- In order to rescue his beloved Lyudmila, who has been abducted by the evil wizard Chernomor, the warrior Ruslan faces an epic and perilous quest, encoutering a multitude of fantastic and terrifying characters along the way. The basis for Glinka"s famous opera of the same name, Ruslan and Lyudmila - Pushkin"s second longest poetical work - is a dramatic and ingenious retelling of Russian folklore, full of humour and irony.