Dobrynya Nikitich
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Dobrynya Nikitich (Russian: Добрыня Никитич) is a bogatyr (i.e., medieval Russian knights-errant). He is one of the three figures represented together in Viktor Vasnetsov's famous painting [Bogatyrs], alongside Alyosha Popovich and Ilya Muromets.
Dobrynya is depicted in Byliny (oral tradition) as a dragonslayer (killing the dragon Gorynich) who wins by bravery. He seems to be a representative of the noble class of warriors.
Historians believe that this personage evolved from the real Slavic-Varangian warlord Dobrynya, who led the armies of Svyatoslav the Great and tutored his son Vladimir the Fair Sun.
References
This article is based on material from the public domain 1906 Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary.
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