Research project “Three heroes of the Russian land”

Project “Heroes of the Russian Land”

• September 7, 2020

Competition "Children's Project - 2013"
Nomination "First Discoveries"

Having once seen a reproduction of the painting “Bogatyrs” by V.M. Vasnetsov, I wanted to know more about the defenders of the Russian Land, its faithful guardians. I began to ask adults to read me fairy tales and epics telling about the life of our ancestors. This is how I completely immersed myself in the atmosphere of Russian folk epic and its inhabitants. And I would really like to share the knowledge I have gained with you.

The purpose of our research: to get acquainted with Russian heroes through epics.

Tasks:

1) develop ideas about epic heroes - Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich;

2) get acquainted with the weapons of heroes;

3) feel involved in the history of the Russian people.

Object: heroes.

Subject: the role of epics as a source of knowledge about Russian heroes.

Hypothesis: if we create an atmosphere of interest in the epic epic, if we evoke a positive emotional attitude towards it, then we will be able to awaken a sense of involvement in the history of our people.

Our acquaintance with oral folk art began with reading such epics as “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber”, “Finist - Clear Falcon”, “Nikita Kozhemyaka”, “Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent”. After the reading there was a conversation on the content of the epic.

For example, after reading such a work as “Ilya Muromets,” we learned a lot about the life of this hero. Ilya Muromets was a peasant son. He was born in the village of Karacharovo, near Murom. Until the age of 33, he could not walk, as he was paralyzed, but subsequently received miraculous healing from the elders.

To get closer to the life of the Russian people, we also learned poems, proverbs and sayings about work, friendship and courage. The cartoons we watched about the heroes of the Russian Land left pleasant impressions.

The exploits of Russian heroes are reflected not only in epics, but also in the works of artists. So, in the visual arts classes we got acquainted with the painting by V.M. Vasnetsov "Bogatyrs".

We applied the knowledge gained in our drawings on the following topics: “Portrait of a hero”, “Weapon of a hero”, etc.

The holiday for Defender of the Fatherland Day was also dedicated to heroic themes. The boys happily showed the dance of the heroes, previously learned with the choreographer, to the song “Our Heroic Strength” by A.N. Pakhmutova. At the matinee there were many games and fun, where the children showed themselves as dexterous and brave defenders.

The open lesson “Heroes of the Russian Land” can be considered a summary of our chosen topic. The children read a lot of poems about the Russian hero, shared their knowledge about the military exploits of Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. Afterwards we all went on a journey, where obstacles awaited us from the Serpent Gorynych. But we overcame them without difficulty. The last stage on the path to the “cherished” heroes was the game “Ancient and Modern Weapons”. Here we also proved ourselves to be erudite guys who know the weapons needs of Russian soldiers.

After the victory over Zmey Gorynych, we met a guslar boy who told us about the exploits of Russian heroes. Next we met three heroes. Ilya Muromets spoke about the Nightingale the Robber, from whose whistle “all the flowers fell off.” But Ilya defeated the evil bird. Dobrynya Nikitich told us about his victory over the Serpent Gorynych, and Alyosha Popovich - over the Tugarin Serpent. The heroes were well armed and always ready to help those in need. After all the stories, they bowed to us and left.

Conclusion. While working on the project “Heroes of the Russian Land,” we became acquainted with many works of literature and painting, learned a large number of poems and sayings, became interested in epic works, and most importantly, felt our involvement in the history of the Russian people. For many children, the Russian hero is now an example to follow in their lives.

Appendix 1. Video presentation

Appendix 2. Project.

Author: Nikita Vidanov, 6 years old, student of MBDOU No. 8 “Aistenok”, Michurinsk, Tambov region. Head: Anna Valerievna Protasova, teacher at MBDOU No. 8 “Aistenok”, Michurinsk, Tambov region.

Ryazan prince

Georgy Yudin. Dobrynya Nikitich's campaign against the fierce serpent. Illustration for the epic. Year unknown

Andrey Ryabushkin Dobrynya Nikitich. Illustration for the book “Russian epic heroes”. 1895

Georgy Yudin. Dobrynya Nikitich and the Tatar hero-fighter. Illustration for the epic. Year unknown

According to epics, Dobrynya was born in Ryazan at a time when Ryazan was “reputed as a village.” Many researchers believe that this hero was of a princely family. His father Nikita Romanovich was a “prince without an inheritance”; he died at the age of 60, leaving a young wife and an infant son. Mother Amelfa Timofeevna gave Dobrynya a good education. In the sciences, he kept up faster than his peers; at the age of 12 (in some versions - 15) years, he mastered the wisdom of war. Vladimir Propp wrote:

SISTERS AND PLOT RIDDLES

Nastasya Mikulishna and Vasilisa Mikulishna are woodpile sisters, two bright female images of Russian epics. However (as in the case of male characters), despite family ties, each of the maidens has its own characteristics. Moreover, it is in the example of this couple that we can see two completely opposite heroines - perhaps due to the fact that the qualities of the sisters are contrasting. If Vasilisa is famous, rather, for her feminine cunning and ingenuity, then Nastasya is closer to the classic image of a hero. She has incredible power, not inferior to the good fellows of the epic, and some witchcraft spells. It is possible that they are the source of its irresistible power.

