Russian folk tale (AT type 1534); Stith Thompson notes it is popular in the Orient and known from Italy as well.

        "Shemiaka" is not a fairy tale in the sense that most folklorists would identify, although it is certainly a folk tale from the oral tradition.  There is no magic, no supernatural characters, nothing to evoke the awe or wonder at the mysterious workings of the universe which Zipes states is the function of the oral wonder tale.  It resembles trickster tales in that it reaches its satisfactory conclusion through the hoodwinking of the powerful, but the poor brother is not really a trickster - his adversaries are tricked by their own greed rather than by his cleverness.
        It deals with the corruption of officialdom - in Russia, in this case, but similar stories are told in many countries.  There is an implied class conflict between the rich brother (allied with the corrupt judge and with the rich peasant they encounter on their journey) and the poor one that echoes the story of Dives and Lazarus from the Bible (Luke 16:19-31).  Those who have refuse to share with those who have not (the brother is willing to lend his horse, but not the yoke that is needed to make the horse useful; the rich peasant gladly entertains the rich brother but gives no food to the poor one), and the legal system is aligned with these individuals.  In consequence, the poor brother has no recourse but for potential violence.
        Though it is not a fairy tale, "Shemiaka the Judge" illustrates one of the more common features of true fairy tales (as well as of many folk tales told by the poor peasantry): the reversal of fortunes at the end.  The poor man, set up to be the hapless victim of implacable social forces at the beginning, is rewarded with wealth due to the very greed that has caused the corruption in the first place.  The judge rules in his favor out of a desire for bribes, then upholds the sentence for fear of his life; the three plaintiffs all give him money, animals, and goods rather than fulfill the terms of the sentence.
 

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