In addition, the East Slavic folktale corpus - especially the Russian one - is marked by complex tales akin to Marya Morevna, which is a combination of types (552, 518, 302 and 554).

[9][10] Richard MacGillivray Dawkins also noted that in some variants, the suitors are "persons of great and magical potency", but appear to court the princesses under shaggy and ragged disguises.

[11] Russian folklorist Alexander Afanasyev, based on comparative analysis of Slavic folkloric traditions, stated that the eagle, the falcon and the raven (or crow) are connected to weather phenomena, like storm, rain, wind.

[14][a][b] Czech scholar Karel Horálek [cs] mentioned that tale type AaTh 552 ("specially in Slavic variants") shows the motif of the hero opening, against his wife's orders, a door or the dungeon and liberating a Giant or Ogre that kills him.

[5] According to professor Andreas Johns, scholar Carl Wilhelm von Sydow distinguished a Slavic oikotype of the narrative (also present in Hungarian variants): the hero is warned against opening a door, which he does anyway.

[18] In several variants, the hero manages to defeat the villain with the help of a magical horse he tamed while working for Baba Yaga or other supernatural creature.

These stories tell of a villain who hides his life force or "heart" in a place outside his body, in a box or inside a series of animals, like a Russian matryoshka.

For instance, folklorist Sir James George Frazer, in his book The Golden Bough, listed and compared several stories found across Eurasia and North Africa where the villain of the tale (ogres, witches and giants) willingly extracts their soul, hides it in an animal or in a box (casket) and therefore becomes unkillable, unless the hero destroys the recipient of their soul.

Three years later, the Tsarevich intends to court princess Marya Morevna, when, in his travels, he finds three old men, who reveal themselves as the whirlwinds and assume an avian form (the first a raven, the second an eagle and the third a falcon).

After a series of adventures, Ivan Tsarevich and Marya Moreva marry and she gives his a silver key and warns him never to open its respective door.

Ivan is killed, but his avian brothers-in-law resurrect him with the living and dead waters, and tell him to seek a magical colt from the stables of Koschei's mother.

[45] In another Russian variant translated by professor Jack Haney as The Three Sons-in-Law, the hero Ivan marries his three sisters to an eagle, a falcon and another man, then goes to find Marya Morevna, "The Princess with the Pouch".

[46] In a Belarusian variant (summarized by Slavicist Karel Horálek), "Прекрасная девица Алена" ("Beautiful Girl Alena"),[47] one of the tsar's sons marries his sisters to the Thunder, the Frost and the Rain.

[48] In a second variant from Belarus, "Иван Иванович—римский царевич" (also cited by Horálek),[49] the hero, Ivan Tsarevich, marries his sisters to the Wind, the Storm and the King of the Birds.

After her father dies, the princess inherits the entire castle and gives Ivan a set of keys, forbidding him to open the twelfth door.

[52] In a tale from the Chuvash people translated into Hungarian with the title Az asszony-padisah leánya ("The Daughter of the Female Padishah"), an old woman on her deathbed begs her son, Jivan, to marry his sisters to whoever passes by their house.

[54] In a Lithuanian variant, collected by Carl Cappeller [sv] with the title Kaiser Ohneseele ("Emperor Without-Soul"), the protagonist weds his three sisters to the bird griffin, an eagle, and the king of nightingales.

[56] August Leskien collected another variant, Von dem Königssohn, der auszog, um seine drei Schwestern zu suchen, wherein the animals are a falcon, a griffin and an eagle.

He learns from them that his sisters are now married to a pike, an eagle and a bear - who are cursed princes - and that to reach them, he must first seek an equine mount by taking up work with a witch.

After he works with the witch, he flies on the horse to each of his sisters, and confirms the princes' story: they are brothers who were cursed by a dragon whose life lies outside his body.

[60] In another Hungarian variant, A Szélördög ("The Wind Devil"), a dying king's last wish is for his sons to wed their sisters to whoever passes by their castle.

[61] In a Hungarian tale published by Nándor Pogány, The Magic Cherry-Tree, a king is dying and only the cherries that grow on the top of a huge tree can cure him.

[62] Author Božena Němcová collected a Czech fairy tale, O Slunečníku, Měsíčníku a Větrníku, where the prince's sisters are married to the Sun, the Moon and the Wind.

[63][64] A retelling of Nemcova's version, titled O slunečníkovi, měsíčníkovi a větrníkovi, named the prince Silomil, who marries the unnamed warrior princess and frees a king with magical powers from his wife's dungeon.

[65] Author Bozena Nemcova also collected a very similar Slovenian variant of the Czech fairy tale, titled O Slunečníku, Měsíčníku, Větrníku, o krásné Ulianě a dvou tátošíkách ("About the Sun, the Moon, the Wind, the Beautiful Uliane and the Two Tátos").

[66][67] A second Slovenian variant, from Porabje (Rába Valley) was collected by Károly Krajczár (Karel Krajcar), with the title Lepi Miklavž or Leipe Miklauž.

[70] The tale was translated into English, first collected by British author Elodie Lawton Mijatovich with the name Bash-Chalek, or, True Steel,[71] and later as Steelpacha.

[74] Slavicist Karel Horálek also mentioned a variant from Serbia, titled "Атеш-Периша" ("Atesh-Perisha"), published in newspaper Босанска вила (sr) (Bosanska vila).

[85] Gene Wolfe retold this as "The Death of Koshchei the Deathless", published in the anthology Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears and reprinted in his collection Strange Travelers.

In contrast to the usual myth, he is portrayed in a sympathetic light and seems to be intended to serve (similarly to the Kami, Togashi in the Legend of the Five Rings RPG by the same publishers) as a source of adventure hooks and occasionally a Donor (fairy tale) to whom it is perilous in the extreme to apply.