The Tale of Igor's Campaign

"The Tale of Igor's Campaign" is the brightest work of ancient Russian literature, written by an unknown author in the late 12th century. The plot is based on a historical event—the unsuccessful campaign against the Polovtsians in 1185 by Igor Svyatoslavich, the prince of Novgorod-Seversk, which ended with the defeat of the Russian forces and the capture of Igor. This private episode of the Russian-Polovtsian wars was transformed by the author into an event of all-Russian significance, subordinating it to the main idea of the work: the necessity for Russian princes to end their feuds and unite in the face of the constant threat from nomads.
The text is presented in a poetic rendition by Nikolai Zabolotsky. The poet himself referred to this work as a "free reproduction of an ancient monument using the means of modern poetic speech," aimed at readers who find it difficult to understand the original but wish to have a lively poetic representation of it. Such readers primarily include schoolchildren studying "The Tale..." as part of the literature curriculum.

The rendition by Nikolai Zabolotsky.