Baba Yaga is one of the main characters that emerge in Slavic mythology and folklore. Baba Yaga, portrayed as a sorceress-witch with extraordinary powers, is told as a woman who has a wild and old appearance and lives in a chicken-foot cottage in a forest. This antagonist stands out as a round character that is depicted as an evil witch instilling fear and trying to entrap young children and teens on one hand, and as a character that tries to help and show the right path despite seeming evil on the other hand. In this article, the basic typecasting of Baba Yaga in Russian folk tales is studied. Using N.V. Novikov’s elaboration and V. Propp’s classification as a base, it is aimed to highlight the anthropological and chronotopic characteristics of Baba Yaga and her duties in tales. It is attempted to prove the bilaterality of Baba Yaga’s characteristics depending on the character’s archetypical element and her pioneering position in Slavic mythology.

Fairy tale, Baba Yaga, mythology, archetype