Abstract: The subject of research in the article is the specificity of the reflection of historical events and persons in oral poetic works. The object of the study is the legend "About the Starling and the Woodpecker" and the song "On the Mountains on the Dyatlovs". The authors consider in detail such aspects of the topic as the artistic comprehension of the processes of development of statehood, the transformation of nationality, etc. Particular attention is paid to the consideration of contacts between neighboring peoples, influencing the formation of the historical context, in folklore works. The goals and objectives of the work determined the choice of research methods: historical and literary, descriptive, genetic, on the basis of which the analysis of the legend "About the Starling and the Woodpecker" and the song "On the Mountains on the Dyatlovs" is carried out. The scientific novelty of the study is determined for the first time by the analysis of "The Tale of the Starling and the Woodpecker" and the song "On the Mountains on the Dyatlovs" in the philosophical and sociological aspects in terms of the unification of Russians and Erzya into one people represented in them. The main conclusions were: the song and the legend unite the Russian and Erzya worlds, form a common society for them, where the co-existence of the two peoples does not have antagonism, social and moral forces directed against each other. A special contribution of the authors was the discovery that the song artistically interprets the unifying processes, idealizes them, turns them into a poetic image that is attractive to both Russians and Erzya. The unification of the Nizhny Novgorod Erzya with the Muscovite state was a mutual benefit, as the Russian Tsar also speaks of, thanking God for giving him the Erzya land. The Erzya elders also took what happened for granted, especially since it happened during their prayer to the Supreme God, who approved everything with his non-resistance.