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This project could not have been completed without the financial assistance of several organizations. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded me a Collaborative Research Grant, administered through American Councils for International Education , which enabled me to travel and collaborate with many institutions and individuals in Russia in 2004–5, the main period of research for this book. From the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) I received an IARО Fellowship, which facilitated a four-monthresearchtriptoRussiain2004.TheKennanInstituteawardedmeaShortTerm Grant for research in Washington, DC, in 2003; Margaret Paxson of that institute gave me Svetlana Adonyeva’s name and contact information, greatly influencing the outcome of this project. The European Reading Room staff at the Library of Congress was endlessly supportive and resourceful. University of Colorado–Boulder provided many types ofassistance,includingaresearchsabbatical,agrant-in-aidforequipmentpurchase,andtwo travel grants for Svetlana Adonyeva to come to Boulder for collaborative work. The book’s publication was facilitated by a generous subvention from the Eugene M. Kayden Fund. I feel a profound sense of gratitude to all the people in Russian villages who invited me into their homes for conversation, tea and treats, and allowed me to learn more about their lives. I wish to particularly thank the following individuals who, in addition to the above, gave me the gift of friendship. In Riazan’ oblast: Zinaida Nikolaevna Gubareva, Valentina Aleksandrovna Chikunova, Valentina Ivanovna Aleshina, Aleksandra Matveevna Tarasova, Anastasiia Andreevna Spirina, Father Roman Ivanovich Filippov and Tamara Filippova; in Vologda oblast: Nina Aleksandrovna Kukina, Anemaiza Ivanovna Khlebosolova, Zoya Mikhailovna Khlebosolova, Angelina Dmitrievna Stulkova, Faina Vasilevna Kostriukova, Iia Vasilevna Gudkova, Tamara Vasilevna Cherepanova, Liubov Iakovlevna Pantina; in Ul’ianovsk oblast: Maria Pavlovna and Iurii Mikhailovich Postnov, Maria Ivanovna Cherviakova , Maria Dmitrievna Zaplatkina. The Golubev family, including Mikhail Ivanovich, Acknowledgments laura olson ix Anna Aleksandrovna, Valerii Mikhailovich, Liubov Golubevy, and Maria Aleksandrovna Sokolova, opened their homes and hearts to me; Valerii Mikhailovich went above and beyond the call of duty by phoning culture staff throughout the Siamzha region in Vologda oblast for me. Culture workers who were extremely helpful in guiding me to informants and providing necessary assistance with housing and transportation included Anna Iakovlevna Vasil’eva of Pigilinka, Vologda oblast; Nina Alekseevna Vostriakova in Dvinitsa, Vologda oblast; Nina Iur’evna Shaverina of Siamzha Center of Culture, Vologda oblast; and Liubov and Aleksandr Arkhipovy of Kitovo, Riazan’ oblast. The following Russian scholars were immensely helpful in guiding my research and providing access to bibliographical and archival materials: Tatiana G. Ivanova (Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences—Pushkin House), Al’bert K. Baiburin and Tatiana A. Bernshtam (Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Izabella I. Shangina and Elena L. Madlevskaia (Russian Ethnographic Museum), Igor’ Morozov and Natalia L. Pushkareva (Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Maina P. Cherednikova and Mikhail Matlin (Ul’ianovsk State Pedagogical University), Natalia Giliarova and Elena Bogina (Moscow State Conservatory), Anatolii M. Mekhnetsov and Galina V. Lobkova (Russian Folkloric-Ethnographic Center), Anna F. Nekrylova and Viktor A. Lapin (Institute of the History of Art), Andrei Kabanov (independent scholar, folklore studio Izmailovskaia Sloboda), and Elena and Sergei Minyonok (Gorky Institute of World Literature, American Friends of Russian Folklore). Others who helped me in Russia included Anastasiia Karetnikova, a capable, wise, and adventurous fieldwork assistant; and Alena Romanova , who provided a comfortable home for me in Saint Petersburg. Various people helped in many ways with the manuscript preparation. Andrei Stepanov and Antonina Semenova of Saint Petersburg University capably and patiently answered my questions when Svetlana Adonyeva was not available. At the University of Colorado , students who contributed their time and talents included Dmitriy Zinchenko, Anna Calvert, Karina Pulec, Yana Duday, Erica Behm, Maria Diment, Casey McCormack, and Katherine Daniel. Mikhail Matlin, Liubov Golubeva, and Galina Siarheichyk helped me with interview transcription. Chloe Kitzinger and Jordan Shedlock wrote polished and elegant “draft” translations of chapters or parts of chapters. Steve Ramos volunteered his time with a very difficult translation task. Lindsay Baillie read and provided feedback on chapters, as did students in RUSS 3701 Slavic Folk Culture: Ideals and Values in the Contemporary World during fall 2010, spring and fall 2011, and spring 2012. Mark Leiderman and Tatiana Mikhailova helped me untangle difficult passages in transcriptions and translations and gave me comments on chapters and papers. To them and to my other colleagues at the University of Colorado I owe a great debt of gratitude for their continuous, heartfelt friendship and support. In particular...

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