An etymology and translation question.

Would someone with access to the OED (Jerry Friedman?) or similar
etymological dictionary let me know when "projector" first was used
for a person who initiated business projects and ventures?

I think it has now been superseded by words like "entrepreneur", but
it was in use like that in the 18th century -- I just want to know
when it began, and if it was in use in that sense in the second half
of the 17th cenury.

Also, could anyone with knowledge of Russian let me know if it could
conceivably be used as a translation for the Russion "promyshlenik" in
the 17th century.

For what it's worth, I'm writing a children's novel, and though it is
fiction, I don't want to mislead kids with grossly anachronistic word
usage -- minor anachronisms are probably unavoidable.

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On 2021-12-02, Steve Hayes wrote:

> An etymology and translation question.
>
> Would someone with access to the OED (Jerry Friedman?) or similar
> etymological dictionary let me know when "projector" first was used
> for a person who initiated business projects and ventures?
>
> I think it has now been superseded by words like "entrepreneur", but
> it was in use like that in the 18th century -- I just want to know
> when it began, and if it was in use in that sense in the second half
> of the 17th cenury.

1. a. A person who forms a project; one who plans or designs an
enterprise or undertaking; a proposer or founder of some venture.

[not marked obsolete or rare!]

1596 Earl of Essex in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd
Ser. IV. 131 I think the action such as it were disadvantage to be
thought the projector of it.

a1652 R. Brome Weeding of Covent-Garden i. i. 1 in Five New Playes
(1659) A hearty blessing on their braines, honours, and wealths,
that are Projectors, Furtherers, and Performers of such great works.

1660 Bp. J. Taylor Ductor Dubitantium I. ii. iii. 312 The reasons
why the Projectors of the Canon law did forbid to the fourth or to the
seventh degree.

a1665 J. Goodwin Πλήρωμα τὸ Πνευματικόv (1670) xvii. 481 How happy
then, above all worldly Projectors and Designers, are they whose
hearts are perswaded to hearken to the Counsel of God.

1714 Boston News-let. 16 Aug. 2/2 Ordered, That the Projectors or
Undertakers of any such Bank, do not proceed to Print the said
Scheme.., until they have laid their Proposals before the General
Assembly.

1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. p. xlix To desire a
Patent granted..to all useful Projectors.

1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. ix. 92 One of the most
common fallacies, by which the superficial projectors of machines for
obtaining a perpetual motion have been deluded.

1841 E. Miall in Nonconformist 1 1 The great design of the
projectors of this paper.

1884 Law Times 22 Mar. 379/2 The contractors were not paid either
by the projector or the company.

1933 H. Walpole Vanessa (1972) iii. ii. 326 A most interesting
man—name of Yerkes—the projector of the new electric Underground.

1968 D. D. Gladwin & J. M. White Eng. Canals ii. i. 6 With the
earlier canals the engineer was often at the meetings in person to
support the projectors' claims.

1995 S. Schama Landscape & Memory ix. 538 The best that John
Evelyn, a keen projector of a British Eden..felt he could do, was a
petting zoo of genteel English creatures like tortoises and squirrels.

b. (In negative sense.) A schemer; a person who lives by his or her
wits; a promoter of bogus or unsound business ventures; a cheat, a
swindler. Now rare (archaic in later use).

1615 in R. F. Williams Birch's Court & Times James I (1848)
(modernized text) I. 368 She is..much visited by cozeners and
projectors, that would fain be fingering her money upon large offers.

[skipping]

1907 F. W. Chandler Lit. Roguery vi. 240 Pug's master is the
victim of a more expert rascal, the projector Meercraft, who with his
accomplices..plays upon Fitzdottrel's ambition to become Duke of
Drownlands.

HTH

> Also, could anyone with knowledge of Russian let me know if it could
> conceivably be used as a translation for the Russion "promyshlenik" in
> the 17th century.

Out of my league.

> For what it's worth, I'm writing a children's novel, and though it is
> fiction, I don't want to mislead kids with grossly anachronistic word
> usage -- minor anachronisms are probably unavoidable.

