A brief summary of Pushkin’s poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila”

Prince Vladimir the sun is feasting in the Gridnitsa with his sons and a crowd of friends, celebrating the wedding of the youngest daughter of Lyudmila with Prince Ruslan. In honor of the newlyweds singing guslyar Bayan. Only three guests are not happy with Ruslan and Lyudmila, three knights do not listen to the prophetic singer. These are three rivals Ruslan: Knight Rogdai, braggart Farlaf and Khazar Khan Ratmir.
The feast is over, and everyone diverge. The prince blesses the young, they are taken to the bedchamber, and the happy groom is already looking forward to the love raptures. Suddenly there was a thunder, a light flashed, everything was dying, and in the approaching silence there was a strange voice and someone fluttered and disappeared in the dark. Ruslan, who wakes up, is looking for Lyudmila, but she is not, she “was kidnapped by an unknown force.”
Struck with a terrible news about the disappearance of his daughter, angry at Ruslan, the Grand Duke

turns to the young knights with an appeal to go in search of Lyudmila and promises to give her to his wife a reproach to Ruslan and, in addition, half a kingdom to him who will find and return his daughter. Rogdai, Ratmir, Farlaf and Ruslan himself are immediately summoned to go and look for Lyudmila and saddle horses, promising the prince not to prolong the separation. They leave the palace and gallop along the banks of the Dnieper, and the old prince looks after them for a long time and flies after them.
The Knights are traveling together. Ruslan languishes in anguish, Farlaf boasts of his future exploits in the name of Lyudmila, Ratmir dreams of her embrace, gloomy and silent Ragdai. The day is approaching towards evening, the riders approach the crossroads and decide to leave, trusting each one of their own destiny. Ruslan, devoted to gloomy thoughts, rides a step and suddenly sees before himself a cave in which the fire is shining. The knight enters the cave and sees in it an old man with a gray beard and a clear gaze, reading an ancient book before the lamp. The old man turns to Ruslan with a greeting and says that he has been waiting for him for a long time. He calms the young man, informing him that he will be able to regain Lyudmila, who was abducted by the terrible wizard Chernomor, a long-time beauties kidnapper who lives in the northern mountains, where no one has yet managed to penetrate. But Ruslan is destined to find the home of Chernomor and defeat him in the battle. The old man says, that the future of Ruslan in his own will. The delighted Ruslan falls to the old man in the legs and kisses his hand, but suddenly the grimace appears on his face. The wise old man understands the cause of the young man’s sadness and reassures him, saying that Chernomor is a mighty wizard who can reduce stars from the sky, but is powerless in the fight against inexorable time, so his senile love is not terrible to Lyudmila. The elder tries to persuade Ruslan to go to bed, but Ruslan languishes in anguish and is not able to fall asleep. He asks the elder to tell him who he is and how he ended up in this region. And the old man with a sad smile tells his marvelous story. can reduce stars from the sky, but powerless in the fight against inexorable time, and therefore his senile love is not terrible to Lyudmila. The elder tries to persuade Ruslan to go to bed, but Ruslan languishes in anguish and is not able to fall asleep. He asks the elder to tell him who he is and how he ended up in this region. And the old man with a sad smile tells his marvelous story. can reduce stars from the sky, but powerless in the fight against inexorable time, and therefore his senile love is not terrible to Lyudmila. The elder tries to persuade Ruslan to go to bed, but Ruslan languishes in anguish and is not able to fall asleep. He asks the elder to tell him who he is and how he ended up in this region. And the old man with a sad smile tells his marvelous story.
