Communication of figurative folklore systems in Russian and Khanty fairy tales

The article is part of complex studies on the interaction of the folklore heritage of the Khanty and Russian peoples. The authors consider the genre classification issues of Russian folklore, the folklore heritage of the Khanty, and the genre features of Khanty and Russian fairy tales as a subject of relative and comparative study. The article analyzes the interaction of plots and images of fairy tales of two nationalities: the Khanty and the Russian. A fairy tale is an epic genre with a mandatory focus on fiction and is characterized by folk fairy tale traditions and the common elements of plots, motifs, and folklore vocabulary; this peculiarity is caused by borrowings that occurred during contact with the cultural traditions of other peoples. The process of universal stories’ transformation from Russian folklore into Khanty folklore is the result of the historical process of those ethnic groups’ close interaction. Despite the substantial variety of Russian and Khanty fairy tales, they are characterized by the plots’ universality. The authors note that the dynamics of folklore development testify to its ability for transformation and mutual enrichment; there is a lot of emphasis on maintaining and developing folklore traditions in the modern literary space. The work focuses on identifying the standard and distinct features of the works under study. The paper is centered on the interpretation of the unique features of Khanty fairy tales in comparison with Russian ones.