Beloved Name

Publication

This skaz was first published together with "The Mistress of the Copper Mountain" and "The Great Snake" (also known as "The Great Serpent") in the 11th issue of Krasnaya Nov in 1936. "Beloved Name" was published on the pages 5–9, "The Great Snake" on pp. 9–12, and "The Mistress of the Copper Mountain" on pp. 12–17. These tales are the ones that follow the original Ural miners' folklore most closely. They were included in the collection Prerevolutionary Folklore of the Urals (Russian: Дореволюционный фольклор на Урале, tr. Dorevoljucionnyj folklor na Urale), released later the same year by Sverdlovsk Publishing House. It was later released as a part of The Malachite Casket collection on 28 January 1939.
In 1944 the story was translated from Russian into English by Alan Moray Williams and published by Hutchinson as a part of The Malachite Casket: Tales from the Urals collection. The title was translated as "Beloved Name". In the 1950s another translation of The Malachite Casket was made by Eve Manning The story was published as "That Dear Name".

Plot

The Old People live in the mountains, but they do not realize the value of gold. Their children use gemstones to play with, the hunters kill animals with gold nuggets during hunting. They mine some copper to make axes and cooking tools, but other than that they live on hunting, beekeeping, fishing.
They weren't Russians and they weren't Tatars, but how they were named and what was their faith and belief no one knows. They lived there in the forest. They were the Old People. They hadn't any houses or outbuildings like bath-house or shed, none of that at all, and they didn't live in a village. They lived in the hills.
One day Yermak Timofeyevich, on his conquest of Siberia, comes to the area. The Cossacks bring weapons and scare away the Old People, who hide in the cave inside Mount Azov. The Cossacks act like bandits, drink and start fights all the time. They decide to take away the lands and the gold of the Old People. One of the Cossacks tries to stop them, but gets wounded in the process. He goes to Mount Azov to warn the Old People. The elder's daughter, a beautiful girl of gigantic height, attempts to nurse him back to health. The Cossack stays in the cave, eats local food, learns the language and takes liking to the girl, but he does not feel any better.
He recommends the Old People to bury their gold in the ground, collect all the gemstones and hide them inside Mount Azov. They begin gathering the nuggets and the gemstone and carrying them into Mount Azov, while the others are keeping guard on Dumnaya. Unfortunately the rumours about gold spreads, more and more Cossack bands came. The Old People come to the wounded Cossack for advice. He lies dying on top of Dumnaya, with the girl nearby. "There they took counsel for three days".
Eventually the Old People decide to leave the area, offering to take the Cossack with them, but he refuses and explains that he can feel death approaching. The girl, who fell in love with him, stays too. The man says:
A time will come in our land where there will be no more merchants or Tsar, and even their names will be forgotten. Folks hereabouts will grow tall and strong, and one of these will [...] loudly call your dear name. When that day comes, bury me in the ground and go to him with a brave gay heart. For he will be your mate. And when that day comes, let them take all the gold, if indeed those folks have use for it.
Then he dies and in that moment Mount Azov "closes", trapping the girl inside. In the end of the skaz it is said that the Cossack's body still lies in the cave with the treasures and the beautiful girl, who always cries and never ages. Those who try to enter the cave or guess the girl's name, fail.