ABSTRACT
The song “Dyuk Stepanovich” is an example of a bylina novella. It is an engaging story about an outsider who comes to Kiev and makes himself an unwelcome vistor because he finds fault with everything and says that things are much better at home. Dyuk fights and wins a “duel of snobs” with Churila and then returns home. The main elements in the variants of this bylina may be presented as follows. Despite the warnings of his mother about a dangerous road and about boasting, Dyuk, who is usually called a boyar’s son, departs from Galich (Volynia, Korela, or wealthy India) for Kiev. Although in some recordings he may initially hunt swans and geese, along the way Dyuk encounters menacing obstacles such as mountains that may suddenly clash together, pecking birds, or the dragon Zmei Gorynishche, all of which his horse easily carries him past. After quickly arriving in Kiev, in some instances on Easter Sunday, Dyuk meets Prince Vladimir in church, may have his first encounter with his future rival Churila, and is invited to a feast. While walking on the way there with Prince Vladimir, Dyuk speaks disparagingly about the muddy streets that dirty his boots, and later at the feast he rejects the bread and wine because of their inferior quality. After Dyuk brags about the superiority of his native city, Prince Vladimir puts him in prison and sends Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich to Galich to inventory Dyuk’s possessions and to find out whether he is making empty boasts. In Galich the appraisers are struck by the splendor of the city and by the fact that even the servants are dressed better than Princess Apraxia. Dyuk’s mother greets the two heroes with respect and allows them to evaluate her wealth, but they soon realize that they will not have enough ink and paper to complete the inventory. The appraisers return to Kiev and announce the results to Prince Vladimir, who releases Dyuk from prison. The Kievan “dandy” and lady’s man Churila, stung by Dyuk’s elegance and jealous of his wealth, challenges him to a competition that in some instances lasts three years. They are to change clothing and steeds every day with the ultimate test of proving who has the most luxuriant clothing and the best steed. Dyuk triumphs in these “duels,” shames Churilo, Vladimir, and Kiev, and returns to Galich. As one of the more popular Russian epics, the song has been recorded more than one hundred times.
