. When he tried to shoot at least a dove
, it turned into a beautiful maid, Marusia (Maria), which Fedot adopted as his wife. Marusia, possessing magical skills, saves her man from Tsar's punishment: she summons Tit Kuzmich and Frol Fomich (two magical servants being a sort of genie
, who could and would perform anything Marusia orders), and they fill Tsar's table with food.
Tsar makes his diplomacy with the English noble, in hope to make him marry Tsar's daughter, the Princess, who is not beautiful enough to attract the suiters. Princess and her Nanny, an old angry woman, are not pleased and argue against the match with an ambassador, who seem greedy and stupid to them.
After the dinner, the General, leader of the secret police, arrives to the Tsar. He tells his senior about Fedot's new pretty wife, and Tsar begins to plan how to steal Marusia from Fedot. He orders General to find a task for Fedot which he would be impossible to complete and it would let Tsar to execute Fedot for incompetency.
General goes to the forest, where old witch Baba Yaga
lives, and asks her advice. With her magic, Yaga finds the way. Tsar should order Fedot to bring him next day a magic carpet on which the whole Russia could be seen just like on a map. Tsar calls Fedot and orders him the carpet, Fedot feels low, but Marusia and her magic servants solve the problem and bring the carpet at morning.
Tsar, though trying to seem happy, is upset. He calls fo General again, threatening he will be punished if no plan will be given. General, also upset, goes back to Baba Yaga, who gives him another plan. Now Tsar orders Fedot to bring him next day a golden-horned deer, which is thought to not exist at all. But Marusia and her servants bring the deer as well.
Tsar forces General, General forces Yaga, and the final plan is prepared. The new task for Fedot is to find Something That Could Not Be in the World. Even Tit Kuzmich and Frol Fomich are unable to find a thing so loosely described. Fedot sets up to journey for his goal, leaving his young wife home. A few days later, Tsar, despite being continually mocked by the Nanny for this, arrives with the weeding gifts to Marusia. The young woman refuses to betray Fedot for old and vile Tsar, she turns into dove and flies away.
Fedot is wandering the world in quest for Something That Could Not Be. Shipwreck puts him on an uninhabited island. Its only master is a Voice, a bodyless yet powerful spirit, who is living a boring life: he can summon himself any good he wants, but only thing he longs for is human company. Fedot, realizing he found his goal, persuades the spirit to join his way back to Russian Tsar.
Returning home, Fedot discovers his house devastated by Tsar, and Marusia tells him about Tsar's harassment. Fedot calls to the simple Russian people to help him avenge the injustice, and they rise up. Crowd storms into Tsar's palace. Tsar, General and Baba Yaga, caught in charge, cowardly try to translate the guilt on two others. People sentence them to sail away in a bucket overseas. Then Fedot refuses a marriage offering from Princess, leaving her with his promise to find her another man, his twin. The tale ends up with the feast, supplied by Something-That-Could-Not-Be's magic.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
poem by Russian writer and actor Leonid Filatov
Leonid Filatov
Leonid Alekseyevich Filatov was a Soviet and Russian actor, director, poet, pamphleteer, who shot to fame while a member of troupe at Taganka Theatre under director Yury Lyubimov...
, written in 1985 and first published in Yunost
Yunost
Yunost is a Russian language literary magazine created in 1955 in Moscow by Valentin Kataev, its first editor-in-chief, who was fired in 1961 for publishing Vasily Aksyonov's Ticket to the Stars...
in 1987. With a storyline based on Russian folk tales, 'Fedot' is a social and political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
on contemporary realities of life in Russia. Characters mix archaic Russian language, typical for folklore, with neologisms of modern Russian, providing additional comic effect.
Film adaptations have been made in 1988, 2000 and 2008.
Plot
The storyline is based on the folk tale Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not WhatGo I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What
Go I Know Not Whither and Fetch I Know Not What is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.-Synopsis:...
Fedot, a strelets, serves at Tsar's court as the royal hunter. Tsar orders him to provide the game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
for his dinner with English embassinger. Fedot was unlucky: he got not a single bird. When he tried to shoot at least a dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
, it turned into a beautiful maid, Marusia (Maria), which Fedot adopted as his wife. Marusia, possessing magical skills, saves her man from Tsar's punishment: she summons Tit Kuzmich and Frol Fomich (two magical servants being a sort of genie
Genie
Jinn or genies are supernatural creatures in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings that occupy a parallel world to that of mankind. Together, jinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of Allah. Religious sources say barely anything about them; however, the Qur'an mentions that...
