Russian strongmen have always been held in high regard. There were few of them, but tales of incredible strength were passed down from generation to generation. One such famous strongman was Nikita Lomovsky.

He was affectionately called Nikitushka. Despite his heroic strength, Nikita Lomovsky was a kind and compassionate man. He was born into a family of serf peasants in the Virgin volost of the Penza province. From childhood, Nikitka amazed the neighbors with his extraordinary strength. His favorite pastime was to sneak up to a cart and grab the back wheels. The unsuspecting coachman did not immediately understand why the horse had stopped until the peasant children began to laugh from behind.

At 20, Nikita felt cramped in his native village, and he went to work as a burlak on the Volga. From the 1830s onwards, his name became known in all Volga cities. For fun, Lomovsky easily lifted a horse, bet on driving iron stakes with a cast-iron weight, and held a sack of flour at arm's length. Although Nikitushka was somewhat simple-minded, he showed practicality when needed.

Once, a merchant's anchor got stuck in the riverbed, and the burlaks could not pull it out. The owner turned to Lomovsky. He asked for a bucket of vodka, but the merchant offered only a half-bottle (0.6 liters). "Well, I don't like drinking half-bottles," Nikita replied. In the end, they agreed on a full bottle (1/8 of a bucket), and the strongman pulled out the anchor, but the cunning merchant still only gave him a half-bottle. The next morning, the merchant could not leave his yard: the very anchor hung on the gate. He had to apologize to Nikitushka.

It is said that the Russian Hercules once saved burlaks from river bandits. When the burlaks' boat was descending the Volga, they were attacked by pirates. The burlaks were ready to surrender, but Nikitka took heavy weights and, swinging them, threw them towards the pirate ship. The impact was so strong that the bandits decided to leave the burlaks alone. Lomovsky was predicted a career as a wrestler, but he remained a burlak all his life and died a burlak's death, drowning.