Good luck!

--
the purple piper plays his tune
the choir softly sing
three lullabies in an ancient tongue

On 02/12/2021 10:56, Steve Hayes wrote:
> An etymology and translation question.
>
> Would someone with access to the OED (Jerry Friedman?) or similar
> etymological dictionary let me know when "projector" first was used
> for a person who initiated business projects and ventures?
>
> I think it has now been superseded by words like "entrepreneur", but
> it was in use like that in the 18th century -- I just want to know
> when it began, and if it was in use in that sense in the second half
> of the 17th cenury.
>

Yes, projector was the word used by the French before they stumbled
across 'entrepreneur', following the remark made by George W.

(Don't believe everything Snopes.com tells you. It cites the
pathological liar Alastair Campbell, who would deny his own grandmother
if it served his political purposes.)

On Sun, 12 Dec 2021 11:08:18 +0100, occam <nobody@nowhere.nix> wrote:

>On 02/12/2021 10:56, Steve Hayes wrote:
>> An etymology and translation question.
>>
>> Would someone with access to the OED (Jerry Friedman?) or similar
>> etymological dictionary let me know when "projector" first was used
>> for a person who initiated business projects and ventures?
>>
>> I think it has now been superseded by words like "entrepreneur", but
>> it was in use like that in the 18th century -- I just want to know
>> when it began, and if it was in use in that sense in the second half
>> of the 17th cenury.
>>
>
>Yes, projector was the word used by the French before they stumbled
>across 'entrepreneur', following the remark made by George W.
>
>(Don't believe everything Snopes.com tells you. It cites the
>pathological liar Alastair Campbell, who would deny his own grandmother
>if it served his political purposes.)

Did snopes.com say that George W. lived in the 17th century?

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On 13-Dec-21 4:30, Steve Hayes wrote:
> On Sun, 12 Dec 2021 11:08:18 +0100, occam <nobody@nowhere.nix> wrote:
>
>> On 02/12/2021 10:56, Steve Hayes wrote:
>>> An etymology and translation question.
>>>
>>> Would someone with access to the OED (Jerry Friedman?) or similar
>>> etymological dictionary let me know when "projector" first was used
>>> for a person who initiated business projects and ventures?
>>>
>>> I think it has now been superseded by words like "entrepreneur", but
>>> it was in use like that in the 18th century -- I just want to know
>>> when it began, and if it was in use in that sense in the second half
>>> of the 17th cenury.
>>>
>>
>> Yes, projector was the word used by the French before they stumbled
>> across 'entrepreneur', following the remark made by George W.
>>
>> (Don't believe everything Snopes.com tells you. It cites the
>> pathological liar Alastair Campbell, who would deny his own grandmother
>> if it served his political purposes.)
>
> Did snopes.com say that George W. lived in the 17th century?

No, but here Jacob Rees Mogg is known as the "Honourable Member for the
18th century".

--
Sam Plusnet

On Mon, 13 Dec 2021 20:51:20 +0000, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:

>On 13-Dec-21 4:30, Steve Hayes wrote:
>> On Sun, 12 Dec 2021 11:08:18 +0100, occam <nobody@nowhere.nix> wrote:
>>
>>> On 02/12/2021 10:56, Steve Hayes wrote:
>>>> An etymology and translation question.
>>>>
>>>> Would someone with access to the OED (Jerry Friedman?) or similar
>>>> etymological dictionary let me know when "projector" first was used
>>>> for a person who initiated business projects and ventures?
>>>>
>>>> I think it has now been superseded by words like "entrepreneur", but
>>>> it was in use like that in the 18th century -- I just want to know
>>>> when it began, and if it was in use in that sense in the second half
>>>> of the 17th cenury.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Yes, projector was the word used by the French before they stumbled
>>> across 'entrepreneur', following the remark made by George W.
>>>
>>> (Don't believe everything Snopes.com tells you. It cites the
>>> pathological liar Alastair Campbell, who would deny his own grandmother
>>> if it served his political purposes.)
>>
>> Did snopes.com say that George W. lived in the 17th century?
>
>No, but here Jacob Rees Mogg is known as the "Honourable Member for the
>18th century".

