Two centuries of the Russian classics Two centuries of the Russian classics 2686-7494 IWL RAS https://doi.org/10.22455/2686-7494-2026-8-3-46-71 Research Article Articles Heroism and Martial Valor in the Serbian Tradition Through the Prism of Russian-Serbian Literary Intersections Osipova Elena A. red@rusklassika.ru 25 06 2026 8 2 46 71 Heroism Serbian epic Kosovo Slavic world Russo-Serbian literary connections Vuk Karadžić Njegoš Copyright © 2026, IWL RAS 2026 The article examines the heroic ideal embodied in the Serbian national tradition within the context of pan-Slavic cultural and literary Russo-Serbian connections. A study of characteristic images and plots from Serbian epic songs, Petar Njegoš’s poems “The Mountain Wreath” and “The Ray of the Microcosm,” the Old French “Song of Roland,” the Spanish “Song of My Cid,” and the Anglo-Saxon poem “Beowulf” leads to the conviction that the heroes of the Serbian epic embody a pan- European type of hero — a defender of the Christian faith and the native land. This is most clearly evident in the Kosovo cycle of folk songs, which embodies the principle of the indivisible duality of heroism and martyrdom. This cycle reflects the Serbian national character, where sacrifice and love of freedom are understood as the highest virtues. The article revealed that examples of heroic behavior in situations of existential choice, described in Russian and Serbian literatures, stem from a unified consciousness that originated during the Indo-European community period. 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