Perun

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries, ECDL 2001, held in Darmstadt, Germany, in September 2001. The 38 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 79 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on user modeling; digitization, interpretation, and annotation of documents; knowledge management; data and metadata models; integration in user communities; information retrieval and filtering; multimedia system; and multilinguality.

The fame of nineteenth-century Russian folklorist Aleksandr Afanas'ev is primarily based upon his work as a collector and editor of Russian folk tales. However, his role as an outstanding scholar of Slavic mythology and folk beliefs is often sadly overlooked. This book, based on A. N. Afanas'ev's fundamental study, Poetic Views of the Slavs toward Nature, and inspired by the wealth of knowledge it contains, attempts to reconstruct the ancient Slavic pantheon in the way it was seen by Afanas'ev. It dedicates particular attention to one pagan Slavic deity of paramount importance - Perun, the God of Thunder. Perun's role among other Slavic deities is examined, as are: his relation to similar mythological figures in Indic, Classical, Germanic, and other mythologies; his mythological roots, attributes, relationships to the world of animals, plants; and meteorological phenomena. A special chapter shows how, often quite unexpectedly, Perun's presence manifests itself in popular works of Russian literature.

In the heart of Russia, old ways of perceiving the spirits of home and nature still prevail. Fairy stories, folk art, and calendar customs carry hints of the old gods and offer a now rare way of linking human life to the landscape. This is as true for city dwellers and villagers, for the Russian soul is open to the power of myth and the mysteries of the universe. This book explains how Russia's concept of soul ("dusha") and sensitivity to the landscape extends to archaeologists, scientists, and doctors in Russia, who retain an open-minded approach and a keen interest in psychic phenomena, along with folk traditions and faith healing. Author Cherry Gilchrist has traveled often to Russia and researched its traditional lore, gaining knowledge she interweaves into this book. She blends that first-hand knowledge with serious research to paint a lively picture of these remarkable magical traditions and their enduring power.

The resurgence of national and historical awareness among the people of what was once the USSR has been nowhere stronger than among the Russians themselves. Some of the larger projects of rediscovery amount to a reinterpretation of traditional culture. This carefully annotated collection of recent studies of Russian folk religion, village organization and family life, including the rituals associated with childbirth, special attention to women's roles and to the specificity of Siberia in Russian culture, will be a revelation to a wide array of readers. It is intended for use not only in anthropology departments but more widely interdisciplinary courses in Russian studies, peasant studies and women's studies.

Slavic Myths & Legends is a comprehensive study on myths, folklore and legends of the Slavic people settled in Eastern and Central Europe with a meticulous approach to the spirits and ghouls found in Slavic mythical beliefs. Thorough and comprehensive research covers various aspects of the theme, from stories of spirits of the dead, through folk tales of gods and beings of the households, forests and water, to legends of Slavic gods. The study comprehends the mythology of Slavic people of the Elbe river and the Russians, with a glance at the Baltic mythology.

Both the work and the life of Leo S. Klejn, Russia’s foremost archaeological theorist, remain generally unrecognized by Western scholars. Until now. In this biography and summary of his work, Stephen Leach outlines Klejn’s wide-ranging theoretical contributions on the place and nature of archaeology. The book details-Klejn’s diverse work on ethnogenesis, migration, Homeric studies, pagan Slavic religion, homosexuality, and the history of archaeology;-his life challenges as a Russian Jewish scholar, jailed for homosexuality by the KGB and for his challenges to Marxist dogma;-his key contributions to theoretical archaeology and, in particular, Klejn’s comparisons between archaeologists and forensic scientists.