, who could and would perform anything Marusia orders), and they fill Tsar's table with food.
Tsar makes his diplomacy with the English noble, in hope to make him marry Tsar's daughter, the Princess, who is not beautiful enough to attract the suiters. Princess and her Nanny, an old angry woman, are not pleased and argue against the match with an ambassador, who seem greedy and stupid to them.
After the dinner, the General, leader of the secret police, arrives to the Tsar. He tells his senior about Fedot's new pretty wife, and Tsar begins to plan how to steal Marusia from Fedot. He orders General to find a task for Fedot which he would be impossible to complete and it would let Tsar to execute Fedot for incompetency.
General goes to the forest, where old witch Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...
lives, and asks her advice. With her magic, Yaga finds the way. Tsar should order Fedot to bring him next day a magic carpet on which the whole Russia could be seen just like on a map. Tsar calls Fedot and orders him the carpet, Fedot feels low, but Marusia and her magic servants solve the problem and bring the carpet at morning.
Tsar, though trying to seem happy, is upset. He calls fo General again, threatening he will be punished if no plan will be given. General, also upset, goes back to Baba Yaga, who gives him another plan. Now Tsar orders Fedot to bring him next day a golden-horned deer, which is thought to not exist at all. But Marusia and her servants bring the deer as well.
Tsar forces General, General forces Yaga, and the final plan is prepared. The new task for Fedot is to find Something That Could Not Be in the World. Even Tit Kuzmich and Frol Fomich are unable to find a thing so loosely described. Fedot sets up to journey for his goal, leaving his young wife home. A few days later, Tsar, despite being continually mocked by the Nanny for this, arrives with the weeding gifts to Marusia. The young woman refuses to betray Fedot for old and vile Tsar, she turns into dove and flies away.
Fedot is wandering the world in quest for Something That Could Not Be. Shipwreck puts him on an uninhabited island. Its only master is a Voice, a bodyless yet powerful spirit, who is living a boring life: he can summon himself any good he wants, but only thing he longs for is human company. Fedot, realizing he found his goal, persuades the spirit to join his way back to Russian Tsar.
Returning home, Fedot discovers his house devastated by Tsar, and Marusia tells him about Tsar's harassment. Fedot calls to the simple Russian people to help him avenge the injustice, and they rise up. Crowd storms into Tsar's palace. Tsar, General and Baba Yaga, caught in charge, cowardly try to translate the guilt on two others. People sentence them to sail away in a bucket overseas. Then Fedot refuses a marriage offering from Princess, leaving her with his promise to find her another man, his twin. The tale ends up with the feast, supplied by Something-That-Could-Not-Be's magic.
Characters
- Jester - the storyteller's voice
- Fedot, a streletsMusketeerA musketeer was an early modern type of infantry soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern armies, particularly in Europe. They sometimes could fight on horseback, like a dragoon or a cavalryman...
- Marusia, his wife and magician
- Tsar of Russia
- Princess, his daughter
- Nanny, an old sarcastic woman
- The General
- Baba YagaBaba YagaBaba Yaga or Baba Roga is a haggish or witchlike character in Slavic folklore. She flies around on a giant pestle, kidnaps small children, and lives in a hut that stands on chicken legs...
, the old witch - Something-That-Could-Not-Be-in-the World, the bodyless spirit
- English embassinger
- Tribal embassinger
- Tit Kuzmich and Frol Fomich, Marusia's servants
Adaptations
- In 1988, a 56-minute film was made starring Leonid Filatov himself reciting the tale.
- In 2000, a live-action verion was filmed, starring Viktor SukhorukovViktor SukhorukovViktor Ivanovich Sukhorukov is a Russian actor. He has appeared in over 50 films and television shows since 1974. He starred in Happy Days, which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:...
as Something-That-Could-Not-Be. - An animated adaptation by Melnitsa Animation StudioMelnitsa Animation StudioMelnitsa Animation Studio is a Saint Petersburg-based Russian studio which produces animated films. There is also a section of the studio devoted to digital special effects for the use of its own projects as well as for live-action films....
premiered on December 12, 2008 in Moscow. It has no official English title and has been referred to in the press by many different titles including variations of Fedot the Hunter, Fedot the Shooter and The Tale of Fedot the Archer.http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/457003/Pro-Fedota-streltsa-udalogo-molodtsa/overview