Elves and Hobbits in Russian Woods

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Rasker
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Elves and Hobbits in Russian Woods

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http://www.mosnews.com/feature/2005/05/18/tolkien.shtml

Elves and Hobbits in Russian Woods

Created: 19.05.2005 05:22 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:00 MSK

Anastasiya Lebedev

MosNews



In 2002, it was quite a juicy news item when, during the national census, Russians had learned that there were elves and hobbits living among them (that was the first year Russians were allowed to pencil in their ethnicity rather than choose the most appropriate option from the official list). In reality, however, elves, orcs, and hobbits had lived alongside ordinary Russians for more than a decade by then. Since the early 1990s, Russian fans of J.R.R. Tolkien have been bringing their idol’s books a step closer to reality by living them out.

In the summer, woods around Moscow, as well as Moscow’s biggest parks often teem with people who look like they’ve just walked off the set of “Lord of the Rings” - swords, armor, the works. The parks and gardens — which, for those in the know, have their own names in elven tongue — serve as grounds for role-playing and acting out the scenes from Tolkien originals as well as Tolkien-based fan fiction.

Irina, aka “Golden Dragon,” on the Tolkien/role-playing scene since 1993, explains: “There are games of different genres — action, intrigue, magic, or a mixture of all three. There are games like improv shows. There are alternative history games…There are humorous and parody games.”

“Tibalt,” known as Vladimir prior to his conversion to Tolkienism, sees his own fascination with the world of the Middle Earth as an escape from the frequently unpleasant reality. With a plethora of fantasy worlds to choose from, he went for the British author’s works. “The history and the mythology are so well thought-out, it’s more profound than other fantasy universes. This is a scientific work.”

Tolkienists, as they are known, put a lot of effort into researching character family trees and life stories, learning the languages in the books, writing their own spin-offs of traditional stories, writing music, organizing games and conventions, as well as learning crafts such as armor-making. The books that make up the bulk of the Tolkien canon — The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion — provide plenty of material.

Although Tolkien is translated into Russian, the desire to better familiarize themselves with the original works of “The Professor,” as his fans lovingly call Tolkien, often inspires people to learn English, Irina says.

Tibalt also emphasizes the positive influence of the culture on his life — his Tolkien obsession has encouraged him to write poetry and songs. “My mother likes that this is what I’m doing, rather than drinking beer out in the street.”

Unfortunately, quite frequently, Russian Tolkien fans find themselves the butt of jokes and targets of harassment — their hobby is seen as too eccentric. Attacks by skinheads and street hoodlums who don’t like the looks of longhaired, sword-carrying young men in ring mail are only half the trouble: police also take a lively interest. The swords used in role-playing are usually made of wood or a special kind of plastic, or are simply blunt, and can hardly be considered weapons. Yet carrying a realistic-looking wooden elven saber might get you in trouble with the law if you can’t explain yourself.

Irina emphasizes that the role-playing ends when the games end — everyone goes back to the real world. It’d be pathological, she says, if someone went on thinking they were Feanor (an elf) outside of the game. “I don’t know of a single such case, though,” she adds. Tibalt, however, who admires Tolkien’s magic universe for the idealism of its inhabitants, goes by his elven name at work and at home and feels inspired by the half-elven character he’s created for himself most of the time. But it’s all about the chivalry and the bravery, not a hazy perception of reality Tolkienists are sometimes suspected of.

Their way of getting back at the misunderstanding they encounter is by laughing it off. Storytelling is one of the best things about the scene, and one of the best-known stories goes like this: a Tolkien fan coming back from a game and wearing an expensive leather coat over his ring mail was unfortunate enough to run into a couple of skinheads late at night. Taking him for a rich and easy prey, they tried to rob the man, threatening him with a knife. When the knife bounced off the hidden coat of mail and the man raised a huge real-looking sword over his head, the two would-be muggers fell to their knees, begging: “Have mercy on us, Duncan MacLeod,” mistaking the Tolkien fan for the immortal highlander.:p

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