Marya was a warrior queen who ruled a small kingdom and, for some 10 years, kept Koschei the Deathless a captive in her castle’s tower. She fell in love with Ivan Tsarevitch, and while she was away on a campaign, he accidentally released Koschei. The evil wizard then abducted the queen and Ivan Tsarevitch was forced to find some way to kill him. Ivan was successful and was reunited with Marya. The two of them were married and their kingdoms became united.
Appearance List Russian Fairy Tales by Alexander Afanasyev (1855–1863), Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar (1890), The Red Fairy Book (1890) by Andrew Lang [Internet Archive], Russian Folk-Tales trans. by Leonard Magnus from Afanasyev (1916)
Description Marya was a warrior queen who ruled a small kingdom and, for some 10 years, kept Koschei the Deathless a captive in her castle’s tower. She fell in love with Ivan Tsarevitch, and while she was away on a campaign, he accidentally released Koschei. The evil wizard then abducted the queen and Ivan Tsarevitch was forced to find some way to kill him. Ivan was successful and was reunited with Marya. The two of them were married and their kingdoms became united.
