The Malachite Box them are keepers of hidden underground riches. The Mistress, described as either a beautiful green-eyed woman in malachite gown or a lizard with the crown on her head, is the keeper of gemstones. Poloz is the master of every existing piece of gold. The miners believed that if a gold-bearing lode disappeared, it meant that the Great Snake moved it to a different place. Bazhov introduced numerous daughters of Poloz, including Golden Hair from the tale of the same name. The relationship between Poloz and the Mistress is unclear. Bazhov commented that he asked some story-tellers about it, but they
The Malachite Box them so popular among the adult readers. They were exceptionally popular during the Great Patriotic War. The paperbacks were sent to the front line. The author received fan mail from the soldiers who asked to send them the book. The publication attracted a large number of folklorists, who collected tales near Sysert since 1940s and long after Pavel Bazhov's death. The characters of the Ural Mountains folklore such as the Mistress of the Copper Mountain became very well known after their appearance in Bazhov's "The Malachite Box". Sysert's old coat of arms (1982–2002) featured the Mistress as a lizard with