Ilyá Múromets. Ilyá Múromets is one of the heroes of the Kíev cycle; he derives his strength from mystical sources of Mother Earth, and his great feat is the slaying of the Nightingale Robber. He is intermediate between the “ elder bogatyrí ,” the earthborn Tirans, and the human champions of the legendary Court of Vladímir. He is always of popular origin and, as such, at variance with the semi-Scandinavian Court.

Iván Vasíl’evich. The Tsar Iván Vasíl’evich is a very popular figure in the Russian ballads; there are two of this name: Iván III . 1462⁠–⁠1505, and Iván the Terrible, 1533⁠–⁠1584. Both were very energetic rulers who enlarged the domain of Moscow and curbed the power of the territorial nobility.