Ilya Muromets

Along the way, he single-handedly defended the city of Chernigov from nomadic invasion (possibly by the Polovtsi) and was offered knighthood by the local ruler, but Ilya declined to stay.

[3] In Kiev, Ilya was made the chief bogatyr by Vladimir and he defended the country from numerous attacks by the steppe people, including Kalin-tsar [ru] of the Tatars.

Generous and simple-minded but also temperamental, Ilya once went on a rampage and destroyed all the church steeples in Kiev after Vladimir failed to invite him to a celebration.

Their report suggested that at least some parts of the legend may be true: the man was tall, and his bones carried signs of spinal disease at early age and marks from numerous wounds, one of which was fatal.

The cycle of tales around Ilya Muromets (including the fight against villainous Nightingale the Robber and monster Idolishche) is classified under its own type in the East Slavic Folktale Classification (Russian: СУС, romanized: SUS): SUS -650C*, Russian: Илья Муромец, romanized: Ilya Muromets, closely placed with other tale types about strong heroes.