Understand
Southern Russia's mountainous regions in the south are extraordinarily complex in terms of their various linguistic, political, and ethnic cultures, while the northern, plains areas of Southern Russia are more solidly Russian in character. Southern Russia is generally more humid and lush in the west, towards the Black Sea, and more dry and arid approaching the Caspian Sea in the east.
Long considered a Russian frontier akin to the "Wild West," Southern Russia has a fascinating history of Cossack and Russian expansion in the face of fierce resistance from Tatar and other Mountain peoples. This southern frontier plays a special romantic role in the Russian consciousness as the one part of Russia combining a decent climate, interesting topography, and endless opportunities for the adventurous. This romantic ideal is immortalized especially in Mikhail Lermontov's famous novella, "A Hero of Our Time," as well as in many of Pushkin's poems. Pushkin's most famous poem about the region, "Prisoner of the Caucasus" ÐавказÑкий пленник, was rewritten as a short story by Tolstoy, and redone most recently in an excellent Russian movie that sets the same story in the modern day conflict shot in Dagestan.
