Like many important things in the world, magic has existed long before you and me. Magic began in ancient civilizations thousands of years ago, and now we shall learn about some places around the world where magic is prominent. In the last article, we learned about magic in Japan. This month, we will be learning about Russia.

Before we move into the magical side of Russia, we shall quickly focus on some important parts of the history of Russia. Russia began as a part of the Mongolian Empire. The Mongolian Empire was broken up into sections called Khanates, and the Russian Khanate was the Khanate of the Golden Horde. Unlike other Khanates, Russia did not evolve like the rest of Asia and Europe. Instead, this country evolved very slowly throughout history. For the years up to the first Muggle World War, Russia was centuries behind in technology compared to other countries. Russia did not have the technology that other countries did at the time of World War l, leading to their military strategy being to simply say they had more men in their army than other countries.

However, because of them being so behind throughout all of history, Russia eventually lost World War l.

As for the magical side of Russia, it is rich and has much importance in magic around the world. Beginning with education, Russia’s wizarding school is Koldovstoretz. Koldovstoretz is a magical school in which both boys and girls can attend and learn the ways of magic. One interesting thing at this school is that students fly on trees instead of broomsticks. Unlike some other magical schools, though important in Russia, Koldovstoretz has had little impact on the magical world. The school is described as calm and quiet when inspectors come and is not on the same level as some other prominent magical schools.

As for creatures, the Hag, Nogtail, and Pogrebin are just three of the creatures exclusive to Russia. A few other creatures that can be found in Russia as well as the rest of the world, include Ashwinders, Clabberts, Ghouls, Fairies, Puffskeins, and more. The Babayaga was a hag who was known in Russian lore for eating children for dinner and lunch. Though this is all just a myth to muggles, this is all too real for the children of the magical world. Many magical parents teach their kids how to avoid this devilish creature.

Well, that is all for the discussion on Russia. It seems that there is simply not much to learn about their culture. Next time, we shall learn about magic in China, which will certainly be a fun discussion for you magical creature lovers!

Written by: Michael Isserles
Edited by: Marietta Oizys
Proofread by: Amelia River