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Russian Byliny Trivia Quiz

Russian legends are often known as the byliny stories. Many of the byliny were handed down as oral tradition and have now been collected in the printed form.

A multiple-choice quiz by Redlass. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
Redlass

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
154,616

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
704

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In the byliny, what are the elder valiant champions known as? Hint

Polyanitza

Bogatyri

Brigands

Murometzi

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Question 2 of 10

2. There was a brigand known as the Nightingale Robber who was half bird and half human. He lived in a tree that blocked the road to Kiev. He was finally killed by the hero Ilya Murometz. Who was he? Hint

Svyatogor

Ivan

Sukhman

Solovei

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Question 3 of 10

3. Who is the Grand Prince of Kiev in the byliny collected in the "Kievan Cycle"? Hint

Ivan II

Ilya Muromets

Vladimir I

Syvetyslav

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Question 4 of 10

4. Alyosha Popovich defeats a dragon through use of his cunning and trickery. In later versions, the dragon was transformed. What was it transformed into? Hint

Beautiful princess

Wyvern

Mongol Khan

Frog

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Question 5 of 10

5. Vasilisa Mikulichna stands out as the polyanitza who dared argue with Prince Vladimir to save her husband, Stavr, who had been taken as a prisoner by the Prince. What crime had he committed? Hint

He drank from a skull at the prince's banquet.

He killed one of the prince's retainers.

He boasted of his wife.

He stole a swan from the prince's flock.

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Question 6 of 10

6. Olga was grandmother to Prince Vladimir. She made her fame when the murderers of her husband came to secure her as loot and marry her to their warlord. Olga replied, "Your proposal is pleasing to me; indeed, my husband cannot rise again from the dead. But I desire to honor you tomorrow in the presence of my people. Return now to your boat, and remain there with an aspect of arrogance. I shall send for you on the morrow, and you shall say: "We will not ride on horses nor go on foot; carry us in our boat." And you shall be carried in your boat." What did she do when they were carried to her in their boat? Hint

Set the boat on fire.

Buried them alive in a ditch.

Joined them on the boat and returned to the warlord.

Filled the boat with tribute and treasure.

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Question 7 of 10

7. Ilya raised his mount Cloudfall from the time it was a young foal. To raise it, he followed the commands of aged psalm-singers. What did he feed it for three months? Hint

White Turkish wheat

Oats harvested at first dew

Kievan barley

Grain harvested by the Villager's Son

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Question 8 of 10

8. When Svyatogor discovers his beautiful wife has been unfaithful, he slays his wife. What does he do to the man whom he found with his wife? Hint

Locks him up in a crystal casket

Exchanges crosses with him and declares him a brother

Forces him to undertake a quest

Kills him by strangling him with a silken whip

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Question 9 of 10

9. What was the final fate of the bogatyr Ilya and his steed Cloudfall? Hint

They joined the spirits that protect Rus.

They were turned to stone.

They were killed by a Tatar Tzar.

They climbed a ladder to heaven.

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Question 10 of 10

10. What religion did Vladimir I and his bogatyri belong to? Hint

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Roman Catholicism

Norse paganism

Islam

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In the byliny, what are the elder valiant champions known as?

Answer: Bogatyri

Bogatyri was the name for the near-mythic champions and warriors of Rus. Polyanitza is the name for a female warrior.

Answer: Solovei

Solovei the Brigand could summon up winds to blow down trees and kill travelers. Ilya shot Solovei with an arrow and then tied him to his stirrup and rode out of the forest with him to Kiev.

3. Who is the Grand Prince of Kiev in the byliny collected in the "Kievan Cycle"?

Answer: Vladimir I

St. Vladimir is the prince to whom all the warriors report. They are in his military service and help spread the glory of Rus. It is called the Kiev cycle in part because the prince lived and made his headquarters in Kiev.

4. Alyosha Popovich defeats a dragon through use of his cunning and trickery. In later versions, the dragon was transformed. What was it transformed into?

Answer: Mongol Khan

Popovich was a crafty warrior who relied on his wits more than his brawn. He is spoken of rather poorly in most of the byliny, with the exception of his defeat of Tugarin, the Serpent's son. Tugarin is actually based on a historical figure--an enemy to the Rus people.

5. Vasilisa Mikulichna stands out as the polyanitza who dared argue with Prince Vladimir to save her husband, Stavr, who had been taken as a prisoner by the Prince. What crime had he committed?

Answer: He boasted of his wife.

Vasilisa disguises herself as a man after her husband is thrown in jail for out-boasting the prince at his banquet. Vladimir's princess (daughter in some accounts, wife in others) recognizes Vasilisa as a woman, but no one believes her. Vladimir devises a series of tests, but Vasilisa outwits him on all of them.

He offers to grant her any wish, and she asks for the release of Stavr--who also fails to recognize his clever wife.

Answer: Buried them alive in a ditch.

Olga's reply appealed to the pride of the Derevlians who had just conquered her husband and his warring band. Her messengers carried the boat to a trench that Olga had dug and dumped it and the passengers in. The Derevlians complained that their fate was worse than that of her husband, but Olga didn't listen. She also went on to exact further revenge on the tribe.

7. Ilya raised his mount Cloudfall from the time it was a young foal. To raise it, he followed the commands of aged psalm-singers. What did he feed it for three months?

Answer: White Turkish wheat

For three months, Ilya kept the foal in a stall, feeding it the finest Turkish wheat and watering it from pure spring water.

8. When Svyatogor discovers his beautiful wife has been unfaithful, he slays his wife. What does he do to the man whom he found with his wife?

Answer: Exchanges crosses with him and declares him a brother

Svyatogor's wife is enchanted with Ilya and insists that he come down from the oak tree where he was hiding. Ilya did not wish to fight her and so acquiesced to her wishes. When Svyatogor found out about it, he killed his wife, but declared that Ilya was a hero like himself. They began traveling together to the Holy Mountains.

9. What was the final fate of the bogatyr Ilya and his steed Cloudfall?

Answer: They were turned to stone.

The Tatars captured Ilya and tried to convince him to betray Vladimir. He refused and killed the Tzar. He then went and "woke" the old Russian heros who rode in a mighty battle against the Tatars. Unfortunately, Ilya and Cloudfall did not survive the battle and were turned to stone by the Tatars.

10. What religion did Vladimir I and his bogatyri belong to?

Answer: Eastern Orthodox Christianity

Prince Vladimir was said to have shopped for a national religion among Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Islam. He chose Orthodoxy, hoping that the Byzantines would offer them military protection. He also married a Byzantine princess given to him as a bribe for his converting the Russian nation.

Source: Author Redlass

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