A Lonesome Ruler

Ivan IV by the Russian painter Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926). Vasnetsov shows here the feared Ivan the Terrible as a lonesome ruler who seemed to be frozen by symbols and burden of his power.

Fairy Tale Knight

A Knight at the Crossroads (1878) by the Russian painter Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926). The scene is taken from an old Russian fairy tale where a hero comes to a fork in the road where he found menhir with the inscription: "If you ride to the left, you will lose your horse, if you ride to the right, you will lose your head"

A Bard

Boyan (1910) by the Russian painter Viktor Vasnetsov (1848-1926).

Vasnetsov son of a priest and played a leading role in the evolution of Russian art from 19th-century realism towards Art Nouveau with a national historical slant. He was also very important in utilizing historical subjects to create a kind of national Slavic myth.
Here he shows Boyan a famous bard from the times of Yaroslav the Wise (c. 978–1054) one of the great rulers of the old Rus. Old noble Rus warriors are listening to their bard, who’s is probably telling them patriotic stories of their glorious past.