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Originals and Marginals in the Tula City Text and in Family Memories

Olga Belova

Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

Moscow, Russia

ORCID: 0000–0001–5221–9424

DSc., leading Research Fellow

Department of Ethnolinguistics and Folklore

Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences

119334, Moscow, Leninsky Av., 32-А

Tel.: +7(495)938–17–80, Fax: +7(495)938–00–96

E-mail: olgabelova.inslav@gmail.com

DOI: 10.31168/2658–3356.2022.13

Abstract. This article explores the idea that Tula is impregnable to attack – a commonplace in the city text and local oral history. It draws upon recordings of Tula residents’ family stories and publications concerning the people associated with the “prophecy” that “a German will not enter Tula.” The main figure linked with the prophecy is Blessed Mother Dunyasha (Evdokia Ivanovna Kudryavtseva, 1883–1979). From Orthodox sources, we know that her cult belongs primarily to a religious context – the Spassky Temple and Spassky cemetery in Tula and the churchyard in the village of Kochaki. While the prophecy can also be attributed to Yura Strekopytov (1936–1981), her frequent mention in 1960s and 1970s urban folklore makes confirmation impossible. Another potential origin of the prophecy is the elder Sergius (Sergei Fyodorovich Borisov, 1853–1946), who was involved, like Mother Dunyasha, in spiritually protecting the town, and who remains in need of further study. Widely known folktales about fortunetelling, posthumous miracles, and so on are also connected with the abovementioned individuals.