"Fairy Tale: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow": traditions of the Khanty epic and contemporary storytelling discussed at the National Centre RUSSIA
Fairy tales do not end in childhood — they evolve together with the reader, remaining a language through which both tradition and modern life can be explored. This was shared by Yamal authors at the public talk "Fairy Tale: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", held at the National Centre RUSSIA.
The meeting introduced guests to two different yet complementary perspectives on fairy tales. Writer and folklore collector Zinaida Longortova spoke about the world of the Khanty epic tradition, oral storytelling practices and working with folklore. Contemporary author Kristina Hofman from Tarko-Sale discussed how the author’s fairy tale lives and transforms today. The meeting was moderated by Tatyana Shevyakhova, Chief Librarian of the National Library of Yamal.
Zinaida Longortova, a representative of the Khanty people and a collector of folklore, has gathered and adapted more than 50 works of oral folk art over the years and created documentary films based on Khanty tales and traditional festivals. She shared that her love for fairy tales began in childhood, when the whole family would gather around her grandmother, who was a storyteller.
"We grew up on the tales we heard at home. Grandmother would sit down to sew, and we would immediately ask, ‘Tell us a story’. There were no televisions or other entertainment back then, and storytellers lived in every village — almost every grandfather and grandmother. Stories were passed from mouth to mouth, and during the day we children retold them to each other, memorised them, and over time they came together into entire books," Zinaida Longortova recalled.
According to her, folk tales for northern peoples remain not only entertainment but also a system of values: through characters, children learn about good and evil, respect for elders, compassion and responsibility. She noted that Khanty tradition has preserved many story cycles linked to deities and spirits, including a tale about a boy sent down to earth by a heavenly deity in a golden cradle. "This hero teaches people kindness and righteous living, and many stories reveal a person’s true character through how they treat an orphan — through care, indifference or cruelty," she explained.
A modern view of the fairy tale was presented by Kristina Hofman. She works in the oil production sector and describes literary creativity as a "need of the soul". At the event, she spoke about how authorial fairy tales differ from folk ones and why the genre remains important for both children and adults.
"Folk tales are wonderful, but the author’s fairy tale allows us to see an individual human image. You can feel the voice of a specific author, their tone and their world. A fairy tale is a story about things that seem not to exist, yet which we take seriously. It activates our inner theatre, engages the imagination and the soul," Kristina Hofman noted.
She emphasised that fairy tales are built around images rather than authors’ names: when we think of fairy tales, we recall a hut on chicken legs, an enchanted princess, a hero lying on a stove — images that form an entire magical world. Without fairy tales, she said, the world would be far poorer. In real life, the line between good and evil is often blurred, while fairy tales make it clearer, teaching choice and allowing complex ideas to be conveyed in an accessible and imaginative language. Hofman is convinced that fairy tales are just as important for adults as for children, offering an opportunity to reflect on personal values and actions.
At the conclusion of the public talk "Fairy Tale: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", families who attended with children received colourful collections of Yamal folk tales as gifts — so they could continue exploring northern stories at home, return to the characters introduced during the meeting, discover new narratives and preserve the tradition of shared family reading.
Event photobank
The National Centre RUSSIA hosted workshops organised by the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area.
