Folkloric heroes were turned into characters of literary works of diff erent genres in 18th-century Russian literature. One of them is bogatyr Alyosha Popovich. Th e distinctive features of the epic hero are such personal traits as astuteness, dexterity, boldness. Vasily A. Levshin perfectly turned to them to pen “Povest’ o Aleshe Popoviche bogatyre, sluzhivshem knyazyu Vladimiru” (A Tale of Bogatyr Alyosha Popovich Serving Prince Vladimir) in his “Russkie skazki” (Russian Tales; 1780—1783). Due to his prankish nature the protagonist performs deeds of valour. He shields the Alanian Kingdom from calamity and makes it a part of the dominion of the Prince Vladimir of Kiev; he defeats the demon Beelzebub acquitting the Polish wizard Tverdovsky of his oaths taken to one of the princes of Hell; he conquers the Tsar-Maiden and takes her to wife. Th e epic hero becomes a literary character in Levshin’s story. Under going genre transformations he acquires personal traits and appears