Legends of the Flood and the Tower of Babel in the folklore of the Turkic peoples of Southern Siberia

The article deals with the ethnic specificity of biblical legends about the Flood and the Tower of Babel in the folklore of the Turkic peoples of Southern Siberia (Altaians, Tuvinians, Khakassians and Shors). Legends with biblical scenes could get into their folklore owing to the believers’ acquaintance with the Bible, comprehension and adoption of the biblical legends, widespread in the past among Migrant peoples, particularly, Russians. The persistence of these legends among the people is due to the fact that their plots are often adapted to local realities, concepts, myths, and events. In the construction of a closely related native story use is made of the national mythological terminology and conceptual system.