Who is ‘Sivka-Burka’ in Russian fairy tales? 

The tale of ‘Sivka-Burka’ is so popular in Russian folklore that there are approximately 60 versions. They all differ in details, but have a similar plot: A father asks his sons to carry out an errand for him. The two eldest accept the request formally, while the youngest honors it. In return, he receives from his father a magical horse named ‘Sivka-Burka’, which can be summoned with a spell.

Even experienced readers immediately have questions about ‘Sivka-Burka’, the magical horse. First, it's completely unclear what color the horse is. ‘Sivaya’ is an ash-gray horse – "…every hair is a silver strand," as the folklore says. ‘Buraya’, meanwhile, is dark brown. A bay horse – red or sandy in color – is a symbol of serpent-battling, the victory of the forces of light over the forces of darkness. So, it turns out that ‘Sivka’ is a tricolor horse.

The oddities don't end there. Its appearance is accompanied by images of fire and smoke: "A column of smoke from its ears… flames blazing from its nostrils." In folklore, such signs are characteristic of creatures from the underworld, also known as ‘chthonic’. Moreover, in various versions of the tale, Ivan the Fool, the youngest of the three brothers, catches ‘Sivka’ in a grain field where the horse has trampled and ruined the wheat or receives him as a gift from his deceased father, which clearly marks the animal as belonging to the underworld.

And like any magical creature from the underworld, ‘Sivka’ serves as Ivan the Fool's magical assistant. It helps him change for the better: Ivan climbs into the horse's right ear and emerges through the left, transforming into a handsome young man. Accomplish a supernatural task – jump up to the princess's high tower and become her husband. Change your social status: from Ivan the Fool to Ivan Tsarevich!