Vladimir the Great erected wooden idols of six gods on a hill outside his palace in Kiev in 980 CE, establishing the Kiev Pantheon — the only documented state pantheon of Slavic paganism, which he himself ordered destroyed eight years later upon converting to Christianity.
The bogatyrs ride in service of Prince Vladimir in Kiev, feasting at his court and answering his summons to defend the Russian lands against invaders, monsters, and marauding steppe warriors.
Prince Vladimir imprisoned Ilya Muromets in a deep cellar beneath Kiev after the bogatyr's insolence at court. When Kalin Tsar's armies besieged the city and no champion remained to face them, Vladimir released Ilya, who rode out and scattered the invading host.
Mikula Selyaninovich serves no prince, standing apart from the Kiev-cycle bogatyrs who answer to Vladimir the Great. His independence embodies the peasant tradition's autonomy from princely authority.
According to the Primary Chronicle, Vladimir the Great erected Perun's idol at Peryn in 980 CE and ordered its destruction and casting into the Volkhov River upon his conversion in 988 CE.
Ilya Muromets dragged the bound Solovei-Razboinik before Vladimir the Great's court in Kiev, where the monster unleashed his whistle at the prince's command — shattering the palace roof and sending the assembled bogatyrs and nobles sprawling in terror.
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