READERS GUIDE
Reader’s GuideThe Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
Discussion Questions:
1. Were you familiar with Baba Yaga before you read the book? If you were, what did you think of the author’s portrayal of her and the choices she made in the retelling of her tale?
2. Why do you think the author chose to tell the story of this mythological character in a real historical setting instead of in a mythological one? Does the setting of sixteenth-century Russia feel like a character in its own right?
3. In the beginning of the novel, Yaga hates the mortality in her blood, considering it her weakness and curse. How does that change and why?
4. How does what happened to Yaga—her mother’s death, the loss of her home, the mortals betraying and vilifying her—drive the narrative? What role does it have in her successes and failures?
5. Ivan’s transformation from a volatile young tsar to an oppressive autocrat happens mostly behind the scenes. How does it play out through Yaga’s eyes? Did you find him worthy of empathy?
6. Yaga and Vasily’s relationship is one of the most important and lasting in the novel. How does it grow and change, and how does it compare to Yaga’s relationship with Koshey?
7. When Yaga learns she has a sister, and that this sister was unloved and abandoned by their mother, how does Yaga’s opinion of her mother
change? Do you think she forgives her?
8. Who was your favorite character in the novel? Who was your least favorite?
9. How did you feel about the end of the book? Did you think Yaga deserved her ending compared to her mother, her sister, and the other characters and their endings?
