Firebirds in Cow Country

Firebirds in Cow Country

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Welcome to Firebirds in Cow Country!
A Guide to the Weird and Wonderful World of Russian Fairy Tales, Myths, and Folklore
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
3
Storytelling: The Tale of the Juvenescent Apples and the Water of Life
The Tale of the Juvenescent Apples and the Water of Life
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
The Curse of the Murdered Prince Dmitry of Uglich
Several episodes in Russian history are so fanciful that they read like novels.
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
18:42
Storytelling: At the Pike's Command
Listen now | In a Certain Land: New Episode
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
2
Oleg: the Prince Who Was Killed by His Favorite Horse
The boundary between history and legend used to be malleable.
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
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Finist the Bright Falcon: Forming the Moral Imagination with Fairy Tales
 • Nicholas Kotar
How Alexander the Great Became Popular in Russia
 • Nicholas Kotar
The Curse of the Murdered Prince Dmitry of Uglich
 • Nicholas Kotar
Oleg: the Prince Who Was Killed by His Favorite Horse
 • Nicholas Kotar
Finist the Bright Falcon: Forming the Moral Imagination with Fairy Tales
The Moral Imagination and Bad Stories
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
🌏 Planet Narnia, a new fairy tale retelling, and a live firebird sighting!
May 2025
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
In a Certain Land: The Chestnut Roan
Listen now | The first in the "Ivan the Idiot" Cycle
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
16:52
How Alexander the Great Became Popular in Russia
Recently, my wife and I finished reading aloud the amazing new Russian novel Laurus by Evgenii Vodolazkin. I loved it. First of all, it helped me focus…
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
The Three Warriors of Slavic Mythology: Who Were They?
Sometimes, when I get stuck in my writing, it helps to take some time to study the visual arts.
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
Don’t blame the Byzantines: Why does Russia have such problems?
One of the early readers of my first novel complained that I had too many adjectives in my writing.
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
🌑 Reading ruts, underworld rites of passage, and how NOT to be a human
May 2025
 • 
Nicholas Kotar
1
Firebirds in Cow Country
Firebirds in Cow Country
Where fantasy author Nicholas Kotar shares the weird and wonderful world of Russian fairy tales and folklore, and how these stories can help us all lead better, deeper, more brilliant lives.
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