Kriukova, Marfa
Kriukova, Marfa Semenovna
Born 1876 in the village of Nizhniaia Zimniaia Zolotitsa, in present-day Primor’e Raion, ArkhangePsk Oblast; died Jan. 7, 1954. Soviet Russian folktale narrator. The daughter of A. M. Kriukova.
The first records of Kriukova’s narrations were made by A. V. Markov in the 1900’s. In the 1930’s her repertoire was written down; it included almost all the subjects of Russian byliny (epic folk songs), more than 150 texts, whose patriotic and social content the narrator particularly stressed. She also created noviny (new byliny) devoted to Soviet life. Kriukova was a member of the Writers’ Union of the USSR (from 1939). She was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and medals.