Over the past days, one of the most talked-about figures in Russia has been a man who died nearly 650 years ago. Russian state television and pro-Kremlin media have launched an extraordinary campaign around what they call the “discovery of the relics” of Prince Dmitry Donskoy, the legendary fourteenth-century ruler of Moscow. Vladimir Putin himself was brought to see the medieval prince’s remains. He was delighted, calling the event “absolutely miraculous.” In a country short on present-day heroes, a skeleton has become the latest star of state propaganda.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church insist that the timing is no coincidence. Dmitry Donskoy, who defeated a Mongol army in the legendary Battle of Kulikovo in 1380, has, they say, revealed himself at precisely the moment when Russia is once again at war. Russia’s main state television channel, Channel One, put it even more bluntly: “The victor comes out to meet us.” The implication is that the fourteenth-century defender of the Russian lands and Russian soldiers fighting today are engaged in the same struggle against “absolute evil.” The Mystery of the Grave Almost everything about this story is remarkable. But the most remarkable thing is that there was no archaeological discovery at all. Dmitry Donskoy was not found in an unknown grave. No one stumbled upon the long-lost remains of a medieval prince. There had never been any historical mystery about what became of him.