Description

Pavel Petrovich Bazhov (1879–1950) was a Russian writer. The year 1939 saw the publication of Bazhov’s most famous work – the collection of fairy tales “Malakhitovaya shkatulka” (The Malachite Casket), which gained its author the State Prize. Later on Bazhov supplemented the book with new tales. Bazhov was also the author of several books on the Russian Revolution and the Civil War.

The book of interlinking fairy parables Malachite Casket charms the reader into “melodious mysteries and quiet beauty of the Russian land”. These tales of the Ural (where Bazhov worked as a miner) go deep into people’s relations and real social conflicts. The central figure of the series – the Mistress of the Copper Mountain – is a fantastic creature, embodying the creative primordial nature and its keeper at the same time. She helps only creators, such as the inborn sculptor Danila, a gifted person sensitive to “every gentle leaf and blade of grass”, who creates the miraculous Stone Flower in the depth of her realm. The Malachite Casket is one of the books the poeticism of which helps to ignite the demand for being in accord with the beautiful. The book inspired Sergei Prokofiev for his famous ballet "The Flower of Stone".

Date of issue: 18.01.1994