Duke Stepanovich

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Duke Stepanovich (Russian: Дюк Степанович) is a character from Russian byliny, the old epic tales. He is a young bogatyr who rides through a dangerous mountain pass to Kiev to meet Prince Vladimir, ruler of ancient Rus. In some versions, his homeland is given as India, Volyn, Korela, or Galich. In this version, he arrives in Kiev and boasts that his homeland is very rich. At the urging of Churilo Plyonkovich, a rash young knight, Vladimir imprisons him and sends scouts to verify his claim. The scouts report that even if all of Kiev's treasures were sold, it wouldn’t be enough to buy paper to record his homeland’s wealth. Churilo tests Stepanovich in several ways, but the duke outsmarts him and lessons are learned.