Born in the Finnish valleys, he was at home a peaceful and carefree shepherd, but his misfortune fell in love with the beautiful, but hard-hearted and obstinate Naina. For half a year he languished in love and finally opened to Naina. But the proud beauty replied indifferently that she did not like the shepherd. Feeling disgust for the usual life and work, the young man decided to leave his native fields and set off with the faithful squad for brave swimming in search of battles, in order to win the proud love of Naina with a vengeance. He spent ten years in battles, but his heart, full of love for Naina, longed for a return. And so he returned to throw rich trophies at the feet of the arrogant beauty in the hope of her love, but again the indifferent maiden answered the hero with a refusal. But this test did not stop the lover. He decided to try his luck with the help of magical powers, having learned the mighty wisdom of witches living in its land, whose will is subject to everything. Deciding to attract the love of Naina with the help of sorcery, he spent several years studying witches and finally realized the terrible secret of nature, learned the secret of spells. But the evil rock pursued him. Called by his sorcery, Naina appeared before him a decrepit old woman, a hunchback, a gray-haired man, with a shaking head. The horrified sorcerer learns from her that forty years have passed and today she was seventy. To his horror, the sorcerer became convinced that his spells acted and Naina loved him. With trembling he listened to the amorous confessions of a gray-haired ugly old woman and, on top of that, found out that she had become a sorceress. The shaken Finn ran away, and after him the curses of the old witch, reproaching him for infidelity to the senses, were heard. Deciding to attract the love of Naina with the help of sorcery, he spent several years studying witches and finally realized the terrible secret of nature, learned the secret of spells. But the evil rock pursued him. Called by his sorcery, Naina appeared before him a decrepit old woman, a hunchback, a gray-haired man, with a shaking head. The horrified sorcerer learns from her that forty years have passed and today she was seventy. To his horror, the sorcerer became convinced that his spells acted and Naina loved him. With trembling he listened to the amorous confessions of a gray-haired ugly old woman and, on top of that, found out that she had become a sorceress. The shaken Finn ran away, and after him the curses of the old witch, reproaching him for infidelity to the senses, were heard. Deciding to attract the love of Naina with the help of sorcery, he spent several years studying witches and finally realized the terrible secret of nature, learned the secret of spells. But the evil rock pursued him. Called by his sorcery, Naina appeared before him a decrepit old woman, a hunchback, a gray-haired man, with a shaking head. The horrified sorcerer learns from her that forty years have passed and today she was seventy. To his horror, the sorcerer became convinced that his spells acted and Naina loved him. With trembling he listened to the amorous confessions of a gray-haired ugly old woman and, on top of that, found out that she had become a sorceress. The shaken Finn ran away, and after him the curses of the old witch, reproaching him for infidelity to the senses, were heard. But the evil rock pursued him. Called by his sorcery, Naina appeared before him a decrepit old woman, a hunchback, a gray-haired man, with a shaking head. The horrified sorcerer learns from her that forty years have passed and today she was seventy. To his horror, the sorcerer became convinced that his spells acted and Naina loved him. With trembling he listened to the amorous confessions of a gray-haired ugly old woman and, on top of that, found out that she had become a sorceress. The shaken Finn ran away, and after him the curses of the old witch, reproaching him for infidelity to the senses, were heard. But the evil rock pursued him. Called by his sorcery, Naina appeared before him a decrepit old woman, a hunchback, a gray-haired man, with a shaking head. The horrified sorcerer learns from her that forty years have passed and today she was seventy. To his horror, the sorcerer became convinced that his spells acted and Naina loved him. With trembling he listened to the amorous confessions of a gray-haired ugly old woman and, on top of that, found out that she had become a sorceress. The shaken Finn ran away, and after him the curses of the old witch, reproaching him for infidelity to the senses, were heard. With trembling he listened to the amorous confessions of a gray-haired ugly old woman and, on top of that, found out that she had become a sorceress. The shaken Finn ran away, and after him the curses of the old witch, reproaching him for infidelity to the senses, were heard. With trembling he listened to the amorous confessions of a gray-haired ugly old woman and, on top of that, found out that she had become a sorceress. The shaken Finn ran away, and after him the curses of the old witch, reproaching him for infidelity to the senses, were heard.
Having fled from Naina, the Finn settled in this cave and lives in it in complete seclusion. Finn predicts that Naina will also hate Ruslan, but he will be able to overcome this obstacle too.
All night Ruslan listened to the stories of the old man, and in the morning, with a soul full of hope, gratefully embracing him in parting and parting with the blessing of the wizard, set off on a quest to find Lyudmila.
Meanwhile, Rogdai goes “between the deserts of the forest”. He cherishes the terrible thought of killing Ruslan and thereby freeing himself to the heart of Lyudmila. He resolutely turns his horse and jumps back.
Farlaf, having slept all morning, dined in the forest silence by the stream. Suddenly he noticed that the horseman was rushing right at him. Throwing lunch, weapons, chain mail, the cowardly Farlaf jumps on his horse and escapes without looking back. The rider rushes after him and calls him to stop, threatening to “rip” his head off. Farlaf’s horse jumps over the moat, and Farlaf himself falls into the mud. The fledgling Rogdai is ready to defeat his rival, but he sees that it is not Ruslan, and goes in annoyance and anger.
