The picture painted on the plot - "The word about Igor's Regiment". Poetic attitude for Russian history, distinguishes the painters' works. Vasnetsov rejects explicit specificity in favor and benefit of real-folk-poeticism, he was able to express preserved in the poem faith in the greatness of the Russian people.

Rather than a specific plot and event, Vasnetsov was able to express in his painting the soul of Russian fairy tales. Landscape motifs inspired poetic folklore characters. The painting opens a lyrical direction of national romanticism.

Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584) reigned under the name of Ivan VI. Vasnetsov focused not as much on picturesque-figurative content, but rather on documentary realism, costume-subject matter of the image, elevating almost to exhaustion his decorative motifs and forms adopted from the arsenal of the ancient crafts and folk art.

The idea of this painting emerged in the late 1870-ies in the creative atmosphere of Abramtsevo club. Bogatyrs - Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich. and Alyosha Popovich - are seen as mythical personification of the creative forces of the Russian land. Using visual hyperbola, Vasnetsov gives his characters the traditional qualities of Russian character.