About the book: 2000 / Based on an analysis of written sources of the 16th–17th centuries, the text of ancient Russian epics, materials from archaeological excavations of East Slavic settlements and burial grounds of the second half XII century, as well as the results of scientific studies of the relics of St. Elijah of Pechersk, carried out by Soviet researchers in 1939, 1982 and 1988–1990. the author was able to refute the long-dominant hypothesis in Russian science that Ilya Muromets is a folklore character who never really exists. The study provides arguments in favor of the epic version of the origin of Ilya Muromets. When creating the cover, I used the painting by Konstantin Vasiliev “Ilya Muromets and the Goli Taverns”».