The scenery is breathtaking. Sandwiched between two seas and home to Europe's highest mountains, the Caucasus has always been an alluring and darkly mysterious region. Its reputation rose during its long, slow conquest by imperial Russia in the 19th century. The Caucasus features prominently in the poetry of Pushkin and the fiction of Tolstoy. A classic Russian figure, the “superfluous man” who is powerless and doesn't fit in, first appeared in the character of Pechorin in Lermontov's novel, “A Hero of Our Time”, set in the Caucasus. Russian readers were also enthralled by the exploits of the Caucasian resistance hero, Imam Shamil.