Well George W. as in Washington did live in the 18th century, and
usage from th3 1680s might have carried over.

My modern Russian dictionary says "promyshlenik" means
"industrialist", but I'm sure it didn't mean that in 17th -century
Siberia. So I'll stick with "projector".

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Steve Hayes:

> My modern Russian dictionary says "promyshlenik"

With a double `n' -- promyshlennik.

> means "industrialist", but I'm sure it didn't mean that in
> 17th -century Siberia. So I'll stick with "projector".

Those are good translators. I believe the Demidovs were a
family of inducstrialist, including the sense of `industri-
ous': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demidov .

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On 14/12/2021 08:27, Anton Shepelev wrote:
> Steve Hayes:
>
>> My modern Russian dictionary says "promyshlenik"
>
> With a double `n' -- promyshlennik.
>
>> means "industrialist", but I'm sure it didn't mean that in
>> 17th -century Siberia. So I'll stick with "projector".
>
> Those are good translators. I believe the Demidovs were a
> family of inducstrialist

You might be right. After all, if it looks like an inducstrialist, swims
like an inducstrialist, and quacks like an inducstrialist, it's probably
an inducstrialist.

--
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
Sig line 4 vacant - apply within

On 14/12/2021 09:38, Richard Heathfield wrote:
> On 14/12/2021 08:27, Anton Shepelev wrote:
>> Steve Hayes:
>>
>>> My modern Russian dictionary says "promyshlenik"
>>
>> With a double `n' -- promyshlennik.
>>
>>> means "industrialist", but I'm sure it didn't mean that in
>>> 17th -century Siberia. So I'll stick with "projector".
>>
>> Those are good translators. I believe the  Demidovs  were  a
>> family  of inducstrialist
>
> You might be right. After all, if it looks like an inducstrialist, swims
> like an inducstrialist, and quacks like an inducstrialist, it's probably
> an inducstrialist.
>

<That's harsh. Funny, but harsh.>

Steve Hayes:

> Would someone with access to the OED (Jerry Friedman?) or
> similar etymological dictionary let me know when "projec-
> tor" first was used for a person who initiated business
> projects and ventures?
> [...]
> Also, could anyone with knowledge of Russian let me know
> if it could conceivably be used as a translation for the
> Russion "promyshlenik" in the 17th century.

To clarify my previous answer, I will remark that
`promyslennik' is not a person that creates start-ups and
sells them to another and more permament owner in order then
to initiate more start-ups. Nor did `industry' originally
denote mechanised large-scale production with high separa-
tion of labor. `industry' is a "persevering determination to
perform a task", "habitual diligence in any employment or
pursuit, either bodily or mental," and "any department or
branch of art, occupation, or business; especially, one
which employs much labor and capital and is a distinct
branch of trade."

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occam to Richard Heathfield:

> > Anton Shepelev:
> >
> > > Those are good translators. I believe the Demidovs
> > > were a family of inducstrialist
> >
> > You might be right. After all, if it looks like an in-
> > ducstrialist, swims like an inducstrialist, and quacks
> > like an inducstrialist, it's probably an inducstrialist.
>
> That's harsh. Funny, but harsh.

I don't think it is funny, because the typo is not. Is it
not even a sandwitch, around witch one could improvise a
joke.

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On Wed, 15 Dec 2021 01:30:23 +0300, Anton Shepelev
<anton.txt@gmail.com> wrote:

>Steve Hayes:
>
>> Would someone with access to the OED (Jerry Friedman?) or
>> similar etymological dictionary let me know when "projec-
>> tor" first was used for a person who initiated business
>> projects and ventures?
>> [...]
>> Also, could anyone with knowledge of Russian let me know
>> if it could conceivably be used as a translation for the
>> Russion "promyshlenik" in the 17th century.
>
>To clarify my previous answer, I will remark that
>`promyslennik' is not a person that creates start-ups and
>sells them to another and more permament owner in order then
>to initiate more start-ups.

