Vadim the Bold (Russian: Вадим Храбрый) was a legendary chieftain of the Ilmen Slavs who led their struggle against Rurik and the Varangians in the 9th century.
The first modern Russian historian, Vasily Tatishchev, conjectured that Vadim's mother was the elder daughter of Gostomysl.
Yakov Knyazhnin, a leading playwright, penned a play in which he contrasted Vadim, a defender of Novgorod's ancient freedom, with the authoritarian Rurik.
In the 19th century, Sergey Solovyov and other major historians cast a doubt on the historicity and authenticity of Vadim.
Three leading Russian poets of the era, Alexander Pushkin, Vasily Zhukovsky and Mikhail Lermontov, based their poems on the subject of Vadim's legendary exploits.