# The Soldier and the Tsar in the Forest explained — Russian Folktales

> Chapter companion for Russian Folktales by A. N. Afanasyev.

## What happens

A soldier, disowned by his general brother, deserts and hides in a forest. There he meets the Tsar, who has become lost while hunting. They spend the night in a hut inhabited by an old woman who is a receiver for robbers. The soldier kills the robbers, takes their gold, and leads the Tsar out of the forest. The Tsar, grateful, later rewards the soldier with a generalship and punishes the brother for denying his kin.

## Themes in this chapter

### Social Class and Hierarchy

The soldier's brother, a general, denies kinship due to class difference, and the Tsar's eventual reward elevates the soldier while degrading the brother, highlighting the fluidity of social rank.

### Trickery and Cunning

The soldier uses cunning to survive in the forest, to guard against the Tsar's sleepiness, and to outwit and kill the robbers.

### Fate and Divine Justice

The soldier's chance meeting with the Tsar and the subsequent reward for his bravery and loyalty reflect a sense of fate and divine justice, where good deeds are ultimately rewarded.

## Character check-ins

### The Soldier

A runaway soldier who deserts after being punished by his general brother. He shows bravery and resourcefulness in the forest, protecting the Tsar and killing the robbers.

### The Tsar

The Tsar who gets lost while hunting and is helped by the soldier. He later rewards the soldier with a generalship.

### The General

The soldier's elder brother who rises to general but refuses to acknowledge his sibling. He is eventually degraded by the Tsar.

### The Old Woman

The old woman (babushka) who lives in the forest hut and acts as a receiver for the robbers. She is confronted by the soldier.

### The Servant

The Tsar initially identifies himself as a servant of the Tsar when meeting the soldier.

## Key lines

> The soldier recognised the general, but it was no good, because the general would not acknowledge him at all: 'I do not know you, and you must not claim acquaintance with me!'

The soldier recognized the general as his brother, but the general refused to acknowledge him, saying he did not know him and forbidding any claim of kinship.

_This moment establishes the central conflict of the story: the brother's denial of family ties due to social status._

> Then the Tsar stood there and stood, and soon began to nod. 'What are you nodding for?' asked the soldier: 'are you going to sleep?' 'No!' said the Tsar. 'Well, then, keep a good lookout!'

The Tsar, on guard duty, started to doze off. The soldier scolded him, asking if he was falling asleep, and told him to stay alert.

_This exchange shows the soldier's experience and authority over the Tsar in the forest setting, reversing their usual roles._

> Then the soldier at last saw with whom he had passed the night in the wood, and he was terribly frightened. 'This was the Tsar,' he said, 'and I threatened him with my cutlass, just as though he had been my brother!'

When the soldier realized that his companion was the Tsar, he was terrified, remembering how he had threatened him with his sword as if he were an equal.

_This moment of recognition highlights the soldier's fear and the inversion of social hierarchy that occurred during their night in the forest._

## Links

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