That certainly isn't how I picture 17yh-century promyshlenniki in
Sibera. Werent many of them fur trappers and traders?

> Nor did `industry' originally
>denote mechanised large-scale production with high separa-
>tion of labor. `industry' is a "persevering determination to
>perform a task", "habitual diligence in any employment or
>pursuit, either bodily or mental," and "any department or
>branch of art, occupation, or business; especially, one
>which employs much labor and capital and is a distinct
>branch of trade."

Aye, and in the 17th century the English word "factory" was not
primarily a manufactory, but more like a warehouse.

Yet nowadays Factory" usually means the premises on which something is
manufactured, and "industrialist" means tomeone who develops or owns
or manages such premises and the activities that go on within.

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Steve Hayes:

> That certainly isn't how I picture 17th-century promysh-
> lenniki in Sibera. Werent many of them fur trappers and
> traders?

Yes, but not all. Some of them were pioneering industrial-
ists in the modern sense, e.g. the aforementioned Demidovs,
the Stroganovs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroganov_family

and the Dutch merchant Vinius:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Vinius

The problem is that the hunter and capitalist senses began
to converge in exactly the 17th century.

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On Wed, 15 Dec 2021 19:20:04 +0300, Anton Shepelev
<anton.txt@g{oogle}mail.com> wrote:

>Steve Hayes:
>
>> That certainly isn't how I picture 17th-century promysh-
>> lenniki in Sibera. Werent many of them fur trappers and
>> traders?
>
>Yes, but not all. Some of them were pioneering industrial-
>ists in the modern sense, e.g. the aforementioned Demidovs,
>the Stroganovs:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroganov_family
>
>and the Dutch merchant Vinius:
>
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Vinius
>
>The problem is that the hunter and capitalist senses began
>to converge in exactly the 17th century.

Thank you, that is very helpful.

Perhaps I'll give the projector/promyhlennik character in my story the
name "Stroganov" - scion of an obscure branch of the family, of
course.

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> wrote:

> On Wed, 15 Dec 2021 19:20:04 +0300, Anton Shepelev
> <anton.txt@g{oogle}mail.com> wrote:
>
> >Steve Hayes:
> >
> >> That certainly isn't how I picture 17th-century promysh-
> >> lenniki in Sibera. Werent many of them fur trappers and
> >> traders?
> >
> >Yes, but not all. Some of them were pioneering industrial-
> >ists in the modern sense, e.g. the aforementioned Demidovs,
> >the Stroganovs:
> >
> > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroganov_family
> >
> >and the Dutch merchant Vinius:
> >
> > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Vinius
> >
> >The problem is that the hunter and capitalist senses began
> >to converge in exactly the 17th century.
>
> Thank you, that is very helpful.
>
> Perhaps I'll give the projector/promyhlennik character in my story the
> name "Stroganov" - scion of an obscure branch of the family, of
> course.

Why not the inventive cook?

Jan

Steve Hayes:

> Perhaps I'll give the projector/promyhlennik character in
> my story the name "Stroganov" -- scion of an obscure
> branch of the family, of course.

Quite possible. Such dynasties as the Stroganovs may be
called *pioneer* industrialists. Yermak and his six hundred
men began the affiliation of Syberia to the Russian tsardom
when Stroganov employed his services as a guard against Tar-
tar raids from across the border.

I have heard of other fictional characters of Russian inspi-
ration, such as Rasputin, Baba Yaga, and Medwed (the orignal
name of Beorn in Tolkien's early drafts). I dislike this
phenomenon in two cases: when it follows the trend of abus-
ing Russian characters as antagonists and villains, and when
it pretends some historical basis while cruelly misinforming
the audience, as in our recent movie "The Admiral" about ad-
miral Kolchak.

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J. J. Lodder:

> Why not the inventive cook?

Andre Dupont? According to my personal intuitive etymology,
the name of the meal derives from the meaning of the surname
`Stroganov', in the root of which is the Russian verb `stro-
gat'' (строгать) -- with a colloquial sense of cutting into
small pieces.