Due to the fact that there are not many epic stories about Nastasya Mikulishna, we can only guess what role the hero was assigned in the Russian epic. It is possible that due to its origin from the Mother of the Raw Earth, the woodpile was her earthly embodiment. That is why Nastasya is irresistible, even the most powerful hero in her hands becomes no stronger than a small child.

It is surprising that the epics dedicated to Nastasya Mikulishna do not describe the feats or military accomplishments of the heroine, but clearly, emphasizing the strength and power of the heroine, assign her only the role of Dobrynya Nikitich’s wife. Perhaps other legends simply have not survived to this day. There is a well-known epic about how Nastasya’s sister Vasilisa outwitted the Prince of Kyiv. The conclusion could be this: no matter how strong a woman is, her place is still next to her husband, and not on the battlefield.

It would seem, what did it cost Nastasya, who defeated even Dobrynya, to stand up for her honor when they began to persuade the girl to marry Alyosha Popovich? Nevertheless, according to the plot, the woodpile is assigned the role of a submissive prude until the appearance of her liberator. Perhaps this is how Russian legends reflected the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy - a change in traditions, consolidated by epics that were passed on from mouth to mouth, from generation to generation.

How Russian folklore became a brand, how long each episode takes and in whose voices the characters speak...

In modern Russian cinema, almost no films are made for children, but domestic animation has experienced a rebirth! Our cartoons outstrip some Walt Disney and DreamWorks projects in box office receipts, and among the most famous cartoon characters are the Russian heroes Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets, who have been delighting viewers of all ages with their adventures for 17 years.

"Three heroes. The Knight's Move", studio "Melnitsa", 2015, dir. K. Feoktistov

Heroes appeared at the St. Petersburg studio "Melnitsa", founded in 1999 by producer Sergei Selyanov, head of the recording studio Alexander Boyarsky and young animator Konstantin Bronzit. It got its name from its “registration” on Melnichnaya Street - the premises were rented from the Lennauchfilm film studio, where Bronzit and Boyarsky worked. During the day they worked on educational projects for schoolchildren, and at night they made cartoons.

“Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent”, studio “Melnitsa”, 2004, dir. K. Bronzint

The first to be released were the four-part cartoon “Adventures in the Emerald City” and the full-length “Dwarf Nose”, and then the studio received a letter from Dnepropetrovsk, which changed everything! Law student Maxim Sveshnikov sent an excerpt from a script about the adventures of the epic hero Alyosha Popovich, told in modern language. Everyone really liked the non-standard look at Russian folklore - it was a new topic in Russian animation, and Sveshnikov was invited to St. Petersburg.

“Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych”, studio “Melnitsa”, 2006, dir. I. Maksimov

“Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin the Serpent” was released in 2004 and... failed. The authors immediately released the cartoon on video cassettes, sold the rights to show it to several TV channels at once and, although not immediately, repaid the budget. Two years later they filmed the second part, but Dobrynya Nikitich and the Serpent Gorynych also failed at the box office. “Well... more about Ilya Muromets and that’s it!” - the studio decided, and in 2007 “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber” was released. And a miracle happened - with a cost of $2 million, the cartoon collected $9 million!

“Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber”, studio “Melnitsa”, 2007, dir. V. Toropchin

The creators realized that the heroes were not hopeless, and immediately started work on the next part - now all three heroes and the horse Julius from the story about Alyosha Popovich set off on adventures. This comical, witty and slightly ridiculous character was created in the image of similar American cartoon characters, and most of all he borrowed most of his features from Donkey from Shrek. The cartoon “Three Heroes and the Shamakhan Queen” was released in 2010, and since then a new series of heroic adventures has appeared every two or three years. The heroes have become a brand - their image appears on T-shirts, mugs and notebooks, a computer game was made based on the cartoons, and the Bank of Russia issued commemorative coins with the image of Alyosha, Dobrynya and Ilya. “The Mill” continued the popular folklore theme in the adventures of “Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf.”

