The Wizard of the Emerald City (Russian: Волшебник Изумрудного Города) is a 1939 children's novel by Russian writer Alexander Melentyevich Volkov. The book is a re-narration of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Baum's name is sometimes credited in the book (in the appendix by Volkov, which is found in some editions, where Volkov describes the origins of his book). The names of most characters are changed, some elements of Baum's novel are removed, and some new elements are added. Volkov's Magic Land series, as it was called, was translated into many languages and was popular with children all over the Eastern Bloc. Volkov's version of Oz seems to be better known than Baum's in Russia, China, and the former East Germany. Five sequels were written by Volkov in the 1960s and 70s. The books in the series have been translated into English by Peter L. Blystone, and were published by Red Branch Press in three volumes (two books per volume) in 1991, 1993, and 2007. A revised edition of the first two-book volume was published in 2010. Source: Wikipedia (en)