Alyosha Popovich

Alyosha Popovich

Alyosha Popovich ( _ru. Алёша Попо́вич, literally Alexey, son of the priest), alongside Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets, is a bogatyr (i.e., a medieval knight-errant). He is the youngest of the 3 main bogatyrs of Kiev Rus.

The three of them are represented together at Vasnetsov's famous painting "Bogatyrs".

In Byliny (oral stories) he is described as a crafty priest's son who wins by tricking and outsmarting his foes. He is known for his agility, slyness, and craftiness. Alyosha Popovich is fun-loving, sometimes being depicted as a "mocker of women," and may occasionally be a liar and a cheat (Bailey, p. 121). He defeated the dragon Tugarin Zmeyevich by trickery. In later versions the dragon was transformed into the figure of a Mongol Khan.

Alyosha Popovich and Tugarin

In this bylina Alyosha Popovich and his servant, Yekim, set out for Kiev to meet Prince Vladimir. When they arrive at Kiev, Prince Vladimir is having a feast. Prince Vladimir offers Alyosha Popovich to sit next to him, but Alyosha Popovich refuses and decides to take the lowest place in the social hierarchy by sitting next to the stove (Bailey, p. 121-122). At the feast, the monster Tugarin insults the Prince by sitting between Vladimir and his wife. Tugarin also does not pray to God and gorges himself at the feast. Alyosha Popovich, who is disgusted with the way Tugarin is acting, insults the creature with stories about the deaths of a dog and a cow (Bailey, p. 122). Tugarin is provoked by these stories and throws a dagger at Alyosha Popovich. Then, Alyosha Popovich accepts Tugarin's challenge to fight. The battle takes place in an open field, and when Alyosha Popovich arrives, Tugarin is already flying in the sky on his wings made of paper. Alyosha Popovich prays for rain, and Tugarin falls to the ground because his paper wings get wet. Finally, Alyosha Popovich knocks Tugarin's head off with his staff, sticks it on a spear, cuts his body into small pieces, and presents it to Prince Vladimir's court. (Bailey, p. 122-129).

References

* Bailey, James and Ivanova, Tatyana. An Anthology of Russian Folk Epics. M.E. Sharpe, Inc. Armonk, New York, 1998.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Popovich — is a Slavic surname. It can refer to: *Gregg Popovich, the head coach of the National Basketball Association s San Antonio Spurs. *Pavel Popovich, a Soviet cosmonaut of Ukrainian descent. *Alyosha Popovich, a bogatyr (i.e., a medieval Russian… …   Wikipedia

  • Tugarin Zmeyevich — ( ru. Тугарин Змеевич) is a mythical creature in Russian bylinas and fairy tales, which personifies evil and cruelty and appears in the form of a bogatyr of a dragon like nature.Tugarin Zmeyevich has many different names in Russian folklore, such …   Wikipedia

  • Dobrynya Nikitich — rescues Zabava Putyatishna from the dragon Gorynych. Dobrynya Nikitich (Russian: Добрыня Никитич) is one of the most popular bogatyrs after Ilya Murometz from the Kievan Rus era. Many byliny center on Dobrynya completing tasks set him by the… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Russian people — The Millennium of Russia monument in Veliky Novgorod, featuring the statues and reliefs of the most celebrated people in the first 1000 years of Russian history …   Wikipedia

  • Bogatyr — For other meanings, see Bogatyr (disambiguation). The bogatyr ( ru. богаты рь, from the Slavic bogat rich or gifted ) or vityaz ( ru. витязь, a valiant warrior) was a medieval Russian heroic warrior, akin to Western European knight errant.An… …   Wikipedia

  • Bogatyr — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Dobrynya Nikitich, Ilya Muromets y Alyosha Popovich, representados en Los Bogatyrs (1898) , pintura de Víktor Vasnetsov Un bogatyr (en ruso: богаты рь, del turco baghatur ) o vi …   Wikipedia Español

  • Rodina (Projekt 588) — Typ Rodina/Projekt 588/BiFa Typ A Die Dmitri Pozharskiy des Typs Rodina/Projekt 588/BiFa Typ A …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Perun — This article is about a Slavic god. For historical money, see Perun (money). Perun spring, east, fertility, athmosphere, thunderbolt Symbol fire, oak, iris, eagle, axe Consort Perunika or Mokosh Christian equivalent Elijah …   Wikipedia

  • Prince Marko — Marko Марко King of the Serbian Land (only de jure) King Marko on a fresco above the south entrance to the church of Marko s Monastery near Skopje. He was a ktetor of this monastery …   Wikipedia

  • Chernobog — is a Slavic deity, about whom much has been speculated but little can be said definitively. The name may also be given as Crnobog, Czernobóg, Černobog, Црнобог, Zernebog and Чернобог, meaning black god. The only historical sources, which are… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”