Ilya Muromets (1914) by Viktor Vasnetsov Ilya Muromets (Russian: Илья Муромец), or Ilya of Murom, sometimes Ilya Murometz, is one of the bogatyrs (epic knights) from Russian folklore. In the legends he is often featured alongside fellow bogatyrs Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich. Although Ilya Muromets's adventures are mostly a matter of legend, he is associated with a historical figure: a medieval warrior, and in later life a monk, named Ilya Pechersky [ru]. Venerable Ilya Pechersky is beatified as a monastic saint of the Orthodox Church. His relics are preserved in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.