Alexander Afanasyev (1826–1871) was a Russian folklorist who collected and published over 600 Russian folk tales, earning him the title of the Russian Grimm. His anthology Narodnye Russkie Skazki, published between 1855 and 1863, preserved stories of Baba Yaga, Ivan the Fool, and other iconic characters from Slavic oral tradition. Afanasyev's collection remains the most comprehensive record of traditional Russian folklore ever assembled.