Bylina (Russian: были́на, also Byliny and Stariny) is a traditional epic, heroic narrative poetry of early East Slavs of Kievan Rus, the tradition continued in Russia and Ukraine. EPIC might be an acronym or abbreviation for: Electronic Privacy Information Center Explicitly Parallel Instruction Computing Enhanced Programmable ircII Client El Paso Intelligence Center End Poverty In California European Privatisation and Investment Corporation Sometimes it is also used to refer to Epic Games game development company. ... Sir Galahad, a hero of Arthurian legend In many myths and folk tales, a hero is a man or woman (the latter often called a heroine), traditionally the protagonist of a story, legend or saga, who commonly possesses abilities or character far greater than that of a typical person, which... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... Kievan Rus′ (Ки́евская Ру́сь, Kievskaya Rus in Russian; Київська Русь, Kyivs’ka Rus’ in Ukrainian) was the early, mostly East Slavic¹ state dominated by the city of Kiev (ru: Ки́ев, Kiev; uk: Ки́їв, Kyiv), from about 880 to the middle of the 12th century. ...

Bylina comes from the Russian "byl'" (быль), a word which signifies a story of real events, as opposed to a fictional one.

Bylinas are kind of poetry without rhyme (blank verse), but with a characteristic rhythm, a kind of free verse. Most of bylinas were preserved in northern regions of Russia, and their style was imitated by several famous Russian poets. A rhyme is the association of words with similar sounds, a technique most often used in poetry. ... Blank verse is a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme. ... Free verse (or vers libre) is a style of poetry that is based on cadences that are more irregular than those of traditional poetic meter. ...

There are quite a few bylina cycles. Bylinas may be roughly classified into the following series:

• Of the older heroes (Volga Vseslavich, Mikula Selianinovich, Sviatogor)
• Of Vladimir, prince of Kiev, tales of the Golden Age of Kiev, of Kievan Rus'. Here belongs the Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich and Dobrynya Nikitich cycle, being among the most popular ones.
• Of Novgorod (Vassili Buslaev, Sadko the merchant)
• Of Moscow (of Yermak Timofeyevich, Ivan the Terrible)
• Of the Ukrainian cossack history (in Ukrainian language, of invasions of Turks and Tatars, of Haidamak uprisings)
• Of cossack insurgents (Stenka Razin)
• Of Peter the Great

Motto: Oblast Municipality Municipal government City council (Київська Міська рада) Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko Area 800 km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 2,642,486 100% 3,299/km² Founded City rights around 5th century 1487 Latitude Longitude 50°27′ N 30°30′ E Area code +044 Car plates  ? Twin towns Athenes, Brussels, Budapest, Chicago... Ivan Goryushkin-Skoropudov. ... For the Russian bomber Ilya Muromets, see Ilya Muromets. ... Bogatyrs (1898) by Viktor Vasnetsov Alyosha Popovich ( Russian: ), alongside Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets, is a bogatyr (i. ... Bogatyrs (1898) by Viktor Vasnetsov Alongside Alyosha Popovich and Ilya Muromets, is a bogatyr (i. ... Velikiy Novgorod (Но́вгород) is the foremost historic city of North-Western Russia, situated on the highway (and railway) connecting Moscow and St Petersburg. ... Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom, a painting by Ilya Repin (1876) Sadko (Садко in Russian) is an opera by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. ... Yermak Timofeyevich (Russian: Ермaк Тимофеевич, also Ermak) (born between 1532 and 1542 — August 5 or 6, 1585), Cossack leader and explorer of Siberia. ... Ivan IV (August 25, 1530–March 18, 1584) was the first ruler of Russia to assume the title of tsar. ... The Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to Sultan Mehmed IV of Turkey. ... Ukrainian (украї́нська мо́ва, ukrayins’ka mova) is an East Slavic language, one of three members of this language group, the other two being Russian and Belarusian. ... Tatars or Tartars is a collective name applied to the Turkic-speaking people of Europe and Asia. ... The Haidamaks were paramilitary bands in 18th century Ukraine. ... Stepan (Stenka) Timofeyevich Razin (Степан (Стенька) Тимофеевич Разин in Russian) (1630 - 6. ... Peter I Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia Peter I (Pyotr Alekseyvich) (9 June 1672–8 February 1725 [30 May 1672–28 January 1725 O.S.1]) ruled Russia from 7 May (27 April O.S.) 1682 until his death. ...

Related article

• Russian literature

See Also: Bylina - an airline based in Russia Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union. ... Bylina is an airline based in Bykovo, Russia. ...