Kremlin fairy tales

Author: Chen Zhanqi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Krylov's fables cover a wide range of topics, which can be roughly divided into two categories. One type uses the imagery of fierce animals to expose the cruelty, tyranny, greed, and cunning of the powerful, revealing social flaws. The other type falls under the general category of moral instruction. Krylov's fable poetry is concise, vivid, and humorous, making it household names in Russia. He employed and refined a vast number of folk proverbs and sayings, and some of his memorable aphorisms later became new proverbs in their own right. The great revolutionary leader Lenin was deeply fond of Krylov's fables from a young age and could recite many famous ones. Lenin often used Krylov's fables to mock his opponents in his writings. Statistics show that Krylov's fables are cited over fifty times in The Collected Works of Lenin.