Sadko is a character in the Russian medieval epic
Bylina. An adventurer, merchant and
gusli musician from
Novgorod, Sadko becomes wealthy with the help of the
Sea Tsar, but is thrown in the sea when he fails to pay the Sea Tsar his due respects. This story was widely adapted in the 19th century, including in a poem by
Alexei Tolstoy and
an opera by
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
Shown here is Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom, an 1876 painting by Ilya Repin. It depicts Sadko meeting the Sea Tsar under the sea.Painting: Ilya Repin