Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature Hermeneutics of Old Russian Literature 1607-6192 2713-2226 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/HORL.1607-6192-2023-22-563-580 Research Article Articles A Troyan in The Tale of Igor’s Campaign and the Sonnets of Alexander Kondratiev Fedotov Oleg I. old-rus@imli.ru 2023 22 563 580 Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The article examines a comparative analysis of the hypothetical image of Troyan in The Tale of Igor’s Campaign and Alexander Kondratiev’s sonnet cycle Slavic Gods (1936). Being well versed in various interpretations of the mysterious image by Medievalists, the poet gave unconditional preference to the mythological direction. An inspirational example for him was the book of Pyotr Buturlin Sonnets (1895). During the period of 20 years of residence in the Volyn city of Dorogobuzh, Kondratiev studied local legends both in the folklore existence and in the presentation of Polish authors Jan Dlugosh (15 c.) and Alexander Brückner (his contemporary). An analysis of Kondratiev’s three sonnets Earth I, Earth II and Troyan showed that despite the absence of direct borrowings from The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, the author did not renounce the old Slavic gods, but tried to extract from pagan mythology inherent in it bright figurative plasticity, generously supplementing it with his own poetic fantasy.