Under the mountain, he meets a slightly live old woman, who points to the north with her key and says that there will find a knight of his enemy. Rogdai leaves, and the old woman approaches Farlaf, who lies in the mud and shaking with fear, and advises him to return home, not to expose himself to more danger, because Lyudmila will be so. Having said this, the old woman disappeared, and Farlaf follows her advice.
Meanwhile, Ruslan aspires to the beloved, wondering about her fate. One evening he sometimes passed over the river and heard the buzzing of arrows, the ringing of chain mail and horse neighing. Someone shouted to him to stop. Looking back, Ruslan saw a rider rushing at him with a raised spear. Ruslan recognized him and flinched with anger…
At the same time, Lyudmila, taken away from the wedding bed by the grim Chernomor, woke up in the morning, embraced by a vague horror. She was lying in a luxurious bed under the canopy, everything was like in the fairy-tale Shehe-razada. Beautiful maidens came up to her in light clothes and bowed. One skillfully braided her braid and decorated her with a pearl crown, another put on her azure sarafan and shod, the third gave a pearl belt. The invisible singer all this time sang merry songs. But none of this amused Lyudmila’s soul. Left alone, Lyudmila comes to the window and sees only the snowy plains and peaks of the gloomy mountains, everything is empty and dead all around, only a whirlwind rushing through a dull whistle, shaking the forest visible on the horizon. In desperation, Lyudmila runs to the door, which opens itself in front of her, and Lyudmila enters an amazing garden, where palm trees, laurels, cedars, oranges grow, reflected in the mirror of the lakes. Around the spring fragrance and the voice of the Chinese nightingale is heard. Fountains are beaten in the garden and there are beautiful statues that seem alive. But Lyudmila is sad, and nothing does not amuse her. She sits on the grass, and suddenly a tent unfolds over her, and before her is a luxurious dinner. Beautiful music delight her hearing. Intending to reject the treat, Lyudmila began to eat. When she stood up, the tent itself disappeared, and Lyudmila was alone again and probed in the garden until evening. Lyudmila feels that she is sleepy, and suddenly an unseen force raises her and gently carries her through the air to her bed. Again the three virgins appeared and, having laid Lyudmila, disappeared. In fear lies Lyudmila in bed and awaits something terrible. Suddenly there was a noise, the hall lit up, and Lyudmila sees how a long row of araps pair on a pillow a gray beard, behind which a hunchbacked dwarf walks with a shaved head, covered with a high hood. Lyudmila jumps up, grabs him by the hood, the dwarf is frightened, falls, gets tangled in her beard, and the scammers for squealing Lyudmila carry him away, leaving the hat.
And at this time Ruslan, overtaken by the knight, fights with him in a fierce battle. He rips the enemy off the saddle, raises him and throws him from the shore into the waves. This knight was none other than Rogdai, who found his death in the waters of the Dnieper.
A cold morning shines on the tops of the northern mountains. In bed lay Chernomor, and the slaves combed his beard and smoothed his mustache. Suddenly a winged serpent flies into the window and turns around Naina. She greets Chernomor and informs him of the imminent danger. Chernomor replies to Naina that the knight is not afraid of him, as long as the beard of his beard is intact. Naina, turning into a snake, flies away again, and Chernomor again goes to the Chambers to Lyudmila, but can not find her either in the palace or in the garden. Lyudmila was gone. Chernomor in anger sends the slaves in search of the disappeared princess, threatening them with terrible punishments. Lyudmila did not escape anywhere, she just accidentally opened the secret of the Black Sea cap of invisibility and took advantage of her magical properties.