“Julius the Horse and the Great Races”, studio “Melnitsa”, 2021, dir. D. Schmidt, K. Feoktistov

It takes a little over a year to produce one cartoon. Creation begins with a rough recording of all dialogues - this is necessary so that the animators correctly draw the facial expressions of the speaking character. Then the backgrounds are drawn and a schematic storyboard of the future cartoon is made, which the director gives to the artists. The artists do a great job of drawing the entire film, taking into account many details: how the shadows should fall, how the hair and fabric flutter in the wind, from what height the characters look at each other. In order to accurately convey the movements of characters and objects, they spend hours watching video recordings from different angles, and sometimes they themselves play out the scenes in front of the camera. Then the painters get down to business, decorating the image with small details - patterns, eyelashes, highlights, wrinkles, hairs, snowflakes... Then the image is painted, combined with the backgrounds, and then noisemakers and actors begin to work on the almost finished cartoon.

“Three Heroes and the Princess of Egypt”, studio “Melnitsa”, 2021, dir. K. Feoktistov

In Soviet cartoons, characters often spoke in the voices of famous actors - it’s hard to imagine Matroskin without Oleg Tabakov, Carlson without Vasily Livanov, and Winnie the Pooh without Evgeny Leonov. “Bogatyri” also features the voices of famous actors and one popular singer:

Prince of Kyiv - Sergei Makovetsky

The actor has already become a kind of symbol of the “heroic” cycle - he has been collaborating with “Melnitsa” from the very first cartoon, and his hero appears in all parts. Makovetsky treats him with great sympathy, although he is generally not a particularly positive character. The prince is cowardly, greedy and cunning, but the actor tried to make him so sincere that it’s impossible to even be angry with him. So the heroes are not angry, saving their obnoxious ruler from troubles over and over again. Ironically, Sergei Makovetsky was born in Kyiv...

"Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin Zmey"

Svyatogor - Ivan Krasko

The voice of actor Ivan Krasko in the debut film was spoken by the former great hero, and now the old hermit Svyatogor. The creators of the heroes were already familiar with the actor - shortly before that, he voiced the king in their animated project “Dwarf Nose”.

“Dobrynya Nikitich and Zmey Gorynych”

Elisha — Yuri Tarasov

The princely messenger Elisha became the first experience of working on scoring cartoons for the young actor Yuri Tarasov. A year later, he gave the voice to Basileus’s servant in the series “Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber,” and ten years later Elisha returned to the heroic saga and in the film “Three Heroes and the Heir to the Throne” he again spoke in Tarasov’s voice.

"Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber"

Basileus, Byzantine Emperor - Oleg Tabakov

The famous actor took part in only one cartoon from the franchise - he voiced Emperor Basileus in the series about Ilya Muromets. This hero appeared in other parts, but spoke in the voice of one of the founders of “The Mill,” Alexander Boyarsky. The son of Vasilevs was voiced by director Konstantin Bronzit, he also owns the voice of Tugarin the Snake and several episodic characters.

Boyar Antipka - Yuri Kuznetsov

For the famous actor Yuri Kuznetsov, this was the first and only experience of dubbing. Boyarin also appears in other parts of the franchise, but speaks in the voices of Igor Shibanov or Anatoly Petrov.

"Three Warriors on distant shores"

Kolyvan - Fyodor Bondarchuk

The greedy merchant Kolyvan first appeared in the series “Dobrynya Nikitich and the Serpent Gorynych” - he was voiced by actor Andrei Tolubeev, whose voice also spoke the Nightingale the Robber from the film about Ilya Muromets. In 2008, the actor passed away, and the next time Kolyvan appeared, he was voiced by Fyodor Bondarchuk.

Baba Yaga - Elizaveta Boyarskaya

The actress recalled that producer Sergei Selyanov called her and said that he wanted to offer her the role that every actress dreams of... Elizaveta Boyarskaya happily agreed to Baba Yaga and immediately began to think about what kind of makeup could be done, what costume would be best suited, and then it turned out that it will be a cartoon. However, she was not upset and happily voiced the heroine.

"Three heroes. Knight's move"

Pirate Potanya - Gosha Kutsenko

Gosha Kutsenko was a fan of heroic stories, so he happily agreed to voice the hero from the sixth part. He said about his pirate: “I liked him, not enough, really, there was a lot of him. But maybe he will appear in the seventh part. This cunning fellow, I think he will outwit everyone...” So far, Potanya has not appeared.

Gypsy Lulaja - Nargiz Zakirova

The singer, whom the whole country learned about after the show “The Voice,” voiced a gypsy dancer. For her, this was her first experience of such work, and Zakirova recalled that at first it was unusual, but then she realized that she was a nomad like this Lulaja, and tuned in to the heroine.

