Alyosha Popovich
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Don't be angry with Alyosha, Ilya. Although he is not that strong, he is brave in action.
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— Dobrynya Nikitich talks about Alyosha Popovich (Ilya Muromets [1956]) |
Alyosha Popovich (Алёша Попович) is a warrior (bogatyr) from Slavic legends. He appeared in the 1956 film Ilya Muromets, where he, along with Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, led the climactic battle against the Tugars and the giant dragon Zmey Gorynych.
Name
The second name indicates the character's origin, the son of a priest (bishop). The name Alyosha is a hypocoristic of the name Alexey. A distorted form, Alexi, is used in the American adaptation of the film, The Sword and the Dragon.
Personality
Alyosha Popovich is a smart and sometimes boastful man. He prefers to be in the company of those who are not lower in status than him and ridicules those who violate such boundaries. Despite this, he respects courage and good manners in people and became a devoted friend of Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets. Together with them, he formed the main warrior trio in the final battle with the Tugars and Zmey Gorynych. He is not as strong as his friends and relies more on his wits in battle. He fell in love with a girl named Alyonushka and became the love interest of the noblewoman Bermetovna.
History
- Ilya Muromets (1956)
Ilya Muromets
Alyosha Popovich came to the feast arranged by Prince Vladimir on the occasion of Dobrynya Nikitich's return from Tsargrad. At this feast, he met Ilya Muromets, who was looking for the Prince at the warrior's table. Having made a sarcastic remark about a villager coming to the palace, Popovich almost started a serious quarrel, but Dobrynya Nikitich calmed him down. A little later he retired with Alyenushka, with whom he was in love, but at that moment the Nightingale the Robber, brought by Muromets, blew her away with a stream of air. Leaving the palace, Popovich admired the strength and courage of the stranger and became friends with him. On the same day, Muromets killed Idolishche Poganoye, which solidified their friendship.
From then on, Popovich, Muromets, and Nikitich defended Kyiv from enemies together, until the boyar Mishatychka unexpectedly betrayed them, lying to the Prince that Muromets wanted to take his throne. Angry that the Prince sent their friend to the dungeon, Popovich and Nikitich left Kyiv to fight in other regions. Later, when the wanderer informed them that Muromets had been freed, the friends returned. The three of them led the defense of Kyiv from the army of Tsar Kalin. Feeling the nearness of defeat, he sent Zmey Gorynych into battle, and Popovich took an active part in the battle with the dragon. He distracted him by throwing a burning branch towards him and ran close enough to cut off the monster's second head. Having defeated the dragon, the three friends and other warriors drove the Tugars away from the city and found Tsar Kalin, abandoned by everyone. Nikitich suggested taking him to Kyiv for trial, and Popovich suggested carrying him there in a sack so he wouldn't escape. All three watched with laughter as another warrior carried the enemy away.
Comics
- The Sword and the Dragon (1960)
The Sword and the Dragon
Most of the scenes involving the character are the same as in the film, except that Alyosha Popovich did not fight Zmey Gorynych. After he drew Ilya Muromets' attention to the burning land ships, Little Falcon came and fought in his place. Despite this, the cover shows Popovich swinging a sword at the reptilian monster.
Trivia
- In legends, Alyosha Popovich's main enemy is Tugarin, after whom the Tugar people from Ilya Muromets are named.
- Sergei Stolyarov, who played Alyosha Popovich, previously starred in the 1940 film Vasilisa the Beautiful, where his character also fought Zmey Gorynych and defeated him alone.
- Alyosha Popovich is depicted three times on the Japanese poster of the film, while Ilya Muromets is not shown at all.[1]
References
This is a list of references for Alyosha Popovich. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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