Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Afanasief or Afanasiev, Russian: ) (11 July 1826 - 23 October 1871) was a Russian Slavist who published nearly 600 Russian folktales and fairytales, one of the largest folktale collection in the world. The first edition of his collection was published in eight fascicules from 1855-67, earning him the reputation of the Russian counterpart to the Brothers Grimm. (wikipedia.org),, .,,,, ."