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On Tue, 21 Dec 2021 00:27:19 +0300, Anton Shepelev
<anton.txt@gmail.com> wrote:

>Steve Hayes:
>
>> Perhaps I'll give the projector/promyhlennik character in
>> my story the name "Stroganov" -- scion of an obscure
>> branch of the family, of course.
>
>Quite possible. Such dynasties as the Stroganovs may be
>called *pioneer* industrialists. Yermak and his six hundred
>men began the affiliation of Syberia to the Russian tsardom
>when Stroganov employed his services as a guard against Tar-
>tar raids from across the border.
>
>I have heard of other fictional characters of Russian inspi-
>ration, such as Rasputin, Baba Yaga, and Medwed (the orignal
>name of Beorn in Tolkien's early drafts).

You confuse me. Having a Russian daughter-in-law, I'm very familiar
with the fictional "Baba Yaga". She used to joke with my grandsons
about Baba Yaga coming after them if they were bad. Her Halloween
costume was Baba Yaga one year.

I've also read about Grigori Rasputin. He may have been a mystic and
a religious charlatan, but he was a real person until he was
assassinated in 1916.

Yet, you have described both as "fictional characters".

--

Tony Cooper Orlando Florida

Tony Cooper:

> You confuse me. Having a Russian daughter-in-law, I'm very
> familiar with the fictional "Baba Yaga". She used to joke
> with my grandsons about Baba Yaga coming after them if
> they were bad. Her Halloween costume was Baba Yaga one
> year.
>
> I've also read about Grigori Rasputin. He may have been a
> mystic and a religious charlatan, but he was a real person
> until he was assassinated in 1916.

Right, yet he exercised some kind of influence over tsare-
vich Alexey that let him relieve his pains. Some say it is
through this influence that he became an intimate friend of
tsaritsa Alexandra, and through her imposed his (evil) will
upon the weak-willed Nicolas II. He said Russian Empire
would last until he lived, and it fell after he perished.
Since we at Russian Culture, Agony (1981) is a notable movie
featuring Rasputin:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081991/

> Yet, you have described both as "fictional characters".

I wrote "finctional characters of Russian origin", meaning
characters in non-Russian fiction that were inspired by or
derived from Russian characters, whether fictional (Baba Ya-
ga) or real (Rasputin).

Baba Yaga and Rasputin in Hellboy movies (if you haven't
watched them, don't bother!) are both purely fictional char-
acters, right?

Here is my favourite image of Baba Yaga for you:

https://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/4126/121447594.2a8/0_b4683_fc2ae072_XXXL.jpg

and a frame with her from a Soviet chilren's movie:

https://avatars.mds.yandex.net/get-zen_doc/3755324/pub_60708083168d6537b6763d86_6072cb226594337d811ef2c4/scale_1200

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On Tue, 21 Dec 2021 01:16:44 +0300, Anton Shepelev
<anton.txt@gmail.com> wrote:

>Tony Cooper:
>
>> You confuse me. Having a Russian daughter-in-law, I'm very
>> familiar with the fictional "Baba Yaga". She used to joke
>> with my grandsons about Baba Yaga coming after them if
>> they were bad. Her Halloween costume was Baba Yaga one
>> year.
>>
>> I've also read about Grigori Rasputin. He may have been a
>> mystic and a religious charlatan, but he was a real person
>> until he was assassinated in 1916.
>
>Right, yet he exercised some kind of influence over tsare-
>vich Alexey that let him relieve his pains. Some say it is
>through this influence that he became an intimate friend of
>tsaritsa Alexandra, and through her imposed his (evil) will
>upon the weak-willed Nicolas II. He said Russian Empire
>would last until he lived, and it fell after he perished.
>Since we at Russian Culture, Agony (1981) is a notable movie
>featuring Rasputin:
>
> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081991/
>
>> Yet, you have described both as "fictional characters".
>
>I wrote "finctional characters of Russian origin", meaning
>characters in non-Russian fiction that were inspired by or
>derived from Russian characters, whether fictional (Baba Ya-
>ga) or real (Rasputin).
>
>Baba Yaga and Rasputin in Hellboy movies (if you haven't
>watched them, don't bother!) are both purely fictional char-
>acters, right?

