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Kudeyar (Russian:Кудеяр) is a legendary robber, aRussian folk hero.[1]
There were severalCossackrobbers of this name. There is a letter of oneMuscoviteboyar toIvan IV fromCrimea, where he reports that "there is only onebrigand left here - the accursed Kudeyar".
According to one legend, Kudeyar was the elder brother ofIvan the Terrible, based on a real event. His mother purportedly wasSolomonida Saburova, whomVasily III divorced on account of herbarrenness and incarcerated in aconvent. The legend says that several months after the controversial divorce she bore a son, who was smuggled somewhere.[2] While it is the most common legend, there is no evidence that Ivan the Terrible had a brother.[1]
Kudeyar's story is told inMykola Kostomarov's 1875 historical novel of the same name.[3]
There are other literary works involving Kudeyar.