Revered Stones in Kolomenskoye: Genesis and the Current State of the Cult

In the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve in the south of Moscow there is a Golosov Ravine (also known as Volosov and Velesov), in which there are two stones – Deviy and Gus-kamen. These stones are an object of worship, people visit them to make a wish, ask for children or to solve health problems. The stones also have other names, they are called "female" and "male". The legend of the battle of St. George with a Dragon is connected with the Golosov Ravine itself, as well as a number of relatively recent urban legends: about the disappearance of troops of the Tatar Khan Devlet Giray, about the disappearance of two peasants from the village of Sadovniki, as well as about a humanoid hair-covered creature living in the ravine. The work is dedicated to the analysis of the totality of representations and rituals associated with both the stones in Golosov Ravine and other places of worship in Kolomenskoye, as well as the study of the history and current state of the cult. The expected results of the work open up the prospect for further research into the principles and patterns of formation and existence of modern urban folklore.