Oak — Dmitry Nagiev

The oak sharpie, offering travelers to play any gambling game of their choice with him, first appeared in the cartoon about Alyosha Popovich - then he spoke in the voice of Anatoly Petrov. In the sixth part, Oak was voiced by Dmitry Nagiyev.

"Three Heroes and the Sea King"

Sea Tsar Edward - Sergei Russkin

Tsar Edward, who fell in love with Dobrynya Nikitich's wife, was voiced by Sergei Russkin - Sergei Olegovich from Peculiarities of the National Hunt. By this time, he had already been collaborating with “The Mill” for several years and gave the voice to Koshchei the Immortal from the cartoon “Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf” and the cardinal from “Fortress: With Shield and Sword.”

"Julius the Horse and the Great Races"

Sultan Rashid - Sergei Burunov

Sergei Burunov is not just a popular film actor, but also a very popular dubbing actor. The heroes of foreign cartoons and computer games, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Matthew McConaughey, Jim Carrey and... Sultan Rashid from the series “Julius the Horse and the Great Races,” spoke in his voice.

“Julius the Horse and the Great Races”, studio “Melnitsa”, 2021, dir. D. Schmidt, K. Feoktistov

At the moment, there are already 11 cartoons in the “heroic” cycle, and this is the most commercially successful franchise of Russian animation. The highest-grossing films were “Three Bogatyrs on Distant Shores” and “Three Bogatyrs. Knight's Move" - ​​with a cost of about $4 million, they collected $31 million and $19 million, respectively. The story continues, and at the end of this year, viewers will have a new meeting with their favorite heroes, the horse Julius, the Prince of Kyiv and other heroes.

Cartoons

A cartoon is a model of the world around us, so children tend to imitate what they see on the screen. We live in a century of new technologies, and accordingly, cartoons have become completely different. What kind of modern cartoons are they? What do they bring into our lives, what do they teach us?

Is it possible and worth watching all cartoons without restrictions? Why do parents allow me to watch some cartoons, and watch them with pleasure, while others don’t, even if they have such bright, colorful and cheerful characters. All children are literally in captivity of the animation. Many children and teenagers refuse to play, walk in the fresh air and communicate with friends, preferring to sit for hours in front of the TV.

What attracts teachers and parents to Soviet cartoons? Cartoons are a real find: as we know, for the most part they teach a child kindness, sincerity, devotion, the ability to value friendship and other qualities important for the harmonious development of a person. The high value of the “right” act, the idealization of honesty, spirituality, morality - all those qualities that each of us wants to instill in our children.

What are "epics"?

While studying the concept of “epics” on the Internet, I found that epics are Russian folk songs that tell about the heroic deeds of courageous heroes. They often describe heroic events and exploits in which the people took part. The word “epic” means “old times,” that is, something that happened far in the past. The epic as a literary genre is not subject to reliable accuracy.

Epics tell about invincible Russian heroes - and this is also true. Glorifying the heroes, the defenders of the Motherland, the epics called for heroic deeds for the glory of the fatherland, raised the spirit of the people in difficult years of trials, and instilled in their youth love for their native land and hatred for their enemies. The example of invincible heroes instills courage in people, strengthens the sense of duty and honor. There is not a single epic where the hero, a warrior, did not defeat the enemy.

There were a large number of heroes in Rus'. Some were more famous, others less famous. Some were made into films and series of cartoons, while others I only read about in books, and even then in very small stories. I decided to explore the life of three heroes. Two little-known ones, such as Mikula Seljaninovich and Churilo Plenkovic. And one powerful hero about whom legends were made - Ilya Muromets.

They were separated by centuries - Mikula Selyaninovich lived in the 9th century, Ilya Muromets in the 12th century, and Churilo Plenkovich in the 15th century. But when legends are passed down from one generation to another for centuries, they acquire new details, famous characters begin to perform new feats, and time frames gradually blur and shift.

WARRIOR

The image of a female hero is unusual for Russian epics. On the one hand, life in Ancient Rus' inevitably required both strength and ingenuity from the fair sex. On the other hand, the society was rather patriarchal. Therefore, heroic battles and brave deeds were considered more the lot of men than women. However, either as an inheritance from the once existing matriarchal communities, or as a sign of respect for the Russian Maryas and Vasilises, in the Slavic epic you can find several bright heroines who travel around the world to gain military strength for themselves.

Moreover, they have such heroic power that even great warriors do not always manage to cope with them. One of the most striking examples is Nastasya Mikulishna.