And what about Ruslan? After fighting Rogdai, he went further and got on the battlefield with scattered armor and weapons and the yellowing bones of the soldiers. Ruslan looks sadly at the battlefield and finds armor, a steel spear, among the abandoned weapons, but can not find a sword. Ruslan rides the night steppe and sees a huge hill in the distance. Arriving closer, by the light of the moon, he sees that it is not a hill, but a living head in a heroic helmet with feathers that shudder from her snoring. Ruslan tickled the nostrils of his head with a spear, that sneezed and woke up. An angry head threatens Ruslan, but, seeing that the knight is not frightened, angry and starts to puff on him with all the urine. Unable to resist this vortex, Ruslan’s horse flies far into the field, and the head laughs at the knight. Enraged with her ridicule, Ruslan throws a spear and pierces his head with his tongue. Taking advantage of the confusion of the head, Ruslan rushes to her and strikes her with a heavy mitten on the cheek. The head began to stagger, turned over and rolled. On the spot where she stood, Ruslan sees a sword that fell in his right hand. He intends to cut off the nose and ears with that sword, but he hears her groan and spares. The deceased head tells Ruslan his story. Once she was a brave giant giant, but she had her younger brother, a dwarf, an evil Chernomor, who envied his elder brother. Once Chernomor discovered the secret he found in black books that behind the eastern mountains in the cellar is a sword that is dangerous for both brothers. Chernomor persuaded his brother to go in search of this sword, and when he was found, in a fraudulent way took possession of him and cut off his brother’s head, carried her to this desolate land and condemned her to keep her sword in her forever.
Khan Ratmir went in search of Lyudmila to the south and on the way he saw a castle on a rock, on the wall of which a singing virgin walks in the moonlight. With her song she beckons the knight, he drives up, a crowd of red maidens meet him under the wall, who arrange a luxurious reception for the knight.
And Ruslan spends this night near his head, and in the morning he goes on to further searches. Autumn breaks, and winter comes, but Ruslan stubbornly moves north, overcoming all obstacles.
Lyudmila, hidden from the sorcerer’s eyes with a magic cap, walks alone through beautiful gardens and teases the servants of Chernomor. But the insidious Chernomor, taking the appearance of the wounded Ruslan, lures Lyudmila in the net. He is already ready to tear the fruit of love, but the sound of a horn is heard, and someone calls him. Putting on Lyudmila an invisible cap, Chernomor flies to meet the call.
Wizard summoned Ruslan to the battle, he is waiting for him. But the wily magician, having become invisible, beats the knight on the helmet. Elaborated, Ruslan grabs Chernomor for his beard, and the wizard takes off with him under the clouds. For two days he wore a knight in the air and finally asked for mercy and took Ruslan to Lyudmila. On the ground, Ruslan cuts off his beard with his sword and ties it to his helmet. But, having entered the possession of Chernomor, he never sees Lyudmila anywhere and in anger begins to destroy everything around with a sword. By an unintentional blow, he knocks off the invisible cap from Lyudmila’s head and finds a bride. But Lyudmila is asleep with an untroubled sleep. At this moment Ruslan hears the voice of the Finn, who advises him to go to Kiev, where Lyudmila wakes up. Arriving on the way back to the head, Ruslan pleases her with a message about the victory over Chernomor.
On the bank of the river Ruslan sees a poor fisherman and his beautiful young wife. He is surprised to find out in the fisherman Ratmir. Ratmir says that he found his happiness and left a vain world. He bids farewell to Ruslan and wishes him happiness and love.
At this time, to the waiting for his time, Farlaf is Naina and teaches how to ruin Ruslan. Sneaking up to the sleeping Ruslan, Farlaf thrusts the sword three times into his chest and hides with Lyudmila.
The murdered Ruslan lies in the field, and Farlaf with sleeping Lyudmila aspires to Kiev. He enters the tower with Lyudmila in his arms, but Lyudmila does not wake up, and all attempts to wake her up are fruitless. And here a new misfortune strikes Kiev: it is surrounded by insurgent Pechenegs.
While Farlaf travels to Kiev, the Finn comes to Ruslan with live and dead water. Resurrecting the knight, he tells him about what happened, and gives a magic ring that will remove from Lyudmila charms. Encouraged Ruslan rushes to Kiev.
Pechenegs meanwhile besiege the city, and at dawn a battle begins that does not bring victory to anyone. And the next morning among the hordes of Pechenegs suddenly appears a rider in shining armor. He pours to the right and to the left and turns the Pechenegs to flight. It was Ruslan. Entering Kiev, he goes to the tower, where, beside Lyudmila, there were Vladimir and Farlaf. Seeing Ruslana, Farlaf falls to his knees, and Ruslan aspires to Lyudmila and, touching the ring of her face, awakens her. Happy Vladimir, Lyudmila and Ruslan forgive Farlaf, who confessed in everything, and take away the magical powers of Chernomor to the palace.