I did look up the "Hellboy" movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00fMhETHQME

I did not add it to my "must watch" list.

--

Tony Cooper Orlando Florida

Tony Cooper:

> I did look up the "Hellboy" movies.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00fMhETHQME
> I did not add it to my "must watch" list.

Decency forbids.

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Anton Shepelev <anton.txt@gmail.com> wrote:

> J. J. Lodder:
>
> > Why not the inventive cook?
>
> Andre Dupont? According to my personal intuitive etymology,
> the name of the meal derives from the meaning of the surname
> `Stroganov', in the root of which is the Russian verb `stro-
> gat'' (????????) -- with a colloquial sense of cutting into
> small pieces.

You snipped too much again.
Is it really so hard for you to get it right?

Jan

J. J. Lodder:
> Anton Shepelev:
> > J. J. Lodder:
> > > Steve Hayes:
> > >
> > > > Perhaps I'll give the projector/promyhlennik charac-
> > > > ter in my story the name "Stroganov" - scion of an
> > > > obscure branch of the family, of course.
> > >
> > > Why not the inventive cook?
> >
> > Andre Dupont? According to my personal intuitive etymol-
> > ogy, the name of the meal derives from the meaning of
> > the surname `Stroganov', in the root of which is the
> > Russian verb `strogat'' (строгать) -- with a colloquial
> > sense of cutting into small pieces.
>
> You snipped too much again. Is it really so hard for you
> to get it right?

No. I wrote my reply in a hurry, decided to prepend the quo-
tation with [Stroganov surname], and forgot. I have added
some of the context above.

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On Tue, 21 Dec 2021 00:27:19 +0300, Anton Shepelev
<anton.txt@gmail.com> wrote:

>Steve Hayes:
>
>> Perhaps I'll give the projector/promyhlennik character in
>> my story the name "Stroganov" -- scion of an obscure
>> branch of the family, of course.
>
>Quite possible. Such dynasties as the Stroganovs may be
>called *pioneer* industrialists. Yermak and his six hundred
>men began the affiliation of Syberia to the Russian tsardom
>when Stroganov employed his services as a guard against Tar-
>tar raids from across the border.

Didn't the promyshlenniki expand the border?

>
>I have heard of other fictional characters of Russian inspi-
>ration, such as Rasputin, Baba Yaga,

Ah, I've already included Baba Yaga. Mainly to save the characters a
bit of time and effort to cross a mountain range on the border --
have them carried overnight in a house on chicken legs.

and Medwed (the orignal >name of Beorn in Tolkien's early
drafts).

Hmm,, interesting possibilities.

>I dislike this
>phenomenon in two cases: when it follows the trend of abus-
>ing Russian characters as antagonists and villains, and when
>it pretends some historical basis while cruelly misinforming
>the audience, as in our recent movie "The Admiral" about ad-
>miral Kolchak.

I'll bear that in mind.

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Steve Hayes:

> Didn't the promyshlenniki expand the border?

Sometimes, but not necessarily. They were not conquerors,
nor even American pioneers.

> Ah, I've already included Baba Yaga. Mainly to save the
> characters a bit of time and effort to cross a mountain
> range on the border -- have them carried overnight in a
> house on chicken legs.

Well, Baba Yaga has a much faster means of transporta-
tion -- a large flying mortar, which she uses to abduct peo-
ple:

https://mysonnik.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/post_5cbdd3936b3ae.jpg

This is the right place to confess that I never liked
Tolkien's use of avitation (Eagles) to save his heroes in
apparently lost situations. Orks and goblins never have an-
ti-air weapons, where the Eagles themselves said they feared
the bows of men...

> > I dislike this phenomenon in two cases: when it follows
> > the trend of abusing Russian characters as antagonists
> > and villains, and when it pretends some historical basis
> > while cruelly misinforming the audience, as in our re-
> > cent movie "The Admiral" about admiral Kolchak.
>
> I'll bear that in mind.

I think that good historical fiction interpolates its plot
between the fixed points of historical fact.

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