Russian folklore encompasses a broad and powerful storytelling tradition.
It is a quintessential Russian folktale rooted in ancient beliefs and practices. But the Russian tradition is not only expansive, it is introspective as well. Russians have constantly struggled with the question of whether they are simply one of many European ethnic groups. Or, whether they are distinct civilization that is neither East nor West, neither European nor Asian. The novelist and towering moral figure of late Czarist Russia, Count Leo Tolstoy, also explored that theme.